Sustainability Committee (formerly known as Energy Action Committee)

The goal of the Sustainability Committee is to take action and make recommendations to improve sustainability and energy efficiency throughout the Town of Pound Ridge. For the purposes of the Committee, sustainability involves long-term goals and programs that facilitate a healthier environment for all residents. Through programs and grants the Committee strives to reduce the carbon footprint, fossil fuel dependencies, and lower energy bills for residents of Pound Ridge.

The Committee is currently promoting ongoing programs including:

• FREE Home Energy Audits to identify ways to make your home more efficient to save energy and money from reduced utility costs (https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Residential-Energy-Assessment-Pr...)
• Bedford 2030's FREE energy coach to help answer your home and building energy questions (https://bedford2030.org/energy-coach/)
• NYS energy efficiency programs  https://sustainablewestchester.org/energysmarthomes/energy-efficiency/
• Clean Heating/Cooling incentives and rebates for more energy efficient air source heat pumps (ASHP) and ground source heat pumps (GSHP)  https://cleanheat.ny.gov/find-available-rebates/
• Solar installation incentives/rebates and financing options (NYSERDA, NY State, Federal)
• Solar and energy storage systems as an alternative to a generator
• Sustainable Westchester’s Community Solar program to take advantage of solar savings without installing panels (https://sustainablewestchester.org/solar/ )
• Rebates and incentives for Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) and Electric vehicles (EV) and EV charging stations (NYSERDA, Federal)
• Continued collaboration with the Conservation Board and Climate Smart Task Force on attaining our next Climate Smart Community designation
• Continued participation in NYSERDA's Clean Energy Community program
• Increasing the town's walkability via an enhanced trail system, to reduce reliance on vehicles and curb emissions.

Past Sustainability Committee actions include:

• Tripling the amount of solar energy in Pound Ridge in three months through a highly successful Solarize campaign in partnership with the Town of Lewisboro (Spring 2017)
• Leading our Town into becoming a NYS Clean Energy Community with the ongoing support of the Conservation Board (Spring 2019)
• Collaborating with the Conservation Board to attain Bronze Level Climate Smart Community designation from NYS (Fall 2020)
• Advance residential energy efficiency through ongoing promotion of Energize Pound Ridge residential energy assessments and rebate programs. https://sustainablewestchester.org/energysmart-homes/
• Spurring the adoption of “Complete Streets” legislation to encourage a more walkable Pound Ridge.
• Introducing Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) to lower the cost and accessibility of renewably sourced electricity for Pound Ridge residents.   https://sustainablewestchester.org/wp/
• Spearheading Pound Ridge’s first Electric Vehicle Charging station in Scott’s Corners.  Funded by the Pound Ridge Partnership’s generous support and NYSERDA grant award, the new station will be a vital step into the future.  (2020/2021)
• Information sessions for residents about topics such as Westchester Power, solar, battery storage in lieu of generators, etc.
• Hosted the EV Zone at the Pound Ridge Car Show highlighting electric vehicles and allowing residents and visitors to see some EV models up close.

Current membership of the Sustainability Committee:
Jane Holmes
Lise Lamatia
Jamie Perna
Gayle Reichler, Co-Chair
Nicole Shaffer, Co-Chair
Sebastian Villaveces
Andrew Karpowich, Conservation Board Liaison
Dan Paschkes, Town Board Liaison

The Sustainability Committee currently has two openings. If you'd like to get involved in sustainability efforts in Pound Ridge, please reach out to one of the committee members or send a cover letter and your CV/resume to the Chief of Staff.