The board will be expected to become informed on and then provide advice on Cary’s:

• Accomplishments and ongoing initiatives;
• Building on current opportunities to create strategic new partnerships;
• Methods to track progress, set performance baselines and targets, measure impacts, and quantify results of sustainable practices in:
  • energy efficiency,
  • water conservation,
  • tree preservation,
  • recycling and waste reduction,
  • green building ordinances,
  • public education on lifestyle choices and responsibilities (tracking personal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and choosing energy efficient, clean and green practices),
  • retrofit incentives, and
  • community dialogue and engagement to address environmental sustainability for our next generation.

In the conduct of its work, the Board will:

• Aspire to use this initial phase of work to think big and broad, across disciplines and dimensions to fast track on the most critical environmental matters of our time;
• Operate as a think tank-like laboratory to assess the driving forces within our organization and community and consider how to best align interests of public and private sectors and envision policy frameworks and practices;
• Coordinate efforts with the Manager’s “interdepartmental environmental work team” to develop and prioritize energy-saving and other environmentally-friendly initiatives within the organization, its facilities and operations;
• Become informed and keep global, comprehensive costs, benefits and other related tradeoffs as a priority in advising on policy considerations; and
• Take care to consider the perspectives of: town government, collective community, regional partnerships, economic sectors, natural resource types, and individual households.

Upon approval of the Board’s mission statement, the board will prepare a Local Action Plan for Cary’s Going Green Initiative as well as broader scale actions conducted in partnerships regionally or with state and national programs. In addition to the stated plans of action, the Board will establish a set of recommendations that chart near-medium, and long-term policy goals for considerations by the Town Council. 

Topics to consider will be examining our carbon footprint, energy consumption (and adoption of sustainable renewable energy solutions), and water use, and enhance our tree cover, air quality, and ultimately our quality of life.