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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2018 ATM Article 7: Appropriate for Advice and Analysis — Getting to Net Zero Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $40,000 GF Approve (9-0) Background This is the third of three requests for funding of the Net Zero Task Force, with the goal of exploring ways to reduce over 25 years the energy consumption of all municipal, residential and commercial/industrial buildings in Lexington to achieve "net zero" emissions. The process envisions four steps: • Report—Assessment of building performance • Reduce—Energy efficiency improvements • Produce—Maximize onsite renewable energy • Purchase—Buy renewable energy Previously, $40,000 was appropriated under Article 16 of the 2016 Annual Town Meeting, and $40,000 under Article 17 of the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. Of these appropriations, $70,000 will have been spent before the start of the 2018 Annual Town Meeting, with the balance of$10,000 available for use in FY2019 without requiring appropriation. This year, an additional $40,000 is requested to augment the previous appropriations. Progress In 2016, a stakeholder group was assembled, consisting of a diverse group of members, including a cur- rent and a former Selectman, members of the Sustainable Lexington Committee, a School Committee member, architects, real estate owners, and a representative of Shire, Inc. The Peregrine Energy Group was retained to prepare a Lexington energy-use and emissions assessment, and the Integral Group/SPI was hired to facilitate task force meetings, to assess options, and to recommend strategies for reducing emissions. In 2017, the Peregrine Group assessment of energy use and emissions was presented to Town Meeting. A report on best practices and opportunities for reducing building emissions has been prepared by the Inte- gral Group/SPI, and will be presented to the Board of Selectmen at some time after the Annual Town Meeting. This report takes as a starting point a similar report prepared by the City of Cambridge at the much higher cost of approximately$250,000. The requested appropriation will fund the development by the Peregrine Group of a tool for use in track- ing the Town energy usage annually. This tracking tool is essential for measuring the effective impact of Town policy changes related to reducing carbon emissions. Discussion As we have noted in our previous year's report, given the great magnitude of the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change,the investigation of methods for reducing emissions from buildings in Lex- ington is timely and important.While funding requests needed to implement some of the upcoming Task Force recommendations cannot yet be estimated, and will have to be individually considered, this Net Zero investigation will serve to recommend building construction policy changes, as well as practical ways to reduce emissions stemming from building energy consumption,while tracking overall progress towards the Net Zero goal. The Committee recommends approval of this request(9-0). 25