St. Pete's Commitment

Print this page

Success Through Sustainability

The City of St. Petersburg is committed to delivering progressive, sustainable policies and effective programs to address city environmental, economic, and social challenges. For the better part of the last fifteen years, St. Pete has been making strides toward sustainability. 

In 2008 the City was recognized by the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) as the first "Green City" in Florida. 

In 2015, The Office of Sustainability & Resiliency (OSR) was created. OSR works with other executive offices, the City Council Health, Energy, Resiliency and Sustainability (HERS) Committee, City departments, businesses, and the community to develop innovative environmental solutions that foster equity, vibrant communities and shared prosperity. 

In 2018, St. Pete joined the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition. At least 24 jurisdictions in the Tampa Bay area formed the coalition to coordinate climate adaptation and mitigation activities across county lines, and to advance local and regional responses to and preparations for economic and social disruption due to the climate crisis.

Additionally, the City has joined hundreds of other cities around the country in committing to addressing the climate crisis through greenhouse gas emissions reductions. 

The City is part of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate Change – Chicago Climate Charter, America’s Pledge and the Carbon Disclosure Project, We Are Still In, and Ready for 100. 

American Cities Climate Challenge

The American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC) is an opportunity for 25 cities to significantly deepen and accelerate their efforts to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future for their residents.

As one of the ACCC winners, St. Pete was accepted into a two-year acceleration program with powerful new resources and access to cutting-edge support to help the City meet or beat the goal to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 20% by December 2020.

A 4-STAR Community & LEED Certified City

With the help of community members and partners, the City of St. Petersburg conducted sustainability assessments in 2016 and 2019 to evaluate the City’s progress in a wide range of sustainability objectives. St. Pete progressed from a 3-STAR Community in 2016 (View the 2016 STAR Certification Results Report) to 4-STAR Community in 2019. After three years of momentum in projects, programs, and policies, St. Pete showed improvement in every goal area.