City of Madison Recognized for Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

On September 5, 2025, the City of Madison received two 2025 Dane County Climate Champion awards, recognizing significant progress toward key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The awards highlight the city’s commitment to climate action, sustainable energy, and innovative infrastructure.

• Catalyst Category: Awarded for the Building Energy Savings Program (BESP).
• Fleet Operations Category: Awarded for the Fleet Service Division’s use of renewable diesel.

Building Energy Savings Program (BESP): Advancing Sustainable Urban Development

Program Overview and Impact

The BESP initiative addresses energy efficiency in large commercial buildings, a critical component of urban sustainability. In 2023, Madison was the first city in Wisconsin to enact an ordinance targeting energy performance in existing structures. This program directly supports the goal of creating resilient and sustainable urban environments.

• Projected Emission Reduction: An estimated 91,000 tons of CO₂ annually upon full implementation.
• Comparative Impact: Equivalent to removing nearly 18,000 passenger vehicles from the road.
• Current Participation: Over 397 buildings are currently enrolled, with an additional 400 expected to join in 2026.
• Strategic Focus: The program targets buildings, which account for 65% of the community’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): The program directly addresses urban environmental impact by targeting the largest source of community emissions, fostering a more sustainable city.
• SDG 13 (Climate Action): BESP provides a tangible strategy for climate change mitigation through significant, measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
• SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy): By mandating and facilitating energy benchmarking and tune-ups, the program promotes a substantial improvement in energy efficiency, a key target of SDG 7.
• SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): The program’s success is built on a public-private partnership model, collaborating with commercial building owners to achieve shared sustainability objectives.

Fleet Service Division: Innovating for Clean Energy and Climate Action

Transition to Renewable Diesel

The Fleet Service Division was recognized for its strategic transition to renewable diesel, an innovative approach to reducing emissions from municipal operations without requiring costly infrastructure overhauls. This initiative serves as a transitional strategy while the market for heavy-duty electric vehicles matures.

• Program Scale: In 2025, the city purchased 95,000 gallons of renewable diesel.
• Fleet Composition: The division manages approximately 1,300 assets, including 130 full electric and 173 hybrid vehicles.
• Deployment: Over 385 of the city’s 500 diesel vehicles, operating across nine municipal departments, have successfully run on renewable diesel.
• Application: The fuel is critical for reducing emissions from the largest, most demanding vehicles, ensuring essential services continue with a lower carbon footprint.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 13 (Climate Action): The use of renewable diesel directly reduces carbon emissions from the municipal fleet, contributing to the city’s climate action targets.
• SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy): This initiative represents a significant step in increasing the share of renewable energy in the city’s fuel consumption portfolio.
• SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): The program demonstrates an innovative approach to building resilient and sustainable infrastructure by adopting new fuel technologies that work with existing assets.
• SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): By decarbonizing municipal services, the Fleet Division helps reduce the overall environmental impact of the city’s operations.

Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

Detailed Explanation

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The article directly addresses this goal through initiatives aimed at improving energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy. The Building Energy Savings Program focuses on reducing energy consumption in buildings, and the Fleet Service Division’s adoption of renewable diesel increases the share of clean fuels in the city’s transport sector.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The actions described are city-level policies implemented by the City of Madison to create a more sustainable urban environment. The focus on reducing emissions from buildings and transportation, which are major sources of urban pollution, directly contributes to making the city more resilient and environmentally friendly.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – This goal is relevant as the city is actively promoting more sustainable consumption patterns for energy. By improving building energy efficiency and transitioning its fleet to renewable fuels, Madison is working towards the efficient use of natural resources and reducing its carbon footprint.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – This is the central theme of the article. The City of Madison’s programs are explicit climate change mitigation measures. The article highlights the “Dane County Climate Action Plan” and details specific actions, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and vehicles, which are crucial for combating climate change at the local level.

What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Detailed Explanation

1. Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article shows progress towards this target through the Fleet Service Division’s adoption of renewable diesel, a sustainable fuel product. The purchase of “roughly 95,000 gallons” is a direct action to increase the share of renewable energy in the city’s vehicle fleet.
2. Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. The Building Energy Savings Program (BESP) is a direct initiative to improve energy efficiency in large commercial buildings through benchmarking and tune-ups, aligning perfectly with this target.
3. Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities. The article details efforts to reduce the city’s primary source of greenhouse gas emissions (65% from buildings) and emissions from its vehicle fleet. These actions directly address the city’s overall environmental impact.
4. Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The article provides a local example of this target in action. The City of Madison is implementing specific programs (BESP, fleet transition) as part of the broader “Dane County Climate Action Plan,” demonstrating the integration of climate measures into local government strategy and planning.

Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Detailed Explanation

• CO₂ Emission Reduction: The article explicitly states that the Building Energy Savings Program is “expected to reduce emissions by as much as 91,000 tons of CO₂ each year.” This is a direct quantitative indicator for measuring progress on climate action (SDG 13) and reducing the environmental impact of the city (SDG 11).
• Renewable Fuel Consumption: The mention of purchasing “roughly 95,000 gallons” of renewable diesel in 2025 serves as a clear indicator of the uptake of renewable energy in the transport sector, relevant to measuring progress towards SDG 7.2.
• Number of Participating Units: The article notes that “more than 397 buildings have participated in the program, with nearly 400 more joining in 2026.” This serves as a process indicator for the implementation and scaling of the energy efficiency program (SDG 7.3).
• Number of Vehicles Using Renewable Fuel: The statement that “more than 385 [diesel vehicles] have run on renewable diesel” is a specific indicator of the scale of the fleet’s transition to cleaner fuels (SDG 7.2).
• Existence of Climate Policies and Plans: The article’s reference to the “Dane County Climate Action Plan” and the city’s “fleet transition strategy” are qualitative indicators that integrated policies for climate action are established and being implemented, which is relevant to SDG 13.2.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

Source: cityofmadison.com