The 2025 annual progress report for the Ithaca 2030 District is out, and we’re pleased to share the news that the District realized overall energy savings of 33.3% from the baseline last year and used 58.5% less water compared to the baseline. In doing so, we met the District’s 2030 target for water savings and fell only 1.7% short of the 2025 target for energy savings.
The other good news is that the District continues to grow rapidly. At the end of last year, there were 59 member buildings and 964,789 square feet of committed space, compared to 41 buildings and 532,097 square feet in December 2022.
That’s a 44% increase in the number of buildings and 81% growth in committed square footage in the past three years.
Commuter emissions still pose the greatest challenge to the overall decarbonization effort. Although they dropped from 1706 kg CO2e/commuter/year in 2021 to 1480 in 2024, they increased in 2025 to 1583. County and City 2024 data revealed even worse results, with the former hitting 1890 kg of C02e emissions per commuter and the latter coming in at 1750.
Remote work in 2025 continued to decline, solo driving increased, and the use of hybrid and electric vehicles dropped modestly among respondents to the District survey. As a result, the District’s transportation emissions rose above the baseline of 1501 for the first time since 2021 and remain far from the reductions needed to meet 2030 goals.
The Ithaca 2030 District—the flagship program of the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative (TCCPI)—is a voluntary effort by property owners and tenants to improve the energy and water performance of their buildings as well as to attempt reductions in commuter transportation emissions.
The District exists because our community understands that meaningful change happens when organizations work together in pursuit of shared goals. While the path ahead remains challenging, this report makes one thing clear: Ithaca continues to build the partnerships, knowledge, and momentum needed to accelerate the transition to a zero-emissions future.
Check out the full report for details about the progress and growth of the Ithaca 2030 District.