What we do

The City of Asheville has a strong record and long-standing commitment to sustainability. The Sustainability Department was created in 2008 to integrate sustainable design, technology, and practice into municipal operations, infrastructure, and services. The Sustainability Department is responsible for incorporating City Council’s Strategic Goals and City Resolutions pertaining to sustainability within the organization.



Doing the Work

Listed below are the plans, assessments, and policies that guide the work of the Sustainability Department.

Guiding Documents

Policies


Asheville Community Carbon Footprint

In 2021 the Sustainability Department worked with a student from the Lenoir Rhyne Masters of Sustainability Studies program to measure the carbon footprint of the city at large. The carbon emissions from 2019 for the city of Asheville are summed up in this infographic.

Text only version


Community Partners

The Sustainability Department partners with the following local nonprofits to implement community programs:


Related Services

Information about disposing of large or unusual items such as furniture, household hazardous waste, or appliances. As well as instructions for brush, leaves, or Christmas trees.

Information on what can be recycled, how to prepare items for collection, and composting.

Related Projects

electrify buncombe logo

Electrify ABC

Electrify Asheville-Buncombe County is a pilot program supporting home energy efficiency and electrification upgrades as one way to move toward the City supported goal of powering Buncombe county with 100% renewable energy by 2042.

Elevate AVL

Elevate AVL engagement agents and advisory committee members are working with community members to co-create resources and strategies to build neighborhood resilience. The project seeks to learn from Asheville communities to inform neighborhood-led and city-supported initiatives to develop shared resources and ideas to thrive in a changing climate. 

two women sitting on a park bench, one holds a reusable water bottle, the other holds a styrofoam cup

Less Plastic Asheville

This City of Asheville is launching the Less Plastic Asheville Challenge to encourage residents to reduce their consumption of single-use plastics. The campaign has two key features, a social media challenge called Less Plastic Bingo and a Pass on Plastic Pledge.

Sustainability News

text over emergency lights that says September is Emergency Preparedness Month

September is Emergency Preparedness Month: Blue skies actions help to build resiliency for neighborhoods and families

As changes in climate continue to impact our local weather patterns, the Asheville region expects more frequent and more intense weather events. There are actions we can take individually and as a community that will help build our resilience during emergency events and that will also support in “blue skies” times.  Blue-skies actions, meaning the good [...]