Home Energy Savings (HES)
Energy efficiency and energy conservation are highly effective means of reducing CO2 emissions and saving money on utility bills. The HES team promotes no-cost energy assessments, encourages the completion of energy assessment follow-up work, and provides information about weatherization, energy equipment rebates, high efficiency appliances, and energy conservation measures.
Read more about the HES Team
Learn how you can help the HES Team
Community Electricity Aggregation (CEA)
Green Needham’s CEA team continues the work Green Needham began with its January 2022 report to the Select Board requesting them to enter into a CEA contract for Needham. Learn more about it below. If you’re interested in updates, or would like to be involved as we move forward, join our CEA team. We will be providing education, outreach and advocacy in support of the Town’s progress through the CEA process.
Read more about the CEA Team
Learn how you can help the CEA Team
Living Green in Needham
How can I reduce the amount of energy I use in my home? Where can I get information about Electric Vehicles (EVs)? Where can I donate a used bicycle? How do I get a commuter rail ticket? Where can I buy locally grown food? The Living Green team has created an on-line compendium of useful information and “green living” tips specific to Needham. Volunteers research topics such as Energy at Home, “Greening” Your Electricity, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Food/Diet, Enjoying Nature, and others. Contact Eleanor Rosellini to find out how you can help.
Visit the Living Green pages
Learn how you can help the Living Green Team
Parking Canopies
Installing solar parking canopies is a visible step toward increasing our use of renewable energy, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, supporting Massachusetts jobs and moving toward the statutory commitments of the Global Warming Solutions act and the committed goal of statewide net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Green Needham’s Parking Canopy team is working on bringing a parking canopy installation(s) to Needham, either at a school, or in one of the town’s parking lot.
Read more about the Parking Canopy team
Learn how you can help the Parking Canopy Team
Toward Zero Waste
Green Needham’s Toward Zero Waste initiative works to use the “five R’s”– refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then recycle – to address problems of waste. We are focused initially on three areas we believe can have the greatest impact and benefit locally – food, community-wide recycling and reduce/reuse.
Read more about the Zero Waste Team
Visit the Living Green Zero Waste Pages
Plastic Waste Reduction
Green Needham’s Plastic Waste Reduction team has restarted the effort to reduce plastic shopping bag waste in Needham. In early 2018, the Select Board unanimously approved a policy that requested stores of over 3,500 square feet in size to voluntarily discontinue providing single-use plastic shopping bags to customers. We were grateful that the stores complied with the policy. However, over time, some of these large retailers in Needham shifted back to either using the thin single-use plastic bag or began offering the thicker form of bags.
Read more about the Plastic Waste Reduction team
Learn how you can help the Plastic Waste Reduction Team
Climate Action Plan (CAP)
Needham’s Climate Action Plan Committee (CAPC) was formed in March 2022 and is charged with guiding the Town’s development of a Climate Action Plan, a tool, or roadmap, for how Needham can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen its resilience to climate change.
Read more about Needham’s Climate Action Plan
Ask the Expert
Green Needham’s “Ask the Expert” initiative gives Needham residents free, objective advice about clean energy technologies for homeowner projects that save energy and money and reduce their carbon footprint.
Click here if you need help from our Ask the Expert Team?
Read more about the Ask the Expert Team and learn how you can get more involved with the Ask the Expert Team
Recyclopedia Needham
One component of Green Needham’s “Toward Zero Waste” is to educate the public about ways to donate and repurpose unneeded, but perfectly usable household items, so that they are kept out of the trash. Recyclopedia Needham is our resource that supports that effort. We need volunteers to help us keep our Recyclopedia up-to-date. Contact Eleanor Rosellini to find out how you can help.
Community Education
Green Needham provides information about environmental issues and legislation through our website, newsletter and blog. We also organize presentations and film showings, appear at community events, and support programs in the Needham Public Schools. In Nov. 2018, we hosted a well attended “Go Green Needham” Expo.
