City named climate action leader second year in a row

Published on June 10, 2025

Lakewood is one of a select group of cities internationally that have been recognized for its work on sustainability, climate change, resiliency and environmental transparency, demonstrating that local leadership drives climate innovation, infrastructure investment and economic opportunity.

Named to the 2024 CDP A list for the fourth time overall and second year in a row, Lakewood is among 112 cities across the globe and 29 in the U.S. to achieve this ranking. To earn an A, cities must publicly disclose their efforts through the climate reporting platform CDP-ICLEI Track and meet rigorous criteria, including having a citywide emissions inventory, a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and a published climate action plan. Earning this recognition is a significant achievement that reflects the highest standard of local climate leadership.

“I am extremely proud that Lakewood is among this prestigious list for the second consecutive year,” said Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom. “It highlights the depth of our commitment to ensuring that sustainability plays a central role in Lakewood’s ongoing story.”

Gov. Jared Polis recognized Lakewood recently as among the cities in the state to achieve this ranking along with Colorado, one of only two states on the A list.

Lakewood’s recent work includes the following projects:

Climate Hazard & Social Vulnerability Study: The city assessed 10 climate-related hazards and identified five top priorities: hailstorms, extreme heat, extreme cold, flooding and wildfires. The study also incorporated a detailed equity index to understand how social factors such as age, income, language and disability affect community members’ ability to respond to climate events and identify who may need targeted support to increase resilience. The final report is available online.

The city assessed 10 climate-related hazards and identified five top priorities: hailstorms, extreme heat, extreme cold, flooding and wildfires. The study also incorporated a detailed equity index to understand how social factors such as age, income, language and disability affect community members’ ability to respond to climate events and identify who may need targeted support to increase resilience. The final report is available online. Whitlock Recreation Center Solar Installation: Lakewood is designing and constructing its first on-site solar installation at the Whitlock Recreation Center. The rooftop and parking canopy solar project will offset 100 percent of the center’s expected electricity use.

Lakewood is designing and constructing its first on-site solar installation at the Whitlock Recreation Center. The rooftop and parking canopy solar project will offset 100 percent of the center’s expected electricity use. Sustainable Development Standards: These standards create more opportunities for new projects to achieve the community’s adopted vision and goals for greenhouse gas emissions, waste diversion and community benefits. Projects can achieve these standards through measures such as all-electric buildings, solar energy systems, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and recycling/composting services. These standards have been in place since 2019 and updated in 2022.

These standards create more opportunities for new projects to achieve the community’s adopted vision and goals for greenhouse gas emissions, waste diversion and community benefits. Projects can achieve these standards through measures such as all-electric buildings, solar energy systems, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and recycling/composting services. These standards have been in place since 2019 and updated in 2022. Communitywide and Municipal GHG Emissions Inventory: Lakewood is currently updating the 2024 communitywide inventory (the fifth inventory since 2007) and is creating its first municipal operations GHG inventory to provide a baseline for future decarbonization.

More information about Lakewood’s sustainability work is available at Lakewood.org/Sustainability.

CDP is a global nonprofit that runs the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system. More than 24,800 companies and almost 1,000 cities, states and regions disclosed their environmental impacts through CDP in 2024.

— Lakewood —

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