Long Beach
City Scorecard Rank
27
Long Beach, CA
40.50Scored out of 100Updated 10/2020
Community-Wide Initiatives
Score: 2.5 out of 15 points
Community-Wide Climate Mitigation and Energy GoalsList All
Climate Mitigation Goal
The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan includes a target to reduce per-capita emissions from a baseline of approximately 5.0 MT CO2e/service population in 2015 to 3.04 MT CO2e/service population in 2030 and to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2045. ACEEE was unable to project if the city will achieve its near-term GHG emissions reduction goal because insufficient GHG emissions data were available for our analysis.
Long Beach has conducted one greenhouse gas inventory for the year 2015.
Energy Efficiency Goal
We did not find information regarding a community-wide energy reduction goal for the city.
Renewable Energy Goal
We did not find information regarding a community-wide renewable energy goal for the city.
Last updated: August 2023
Equity-Driven Approaches to Clean Energy Planning, Implementation, and EvaluationList All
Equity-Driven Community Engagement
As part of the city's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan outreach process, the city made direct outreach in marginalized communities and conducted outreach in Spanish and Khmer.
Equity-Driven Decision-Making
We were unable to determine if the city has created a formal role for marginalized community residents or local organizations representing those communities to participate in decision-making that affects the creation or implementation of a local energy, sustainability, or climate action plan.
Equity Accountability Measures
We were unable to determine whether the city has adopted specific goals, metrics, or protocols to track how multiple energy, sustainability, or climate action initiatives are affecting local marginalized groups.
Last updated: August 2023
Clean Distributed Energy ResourcesList All
The Port of Long Beach created the Energy Island Initiative, which sets goals of consuming energy from clean sources and installing local, distributed energy with microgrid connectivity. Through the initiative, solar panels have been installed on port facilities and a microgrid is being constructed.
Last updated: August 2023
Adaptive Mitigation List All
Heat Island Mitigation Policies and Programs
The City of Long Beach has passed a Low-Impact Development Ordinance, which requires all new developments and redevelopments that replaces more than 50% of the existing structure to incorporate low-impact development techniques.
Chapter 5.7 of the Southeast Area Specific Plan offers density bonuses to properties in exchange for land conservation measures.
Resilience Hubs
We were unable to determine if the city has supported the creation of resilience hubs that incorporate clean energy resources and are sited in disadvantaged communities.
Last updated: August 2023
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Workforce DevelopmentList All
Workforce development for disadvantaged workers
We could not determine if city has partnered with a local education institution, labor union, or community-based organization to create, support, and/or incentivize the development of clean energy workforce development initiatives that target training and support services for potential or existing workers from disadvantaged communities to obtain and keep in-demand jobs.
Workforce development for the broader community
We could not determine if city has partnered with a local education institution, labor union, or community-based organization to create, support, and/or incentivize the development of clean energy workforce development initiatives that target training and support services for potential or existing workers from the broader community to obtain and keep in-demand jobs.
Outcomes tracking
We could not determine if the city has instituted a mechanism to measure the performance and/or success of equitable workforce development initiatives focused on the clean energy sector.
Last updated: August 2023
Buildings Policies
Score: 14 out of 30 points
Building Energy CodesList All
Overview
The State of California allows its local jurisdictions to adopt building energy codes more stringent than the mandatory state codes. Title 24 outlines all California building codes. Title 24, Part 6 includes the California Energy Code and the California Building Energy Efficiency Standards (BEES). Title 24, Part 11 includes the California Green Building Code. The 2022 codes exceed the 2021 IECC standards and ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2018. To learn more about California’s building energy codes, please visit the State Policy Database.
Commercial
Commercial buildings in Long Beach must comply with the 2022 California Building Standards Code and the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC). The city’s zEPI score for their commercial energy code is 49.1.
Residential
Residential buildings in Long Beach must comply with with the 2022 California Building Standards Code and the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC). The city’s zEPI score for their residential energy code is 58.1.
Solar-readiness policies
The California Energy Commission mandates that all new commercial and residential developments incorporate solar-ready infrastructure. The commission also adopted standards requiring solar systems on new home construction.
EV-readiness policies
The city amended its code to include a provision requiring 25% of parking spaces be EV-ready and 5% to be currently EV-capable.
Low-energy use requirements
The Green Building Policy for Municipal Buildings states new government buildings must achieve LEED standards.
Electrification policies
California's 2022 Building Standards Code includes electric-ready requirements for residential buildings.
Last Updated: September 2023
Building Energy Code Compliance and EnforcementList All
Long Beach staffs two full-time employees solely dedicated to energy code enforcement. Long Beach Development Services conducts plan checks and field inspections. The service also provides upfront energy code training.
Last Updated: September 2023
Policies Targeting Existing BuildingsList All
Commercial and multifamily benchmarking
Commercial and multifamily buildings comply with the California Energy Commission’s Energy Benchmarking Program.
Last Updated: September 2023
Transportation
Score: 13 out of 30 points
Sustainable Transportation Planning List All
Sustainable Transportation Plan
Long Beach's Climate Action Plan was adopted in 2022 and contains sustainable transportation strategies.
VMT/GHG Target and Stringency
According to the Long Beach Climate Action Plan, the city has a goal of reducing GHG emissions from transportation 30,480 MTCO2E by 2030 from business-as-usual levels.
The city’s target requires a 1.61% average per-capita annual decrease from its target baseline. Therefore, Long Beach earned 1 point for the stringency of its target.
Progress Achieved Toward VMT/GHG Targets
The City of Long Beach did not provide VMT/GHG data collected since the adoption of its goal; therefore, we cannot assess progress toward the goal.
Last Updated: September 2023
Location Efficiency List All
Location Efficient Zoning Codes
California's SB 9 became law in 2021 and went into effect in 2022. This allows lots in single-family zones throughout the state to be split into two lots, and allows up to two units to be built on each lot, effectively increasing the number of units permitted per lot from one to four in single-family zones. SB 9 applies to residential zones in all California cities, including Long Beach.
Residential Parking Policies
California's AB-2097 was passed in 2022 and prohibits local governments from imposing minimum parking requirements on new residential, commercial, and industrial developments within 1/2 mile of a rail transit station or the intersection of two frequent bus routes. Therefore, certain districts in Long Beach do not have minimum parking requirements.
Location Efficiency Incentives and Disclosure
Long Beach offers floor area ratio bonuses, height bonuses, and reduced parking minimums for affordable housing developments near transit.
Affordable Housing around Transit
The City of Long Beach does not require, preserve, or incentivize the development of affordable housing near transit.
Last Updated: September 2023
Mode Shift List All
Mode Shift Targets
According to the Long Beach Bicycle Master Plan, adopted in 2017, the City has a goal of 10% of all trips being made by bikes by 2027, 20% by 2037, and 30% by 2047.
Progress Achieved Toward Mode Shift Targets
The City of Long Beach did not provide data collected on bike mode share for all trips since the adoption of its goal; therefore, we cannot assess progress toward the goal.
Subsidized Access to Efficient Transportation Options
Long Beach Bike Share, the city’s shared micromobility operator, along with their e-scooter vendors Bird and Lime, offer discounted trips for income-qualified residents.
Last Updated: February 2024
Public Transit List All
Transit Funding
The transit entities that serve the City of Long Beach have received $57,732,683.60 on average annually between 2017 and 2021 from local sources. That equates to roughly $68.56 per capita between 2017 and 2021 within the service area.
Access to Transit Services
The AllTransit Performance Score measures a given community's transit access and performance. The score considers connections to other routes, access to jobs, service frequency, and the percent of commuters who ride transit to work. The City of Long Beach’s AllTransit Performance Score is 8, scoring 3 points in the City Scorecard.
Last Updated: September 2023
Efficient VehiclesList All
Efficient Vehicle Purchase Incentives
Southern California Edison offers income-qualifying customers a $1000 standard rebate for new vehicles and up to a $4000 rebate on the purchase of used electric vehicles.
Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Incentives
Neither the City of Long Beach nor the local utility provide incentives for the installation of EV charging stations.
Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Requirements
The City of Long Beach requires all new commercial buildings to include EV charging stations in 20% of parking spaces. Additionally, the California Green Building Code requires multifamily properties with 20 or more units and hotels with 20 or more guest rooms to install level 2 EV chargers in five percent of the total parking spaces.
EV Charging Ports
The City of Long Beach has 83.3 vehicle charging ports per 100,000 people available for public use.
Electric School Bus Goal
Neither the City of Long Beach nor the local school district have set an electric school bus goal.
EV Transit Bus Goal
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is requiring all California transit agencies to transition their bus fleets to zero-emissions buses by 2040. Therefore, Long Beach Transit has a goal of transitioning to zero-emissions buses.
Last Updated: September 2023
Freight System EfficiencyList All
Sustainable Freight Plans
The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan contains several sustainable freight strategies for the Port of Long Beach, including emissions standards for trucks, incentives for ships with emission-reduction technologies and cleaner engines, and investing in on-dock rail support facilities to increase the proportion of cargo leaving by rail.
Open Data Portals
The Port of Long Beach hosts an open data portal showing current vessels at berth.
Last Updated: September 2023
Community Energy Infrastructure
Score: 13
Community Energy Infrastructure Summary List All
Southern California Edison (SCE), an investor-owned utility (IOU), is the primary electric utility for the City of Long Beach. The primary natural gas supplier for Long Beach is Long Beach Energy Resources, a municipally-owned utility. The State of California requires spending and savings targets for its IOUs through an EERS and requires local government-utility partnerships through mandate by the California PUC. The municipally-run utilities are not required to meet the state EERS targets and report through the California Energy Commission. In 2021, California regulators updated state energy efficiency policies to focus on reducing carbon emissions. The state’s new rule rules value efficiency as a grid and decarbonization resource, encourage utilities to offer more programs that primarily serve communities of color and low-income residents, and encourage workforce development programs. To learn more about the state requirements for electric and gas efficiency, please visit the California page of the State Database.
The Long Beach Water Department (LBWD) is the municipal utility that provides the City of Long Beach with drinking water services, wastewater treatment, and stormwater management.
Last Updated: August 2023
Electricity and Natural Gas Efficiency SavingsList All
In 2021, Southern California Edison reported 259,547.95 MWh of net electric savings at the meter, which represents 0.32% of its retail sales across the utility’s entire service jurisdiction, not only Long Beach. In 2021, SCE spent $239,597,000 on energy efficiency programs.
In 2021, Long Beach Energy Resources reported no savings from natural gas efficiency programs. These savings figures cover the utility’s entire service jurisdiction, not just Long Beach.
SCE offers electric efficiency incentives and technical assistance to residential and business customers. Long Beach Energy Resources similarly offers natural gas efficiency tips to customers.
The City of Long Beach runs the natural gas/water utility. Residents and businesses in Long Beach have access to a variety of rebates and other funding sources to help offset upfront costs for building energy efficiency improvements. SCE and Energy Upgrade California provide rebates for energy-efficient appliances, insulation, smart thermostats, and more. When funding was available, the City’s Energy Resources Department provided residential customers with information and assistance to access energy rebates when performing whole-house energy conservation projects. SoCalREN provides technical assistance and financing options to single-family, multifamily, and commercial buildings. PACE financing is also available for property owners to make permanent upgrades for building energy and water efficiency or to install renewable energy systems and repay improvement costs as an assessment on their property tax bill.
Last Updated: September 2023
Low-Income & Multifamily EE Programs List All
Low-Income Programs
SCE offers the Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) Program to income-qualified customers, which provides appliance replacements. SCE partners with other utilities, community services and development organizations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and local governments on their low-income efficiency program. SCE leverages funds from the California Community Services and Development Department, including Low Income Home Energy Assistance Funding and Low Income Weatherization Program funding.
In 2021, according to SCE, it achieved 44,383.5 MWh in savings, while spending $81,222,072.00 on its low-income program and served 90,826 households.
At this time, Long Beach Energy Resources does not offer energy efficiency programs targeted at low-income customers.
Multifamily Programs
The SCE Multifamily Energy Efficiency Rebate (MFEER) Program offers a variety of incentives for energy-saving products and services to motivate the multifamily property owners and managers to install energy efficient equipment in both common and dwelling areas of multifamily properties. The program integrates a direct install approach and offers select energy efficient measures at no-cost which can facilitate onsite assessments and encourage property owners to take advantage of rebates for more extensive improvements over time. The program targets all levels of multifamily buildings (i.e., low-income, affordable-to-moderate income, market-rate) include those located in Disadvantaged Communities.
We were unable to verify multifamily savings, spending, and customers served for SCE in 2021.
At this time, Long Beach Energy Resources does not offer energy efficiency programs targeted at multifamily customers.
Last Updated: September 2023
Provision of Energy Data by UtilitiesList All
SCE provides building managers, contractors, and tenants with automated benchmarking data through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. SCE provides energy usage data to the city who uses the data in their planning processes, yet this data is not made available to the public. SCE provides non-confidential, aggregated energy usage data to the local government and customers through its Energy Data reports. SCE releases certain high level aggregated data to the public for use in planning and evaluation. This data is aggregated by zip code for different rate classes (i.e., residential, commercial, industrial, and agriculture), and updated on a quarterly basis. Natural gas data is not available at the city-level.
The City of Long Beach does not advocate for better access to utility data for ratepayers or the establishment of data-sharing agreements between the city and its utilities.
Last Updated: September 2023
Decarbonization and Climate Change Mitigation Efforts of Cities and Energy UtilitiesList All
Utility Climate Mitigation Goal
In 2018, Southern California Edison’s Pathway 2045 set a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. To achieve this goal, SCE will need to reduce emissions by 3.7% annually from 2018 levels.
City-Led Efforts to Decarbonize the Electric Grid
In August 2020, the City of Long Beach decided to not move forward with establishing Community Choice Aggregation for the city. At this time, we cannot confirm if Long Beach participates in other activities or strategies to help spur or encourage more utility-scale or distributed renewable energy generation from its local electric utility.
Clean Distributed Energy Resources
The Port of Long Beach created the Energy Island Initiative, which sets goals of consuming energy from clean sources and installing local, distributed energy with microgrid connectivity. Through the initiative, solar panels have been installed on port facilities and a microgrid is being constructed.
Municipal Renewable Energy Procurement
Long Beach has installed 2.5 MW of solar on city facilities.
City Renewable Energy Incentive and Financing Programs
We could not find information on whether the city incentivizes the deployment of renewable energy systems.
Last Updated: September 2023
Efficiency Efforts in Water ServicesList All
Citywide Water Efficiency and Goals
In 2020 LBWD launched two direct installation programs for customers residing in low income and disadvantaged communities. The Direct Installation for Multifamily Efficiency (DIME) Program provides and installs high efficiency toilets, showerheads, kitchen and faucet aerators as well as communal coin operated clothes washers in multifamily dwelling units at no cost to the customer or resident. The Direct Install Gardens (DIG) program is a turf replacement alternative program for customers residing in low income and disadvantaged communities. The DIG program replaces non-functional grass lawns with a multi-benefit, low water-use garden. Through the DIG program, the customer’s existing irrigation system is upgraded to a more efficient option consisting of drip irrigation, micro-spray, high efficiency spray or a hybrid system integrated with a weather sensor. There are several rebates offered by the city utility such as clothes washers, toilets, sprinklers, rain barrels, and weather based irrigation controllers. They city also offers a Native Plant Parkway and the Lawn 2 Garden turf replacement assistance programs.
The utility has plans to reduce water use overall and decrease the amount of imported water which will cause energy savings by having to import less water.
Water Plant Efficiency and Self-Generation
We were unable to verify whether Long Beach's local wastewater utility self-generates energy.
Last Updated: September 2023
Local Government Score:
4 out of 10 points
Local Government Climate and Energy Goals List All
Climate Change Mitigation Goal
We could not find any information regarding a municipal climate change mitigation or greenhouse gas reduction goal for Long Beach.
Energy Reduction Goal
We could not find any information regarding a local energy reduction goal for Long Beach.
Renewable Energy Goal
We could not find any information regarding a municipal renewable energy goal for Long Beach.
Last updated: November 2023
Procurement and Construction Policies List All
Fleet Policies and Composition
The City approved its Battery Electric Vehicle and Infrastructure Policy in May 2018. The policy states that conventionally fueled light-duty vehicles will be replaces by battery electric vehicles whenever possible for all departments and offices. City of Long Beach Fleet Services is currently developing a Sustainable Fleet Policy, which will be approved through Long Beach City Council. As part of the effort to develop the Sustainable Fleet Policy, the City will track the entire Fleet's emissions and fuel efficiency. Long Beach’s fleet is composed of 14% efficient vehicles, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles.
Public Lighting
The City of Long Beach has not currently formally adopted the lighting controls provisions of the Model Lighting Ordinance for outdoor and street lighting, or a similar policy requiring lights to be dimmed or completely extinguished when sufficient daylight is available. Sensor installation is ongoing. Long Beach has upgraded all 26,000 streetlights to LEDs.
Inclusive procurement
We could not verify if Long Beach has inclusive procurement and contracting processes used in energy projects.
Last updated: October 2023
Asset Management List All
Building Benchmarking
Long Beach benchmarks all municipal buildings through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Long Beach is currently finalizing its Facilities Conditions Assessment which identifies the overall capital renewal, building integrity, deferred maintenance, code compliance and life safety deficiencies in each facility while providing cost estimates. The City of Long Beach Public Works Department is currently under construction for a comprehensive efficiency retrofit of one of the City’s major health facilities. The scope of work will include upgrades to major systems (i.e. lighting, HVAC, windows, doors, roof, etc). Recent municipal retrofits have included energy efficiency upgrades to Burnett Library, repair and replacement of existing outdated HVAC unit at Los Altos Library, energy efficiency upgrades to Mark Twain Library and roof replacement with energy efficient roof design at Multi-Service Center.
Municipal Employee Transportation Benefits
The city offers free municipal transit passes and secure bike storage/parking for staff. Additionally, through Long Beach’s Employee Commute Incentive Program, full-time and part-time employees can earn up to $30 per month for walking, biking, carpooling or using transit to get to and from work at least five days per pay period. The city also has personalized commute services where employees can discuss their commuting options with a staff member.
Last update: February 2024