Initiatives

To better coordinate our response to climate change, reduce harmful emissions, and chart a more resilient future, the City of Des Moines is developing a community-wide climate action and adaptation plan.
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The City of Des Moines has a focus on sustainability. It is a part of many strategic efforts. You'll find examples of our efforts below.

Think Green This Spring

Des Moines is starting to bloom! When making plans or learning how to beautify your landscape and restore the ecosystem at your home or business this season, join us to “Think Green This Spring.”

The City recently kicked off this new sustainability initiative to help residents tap into our plentiful resources and programs available to nurture delicate pollinator habitats, expand the tree canopy, plant native grasses and flowers, build rain gardens, restore soil, grow urban food supplies and more.

To connect you to City programs, resources and events, download the City’s “Think Green This Spring” digital guide for strategies from Des Moines’ sustainability plan, ADAPT DSM, as well as the Parks and Recreation Department and the Public Works Department’s Forestry Division. There are also a number of late April and May events to learn more about Monarch butterflies, share perennials, pick up tree starters, visit with our ADAPT DSM staff and select native plants. Follow us on our social channels for more information.

Sustainability Efforts in GuideDSM

• Establish a Citizen’s Taskforce on Sustainability
• Identified a need for a sustainability plan
• Walkability Study (Connect Downtown)
• Evaluation on our aging housing stock and a revitalization plan (underway)
• Implement the City’s complete streets policy (East Grand Avenue Pilot Project)
• Be a 5 STAR Community

Sustainability Efforts in PlanDSM

• Public Infrastructure
  • Goal 2: Evaluate capacity for implementation and adaptation to GI
  • Goal 3: Reduce the consumption of energy in City owned buildings.

  City Energy Project

  Des Moines joined Phase II of the City Energy Project in 2017. Now one of 20 cities across the US to develop a plan around measuring and reducing energy through benchmarking, challenge programs, and policy.

  • Des Moines will be measuring the City’s impact
    • Staff has benchmarked 30 City buildings, will be partnering with the local utility to assess provide building tune-ups to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.
    • Review of existing vehicle fleet, street lights and traffic lights, and other systems that draw from the grid will also be updated

    Des Moines Benchmarking Ordinance

    the Des Moines City Council passed on June 3, 2019, the Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance requiring owners of buildings 25,000 sq. ft or larger to benchmark their energy and water usage.

    Des Moines continues to be certified each year under the national LEED for Cities program. Our hope is to see progress in Climate & Energy and the other goal areas as our community comes together to combine our resources and really measure our community-wide impact on creating a sustainable community.

    The City has also initiated or been involved in several efforts around energy and sustainability:
    • Partnered with the Downtown Community Alliance to incorporate recycling into our downtown to enhance our waste minimization goals.
    • Completed a tree inventory to help identify the health of our tree canopy, and locate areas to plant new trees. We maintain over 40,000 trees. In one year, these trees.
      • Prevent 53 million gal. of water from entering storm sewers, enough to fill 80 Olympic size pools.
      • Eliminate 18.7 million lbs of CO2 from the air, the equivalent of removing 1,792 cars from our roads.
      • Save 6.3 million kilowatt-hours of energy by providing shade, the same amount of energy used to power 468 homes.
      • Absorb 60,000 lbs of pollutants from the air
      • This equals $4.5 million+ in annual environmental benefits

      Citizens Taskforce on Sustainability

      Website: www.sustainabledsm.com

      Community Contact: Carolyn Ulenhake Walker carolynruw@gmail.com

      
      Meeting Dates: 3rd Wednesday of the Month
      Meeting Time: 5:30 PM

      Meeting Location: 3106 Ingersoll Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312 and Zoom

      MidAmerican Energy Franchise Agreement

      The City of Des Moines is working with MidAmerican Energy Company to deliver clean energy to residents and facilitate progress toward the City’s clean energy and carbon reduction goals.

      • Joint Clean Energy Statement of Intent to Cooperate
      • Electric Franchise Ordinance
      • Gas Franchise Ordinance