Letter to the Editor: An Urgent Appeal that Bedford Hire a Sustainability Director

~ By Karen Willson for Mothers Out Front

I recently learned that the Bedford Select Board will decide whether to add a Sustainability Director to the FY23 town budget starting with their January 24th meeting. With Mothers Out Front, a grassroots non-profit organization of mothers and others inspired by the urgent need to act meaningfully on climate, I am writing to make an urgent appeal that Bedford hire a Sustainability Director.

Our town and state have set goals to reduce fossil fuel emissions to net zero. Doesn’t it make sense to get started as soon as possible? The key to a timely and cost-effective transition to town-wide net zero fossil fuel emissions is to have a dedicated town employee working across town departments and committees with businesses and residents focused on this mission – a Sustainability Director.

Twenty-two eastern Massachusetts towns and cities, including Lexington, Concord, Arlington, Lincoln, Winchester, Newton, Weston, Wellesley, Boston, and Cambridge already employ Sustainability Directors.

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Towns with Sustainability Directors report that through savings from increased efficiency and through an influx of grant money, their Sustainability Directors produce a financial net gain for the town, in the range of $92,000 to $912,000 annually. That’s a huge return on investment. The town of Natick, for example, has saved an astounding $500,000 annually since 2019 on energy costs. Millions of dollars in state and federal funding to mitigate and adapt to climate change will become available in the coming years, including through the recently passed federal infrastructure law. We need a Sustainability Director who is an expert grant writer to take advantage of this funding to meet Bedford’s specific sustainability goals.

I ask that my Bedford neighbors join me in urging the Select Board to lead on this issue and to add a full-time Sustainability Director position to the FY23 budget so that we can begin comprehensively reducing fossil fuel emissions as soon as possible. The children of our community are counting on us to leave them a livable climate. We can’t afford not to act.

(Wondering how to email the Select Board? Go to bedfordma.gov > Boards/Committees > Select Board. Scroll down to the list of Board Members and click “Select Board” to open a message template. Quick and easy!)

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Eileen F. Allen
January 23, 2022 12:59 pm

Establishing a Sustainability Director for the town of Bedford would be a logical step in the right direction towards safeguarding our environment for our sake and that of generations to come. We support this and hope that the Select Board will likewise give it their utmost consideration.
Eileen & Nick Allen

Karen D Willson
January 23, 2022 9:01 am

The financial benefit to the town of having a Sustainability Director is not limited to savings on energy costs and obtaining grant money for initiatives. Sustainability initiatives, such as improving Bedford’s preparedness for extreme storms, are risk reduction measures which are viewed favorably by bond rating agencies.

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