Students from Chapman’s Schmid College of Science and Technology had the opportunity to produce a sustainability plan for the City of Orange during the 2024 spring semester. The plan identifies sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the city and provides methods to reduce emissions in the future.

This is the first step for the city in working towards a more sustainable way forward. Key findings from the report show that greenhouse gas emissions were evenly distributed among residential, commercial and industrial zones. The students recommended education and incentive programs for clean energy, charging stations for electric vehicles, household composting workshops and incentivizing tree planting in urban areas.

The plan outlines how extreme weather is already impacting the city, including flash flooding and the closure of public parks due to intense rainfall. Flood risk is expected to increase with rising temperatures, according to the plan.

City leaders praised the students for providing a free plan that will help Orange mitigate or prevent the negative impacts of climate change. Typically, cities have to devote significant funds to consultants to develop a sustainability plan.

“I want to thank you for doing a sustainability plan for the city for free, saving the city money,” said Mayor Dan Slater. “Now that we have a sustainability plan, we can apply for grants that we couldn’t have before.”