Sustainability in the Community

Much of Sherborn’s appeal comes from the abundance of natural resources and its rural heritage. Over half the town is undeveloped open space: there is town-owned forest, conservation land, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation areas widely accessible for the public through an extensive trail network. 

Climate change threatens these resources, making the preservation of Sherborn’s varied native habitats increasingly important for restoring or maintaining ecological diversity while increasing climate resilience. Sherborn is projected to experience more rain, flooding, droughts, extreme heat, high winds in the next decades— all of which impact public health, safety, and the future for our children. A sustainable and resilient Sherborn means preserving our valued resources today and preparing for the impacts of tomorrow.

Do you know the sources contributing to the town’s carbon emissions? According to Sherborn’s community-wide Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 44% come from riding our cars, and 42% from heating, cooling, and powering our homes. Learn more.

Sherborn’s Energy Committee has been actively engaged in several community-wide projects to enhance our sustainability. For example, Sherborn is in the process of bringing choice to our homeowner’s electricity supply, called Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). Aggregation is a regulated process by which municipalities can purchase electricity supply in bulk for all households and small businesses, increasing the choices for renewable energy, providing price stability, and potentially saving cost, although savings cannot be guaranteed. 

Other community-wide sustainability projects include: converting town streetlights to more efficient and lower cost LEDs, grant proposals to improve the energy efficiency in town buildings and properties, working with neighboring towns to improve climate resiliency in the Charles River Watershed, among others.