Does Burlington Live up to Its 'Green' Reputation?

Burlington’s bike path. Image source here

 Since arriving in Burlington earlier this year I have been impressed by the number of options when it comes to alternative transportation. The most ubiquitous option is the City’s expansive bus system, Green Mountain Transit (GMT,) which has provided free service to anyone in Burlington since the COVID-19 pandemic. Burlington’s unique ability to provide free transit for its citizens is almost unheard of in cities this size. This also has a significant impact on the City’s carbon output, by providing citizens with an alternative to commuting via personal vehicle. 

Perhaps Burlington’s biggest claim to sustainability is that it is the first city in the United States to draw 100% of its power from renewable resources. This includes an array of solar panels, hydroelectric power from the Winooski River, and a group of wind turbines near the Georgia Mountains.1 This is an incredible feat for any city and Burlington plans to continue their efforts in order to create a more environmentally friendly system that works for its citizens. 

Future sustainability plans for Burlington can be found in their Climate Action Plan (CAP,) which is a “strategic framework for measuring, planning, and reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and related climatic impacts.”2 Burlington’s CAP contains information on the City’s current and planned carbon emissions, the impacts of climate change on Vermont, and over 200 mitigation strategies to reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced within the City. 2 . 

Another notable effort toward sustainability within Burlington is its Conservation Legacy Fund (CLF,) which was discussed at a recent, public, Conservation Board meeting that I attended earlier this month. The CLF aims to protect wildlife by providing funding to three different sectors within Burlington: acquisition and planning, land stewardship, and Nature Based Solutions (NBS.) The CLF’s $500k balance will be distributed to those three sectors based on a split that is decided on by the attendees of the public meeting. This level of public influence on sustainability practices that Burlington has been afforded is another example of its willingness to provide a more sustainable environment for its citizens.

 In summation, from its free busing to its absence of carbon emissions, Burlington is one of America’s most environmentally sustainable cities. The City is able to do this because of its unique passion for sustainability which has been shown by its leadership as well as the communities within the City. Coming from Charlotte, North Carolina, I was conditioned to have a completely different view of how a city should treat its citizens as well as its natural environment. Burlington has changed my perspective completely and has shown me that citizen engagement should be at the cornerstone of policy and that a city with enough determination can make unprecedented progress when there is a system in place that respects civic input and strives to better the city. Ultimately, I have been pleasantly surprised at every turn with the lengths that Burlington has been willing to go to in order to provide greener alternatives and provide them equitably throughout the City.