Bend Community Climate Action Plan - Virtual Community Survey

About this survey

This survey includes background information and questions about Bend’s Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP). It should take about 15 minutes to complete. The feedback collected in the survey will be used to inform the updated Climate Action Plan that the City of Bend will use for the next 5 years.

The survey will be open through Sunday, December 1, 2024.

Don't forget to click "Submit" at the end of the survey to share your feedback!

Bend's Climate Action Goal

The Bend community has made itself clear – it is time to act against climate change. Climate change directly impacts Bend residents and the natural environment that makes this area so special.

In response to community interest, the City Council adopted Resolution 3044 to establish climate action goals to reduce community fossil fuel use by 40% by 2030 and by 70% by 2050.

Measuring Progress

Bend updated its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory in 2022, using 2021 data. The two largest sources of emissions in Bend come from building energy (51% of local emissions, blue) and transportation (44% of local emissions, green). Waste and other sources are a small component of local emissions in Bend (5% of local emissions).

Bend’s Community Climate Action Plan includes strategies and actions across four climate sectors:

1. Energy supply
2. Energy use in buildings
3. Transportation
4. Waste & materials

Energy supply refers to the sources of energy we use to power and heat our buildings, power our vehicles, and produce the materials we use and foods we consume.

• Non-renewable energy sources include things like coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas.
• Renewable energy sources include things like solar and wind power.

Different energy sources have different levels of GHG emissions. Switching from non-renewable sources of energy to renewable sources will reduce our GHG emissions.

The City is considering 5 strategies to reduce emissions from energy supply:

1. Provide 100% renewable electricity supply to the community.
2. Reduce emissions associated with resilience and usage of natural gas.
3. Encourage solar and other renewable energy generation on residential and commercial buildings.
4. Pursue local renewable energy generation.
5. Lead by example by installing solar on all City facilities.

Nearly everything we do and use in buildings consumes energy, from lighting, to heating and cooling, to cooking, and powering appliances and electronics. The energy we use in our buildings makes up 50% of Bend’s local emissions, making it the largest contributor to community GHG emissions. In Bend, residential homes have a larger emissions impact than commercial businesses, and industrial energy use is even smaller by comparison.

We can reduce emissions from energy use in buildings by increasing the efficiency of our buildings, appliances, and fixtures.

The bar graph below shows Bend's emissions from residential, commercial, and industrial energy uses, broken down by energy source (electricity, natural gas, and other fuels like fuel oil and propane).

The City is considering 4 strategies to reduce emissions from energy use in buildings:

1. Support policies that reduce GHG emissions in buildings.
2. Encourage upgrades in residential and commercial buildings that promote energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions.
3. Implement benchmarking and disclosure programs for energy performance.
4. Promote smaller homes and denser housing options through incentives.

The transportation sector is Bend’s second largest source of emissions, nearly 575,000 MT CO2e. Most of these emissions come from local, on-road, passenger vehicles. In addition to local emissions, there are also imported emissions from air travel by Bend households, and upstream emissions from gasoline and diesel production.

We can reduce emissions from the transportation sector by switching from gasoline-powered vehicles to active transportation options, transit transportation options, and/or using electric vehicles (EVs).

The City is considering 7 strategies to reduce emissions from transportation:

1. Encourage community-wide electric vehicle adoption.
2. Expand support for bike and pedestrian travel.
3. Increase transit ridership.
4. Promote the use of carpooling and vanpooling.
5. Lead by example by converting fleet vehicles to electric and alternative fuel vehicles.
6. Encourage development and transportation planning to encourage a reduction in vehicle use.
7. Establish financial incentives to encourage behavior change in transportation.

The goods and services we use in our daily lives have a huge effect on the environment and generate large amounts of GHG emissions. This includes the food we eat, clothes we wear, electronics we use, furniture we own, and materials we use to build our houses. It takes energy and resources to grow food and manufacture goods, and most of what we use eventually ends up in the landfill, where it breaks down and releases GHG emissions.

In 2021, Bend’s emissions from the consumption of goods, food, and air travel made up 47% of Bends total emissions (nearly 1.2 million MT CO2e).

We can reduce emissions from the consumption of food and goods by buying fewer new items, eating more plant-based foods, and reducing landfill waste by recycling and composting.

The City is considering 7 strategies to reduce emissions from waste and materials:

1. Encourage waste prevention and reducing consumption through outreach and education.
2. Encourage food waste prevention through outreach and education.
3. Promote low-carbon food choices.
4. Expand use of low carbon concrete in City projects and new development.
5. Improve and expand recycling.
6. Improve food waste recovery. Food waste recovery includes keeping food out of the landfill by using it to make compost, energy, or other creative end uses.
7. Improve recovery of construction and demolition waste.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about the City of Bend’s Community Climate Action Plan update! The information you have provided will play an important role in shaping the updated plan.

The strategies included in this survey will be further considered in the coming months and the updated plan will be released next spring.

Click here to learn more about climate action in Bend.