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CLIMATE RESILIENCY EVENT
ADAPTING TO A CHANGING CLIMATE
Sustainability & Resilience
ADAPTING TO A CHANGING CLIMATE
Sustainability & Resilience
Sustainability and community resilience are distinct but deeply intertwined concepts:
Sustainability focuses on long-term stewardship. For example, managing natural resources wisely, reducing/eliminating negative environmental impacts (with a substantial focus on greenhouse gas reduction), enhancing economic and social well-being, and ensuring that the critical personal and community decisions we make today enable future generations to thrive. Adding grid-connected solar to your home is a good example of a sustainability action.
Community resilience, by contrast, is about adaptive capacity. For example, the village’s ability to adequately support the needs of residents and businesses in the wake of external shocks, such as an economic downturn, a severe weather event like a flood or tornado, and/or loss of one or more critical services such as water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, emergency response or even clean air. Adding solar to your home, along with a battery back-up that allows you to maintain power when your local grid goes down, is a good example of a resilience action.
Sustainability and resilience stand alone, and overlap. The key distinction is in orientation. Sustainability asks “are we living within our means over time?” while resilience asks “can we recover and adapt when things go wrong?” In practice, pursuing one almost always strengthens the other, making them more complementary goals than competing ones. For more examples of sustainability, resilience and shared-impact projects, see the Venn diagram below:
Sustainability
Sustainability
TRANSPORTATION
EV cars (w/ charging access)
EV school buses
Public transport
Limited air travel
Walking, biking when possible
ENERGY
Residential and commercial solar (electric and thermal)
Electrification (heat pumps for HVAC & water heating, cooking)
Renewable electricity sourcing (e.g., aggregation)
Electric yard equipment powered by renewables
Utility-scale solar (e.g., community solar)
EFFICIENCY
LED lights
programmable thermostat
efficient appliances
WATER
Water conservation
Rain barrels
FOOD
Plant-based diet
minimize food waste
locally-sourced food
WASTE & CONSUMPTION
Reduce-reuse-recycle
composting
Buy-nothing group
Bulk buying with less packaging
Avoid single-use items
LANDSCAPE
Plant native, pollinator-friendly plants
Prevent stormwater
Switch from gas to electric mowers
Overlap
Overlap
TRANSPORTATION
EV cars with 2-way charge/discharge to house/grid
EV school buses with 2-way charge/discharge to microgrid
Walkable & bikeable community
ENERGY
Residential and commercial solar with battery storage
Virtual power plant network (with peak shaving)
Utility-scale solar (e.g., community solar) microgrid with battery storage
Behind-the-meter power generation & storage for municipal utilities
EFFICIENCY
Energy efficient buildings (increasing comfort during power outages)
WATER
Rainwater harvesting
Flood mitigation
FOOD
Farmers markets
Local food hubs
LANDSCAPE
Native shade trees
Pollinator-friendly plants in bioswales
COMMUNITY
Educate, advocate, volunteer, and vote for sustainability & resiliency values
Resiliency
Resiliency
TRANSPORTATION
Emergency transportation plan for vulnerable residents
Alternate travel routes if primary routes flood or close
Fuel and EV charging reserves for first responders and essential vehicles
ENERGY
Backup generators for homes/businesses/water and sanitary facilities
Redundant power and natural gas utility lines
Underground utilities/line hardening
WATER
Emergency drinking water distribution points/stockpile
Backup wells/cisterns for critical facilities
Water quality monitoring and contamination response plan
FOOD
Emergency food reserve and distribution plan
Local food distribution network for disruptions
Community gardens
LANDSCAPE
Landscaping that reduces stormwater runoff
Healthy tree canopy
Erosion control and slope stabilization plantings
COMMUNITY
Identify top risks and develop a plan for each
Local heating/cooling centers
Resilient backup communication network
Emergency response training and drills
SMART PLANNING
Climate Action + Emergency Prep
SMART PLANNING
Climate Action + Emergency Prep
Trading a gas mower for a battery-powered electric one is a solid investment in living more sustainably. And when you pair the mower's battery with a portable power station/inverter, your household becomes more climate resilient, too. During a power outage, the mower battery and inverter can be used charge phones, run a fan, or keep a fridge cold without running a noisy, polluting generator.
CONTACT US
Go Green. Get Involved.
CONTACT US
Go Green. Get Involved.
Interested in getting more involved with sustainability & climate resiliency initiatives in Granville? Would you like to nominate a resident or business for a Sustainability Spotlight on the website? Want to connect with Go Green Granville leaders? Please use the form below or email us at: hello@gogreengranville.org
We'd love to hear from you!
Granville Land Lab | photo by Susan King
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