City of Bloomington Shares the Community-wide 2022 Greenhouse Gas Inventory

As part of the City’s commitment to climate action, the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development completed an updated community-wide greenhouse gas inventory, which includes emissions from 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The inventory was presented to the City Council on August 9, 2023, by City staff and Gnarly Tree Sustainability Institute, who collaborated with the City on the inventory.

The City of Bloomington completed its first standardized greenhouse gas inventory aligned with the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC) standard in 2018, as a significant stride towards completing the recommended actions laid out in the City’s 2018 Sustainability Action Plan . Since the 2018 inventory, the City has continued to strive towards upholding its commitment to sustainability with a number of initiatives, including passing the official Climate Action Plan in 2021, and setting community-wide emissions reductions targets. As a member of the Global Covenant of Mayors, and as annual reporters to Climate Disclosure Project, the City continues to uphold its commitment to updating the community-wide inventory at a minimum every four years, ensuring accountability and transparency to climate action. 

“This update celebrates and reflects what we have achieved together, and it also reminds us that we are just getting started. As a leader in municipal climate action, Bloomington looks forward to serious collaborative work ahead, and hopes all of our planet’s communities can innovate, share, and inspire action for the health and long-term sustainability of our world” said Mayor Hamilton. “Let’s keep the momentum going.”

With the 2018 inventory serving as our emissions baseline, the City committed in 2021 to reducing its emissions 25% by 2030, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The City is happy to report that the overall trend of community-wide emissions is on a downward trajectory, and continues to decrease despite population increasing. Serving as the first update to the inventory since the emissions reductions goals were set, the 2022 inventory provides critical guidance on sectors in the community that would benefit the most from sustainability investments. Along with serving as an indicator of community-wide success towards reduction goals, the inventory also provides new insights into the impacts on the community of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As part of the City’s continued commitment to sustainability excellence, City staff announced to Council, along with the 2023 inventory, the anticipated 2024 launch of a Climate Action Dashboard which will allow residents to interact with the Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Inventory on a more consistent and transparent basis. The dashboard will provide a more intuitive way for residents to engage with the City’s progress and initiatives, while acting as a hub for resources, tips, and information on climate action in Bloomington. 

Access to the recorded council presentation, along with a copy of the 2022 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report and a list of answers to FAQs, is available at bton.in/o8vyt. Any questions regarding the inventory can be directed to sustain@bloomington.in.gov.