Overview of Washington DC's Sustainability Plan and On-Going Updates
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The Sustainable DC Plan is the plan of the Washington, DC government to make the city the healthiest, greenest, most livable city for all residents. Sustainability is about balancing the environmental, economic, and social needs of the District of Columbia today as well as the needs of the next generation, and the one after that.
Sustainable DC covers 13 topics: governance, equity, built environment, climate, economy, education, energy, food, health, nature, transportation, waste, and water. Each topic is organized into distinct goals, targets, and actions. Goals are big picture, overarching ambitions. Each goal usually has four or five quantitative targets. Actions explain how the District will reach each of the targets. To develop Sustainable DC 2.0, conversations were held with over 2,000 residents, with thousands more surveyed through the planning process.
Now due for its next update, the Department of Energy and Environment and the Office of Planning are working to carry forward the valuable input received during the 2.0 engagement process and enhance the equity aspects and quantitative rigor in what will be Sustainable DC 3.0.
Oana Leahu-Aluas, DOEE Sustainability Program Analyst, will provide an overview of DC’s sustainability plan, including progress to date, opportunity areas, and initiatives in the works with updates into the third iteration of the sustainability plan, currently under development.
About the Speakers
Oana Leahu-Aluas, Sustainability Program Analyst, Department of Energy and Environment in DC
Oana Leahu-Aluas is a Sustainability Program Analyst with the Department of Energy and Environment in DC. In this role, she coordinates implementation of and tracks progress on the District’s sustainability plan, Sustainable DC 2.0. She previously worked in environmental consulting, materials management, and energy efficiency. Oana holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA in Global Environmental Policy from American University.
Connor Rattey, Program Analyst, Department of Energy and Environment in DC
Connor Rattey is a program analyst in the DC Department of Energy & Environment’s Urban Sustainability Administration. He has been with DOEE since 2021, where he has worked to advance the District’s green building priorities through the development review process, innovation grants, and inter-agency collaboration. Connor works closely with the DC Commission on Climate Change & Resiliency and the Green Building Advisory Council, which has been at the forefront of net-zero energy and embodied carbon policy in the District.
Whew. I know it’s only February, but it’s been a long year! Do you feel that way sometimes? Or does everything always go as planned? I am sure, more likely than most, it’s the former as opposed to the latter. And you know what? That’s ok.
This sporadic feeling of being overwhelmed makes me think back to a busy time when, seemingly out of the blue, one of my mentors asked me, “Do you know how to eat an elephant?" Seeing how puzzled I was, he quickly responded, “One bite at a time.” And that is what we do as engineers. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other, we take small chunks out of the seemingly enormous tasks set out in front of us, until we have fully and completely tackled them and built something with purpose and value.
That is what we plan to do this year with your section, too. We’ve received your input and will be slowly implementing lasting changes in regard to how your section runs. It won’t happen instantaneously, but we will continue to work on these tasks, with your help, until we’ve tackled this elephant together. Next month I will clue you into some of the changes you are going to help us implement.
So, my last little quip… Remember to take it easy on yourself. You are doing a lot. People see the effort you are putting forth. Trust that you will make it to the finish line - even if it doesn’t occur as originally planned. It is easy to get overwhelmed if you forget that. We, your section friends, know you can do it and we are here to help.
The National Capital Section encourages you to browse through content on this site to get a feel for how we can be of value to you through our educational, networking, and leadership development opportunities for civil engineers in our region.
Here are some resources to get you started:
Click the links for our Recent Section Meetings listed below. These are educational events allowing you to earn a Professional Development Hour that counts toward your PE license renewal requirement. We hold eight Section Meetings each year. Our Reston Branch holds eight Branch Meetings each year. Both Section and Branch meetings have returned to in-person over catered dinner (Section) and lunch (Branch). These had been conducted online since March 2020 but have reverted to in-person meetings. Our technical committees, such as architecture, transportation, construction, among others, host additional meetings.
Read our monthly newsletter, issued eight times a year. Locate them in the NCS Newsletters module located toward the middle, on the right sidebar of this page. These serve as a window to our world and the people behind the activities we undertake.
If you're ready to engage with us and wish to learn more, to volunteer your time, or to run for office as a technical committee leader or a Section/Branch board member, reach out to our President by selecting Board of Directors under Contact Us, then click the President's name, open the Contact Form to email your message.
Welcome to the website of the National Capital Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a professional society for civil engineers. ASCE was founded in 1852, represents 130,000 members of the civil engineering professional worldwide, and is America's oldest national engineering society.
The National Capital Section was founded in 1916 and currently has more than 3,100 members. The section is located in Region 2 (link to region 2: http://region2.asce.org/). The National Capital Section serves the District of Columbia; the counties of Montgomery and Prince Georges in Maryland, except College Park in Prince Georges County; the counties of Fairfax and Arlington, and City of Alexandria in Virginia. The National Capital Section's mission includes:
To advance the professional knowledge and improve the practice of civil engineering for our members and those we serve.
To advocate for our profession with those whose actions affect us, and to educate those whose actions and responsibilities could benefit from a better understanding of the contributions of civil engineers.
To improve our community through effective community outreach programs, local involvement and educational efforts.