The City of Clayton was selected as a 2020 Green Cities Challenge Award recipient. The St. Louis Green Cities Challenge, a subset of the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, is a program of the Missouri Botanical Garden that supports sustainability within the range of operational requirements unique to local governments. Participating municipalities incorporate sustainability policy and practice fundamentals, including addressing measures defined by OneSTL, the regional plan for sustainable development.

Mayor Michelle Harris remarked, “The City of Clayton has a strong record of valuing sustainability. Recycling programs, use of rain gardens, a city-wide smoking ban, and commitment to green building design are embedded into our culture and operations. This first year in the Green Cities Challenge proved invaluable, helping us focus efforts to revisit past accomplishments and determine future priorities. Led by our Sustainability Committee, we will continue to prioritize green practices, identifying additional ways Clayton can continue to be a sustainability leader in the St. Louis Region.”

Clayton’s recent sustainability efforts include:

• Implementation of energy management software to track and report on energy usage and monitor measures taken to conserve energy.
• Renovation of The Center of Clayton including installation of high efficiency HVAC systems, LED lighting with occupancy sensors, installation of ENERGY STAR appliances, and planting storm water detention facilities with native landscaping.
• Replacement of the City Hall / Fire Station boiler with 96% thermal efficiency, low emissions, multi-heat exchanger boiler. Lowered thermostats in the Fire Station Engine Bay in November 2019, resulting in a savings of nearly 11,000 therms of energy.
• Removal of invasive species throughout City parks and rights-of-way has been a priority for years, but this past year we achieved nearly full eradication in our developed parks.
• Replacing water fountains with water bottle fillers throughout City facilities and parks in order to reduce use of plastic bottles in the community.
• Installation of Woodland native urban trail in Oak Knoll Park, including more than 700 native plants and bushes that will ensure that the area thrives.

Learn about the native trail in this short video.

Since the program launched in 2010, 245 businesses, non-profits and municipalities have joined the Challenge. This participation has engaged over 155,000 employees and nearly 470,000 residents for a total of over 620,000 individuals influenced by this work. Learn more about the Challenge at www.stlouisgreenchallenge.com.