Sustainable Schools

MASSACHUSETTS  >  CONCORD  >  SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS

Our Goal: An Net Zero Middle School

Concord is in the process of designing a new middle school to replace two aging facilities. This is an opportunity for Concord to become a leader in energy efficient school design!

Mothers Out Front members and allies are advocating for a new middle school that is NET ZERO on opening day. A zero net energy building is an energy-efficient building that generates as much renewable energy as it uses annually. In order to meet our community-wide emissions reduction goals, our new middle school must be designed and built with enough solar capacity to produce as much energy as it consumes. Furthermore, we are working to ensure the building is all-electric, energy efficient, equipped with battery storage, and constructed with materials that have low embodied carbon.

Mothers Out Front knows that schools powered by renewable energy are safer, healthier, and smarter for our kids. That is why we’re pushing town officials to prioritize high sustainability standards in the new Middle School Building Project. Help us bring sustainable schools to our community by joining our Sustainable School Subcommittee!

JOIN US

Background

In 2017, the residents of Concord overwhelmingly passed a Town Meeting Article (Article 51) which committed the Town of Concord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 (from a 2008 baseline). The largest contributor to the Town’s greenhouse gas emissions is from the built environment (60%). In order to meet our emissions reduction goals, the Town of Concord must systematically replace and/or retrofit inefficient buildings with efficient ones.

In 2020, the Town of Concord released a Climate Action Plan that directed town officials to “set progressive sustainability standards for new municipal buildings and schools” and working to “achieve high sustainability standards including net zero energy, all-electric, and resilient design.”