About Town of Ashland
Ashland is located midway between Boston and Worcester, has easy access to major highways and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Historically, it was a key stop on the Bay Path trail connecting Cambridge to Connecticut and was home to the Village of Magunkaquog, established by Natick Indians around 1659. Ashland was the original starting point of the Boston Marathon, which still runs through the town today.
Why They Are a 2024 Climate Leader
In 2019, the town of Ashland passed a Net Zero Resolution with the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2040. The town intends to achieve this goal using a comprehensive approach targeting electrification strategies for homes and businesses, advancing zero emission transportation infrastructure, and using eco-conscious zoning and permitting. In 2020, Ashland was awarded a $130,000 Planning Assistance Grant by the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Ashland staff and members of their sustainability committee, in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), assessed 3-5 climate mitigation strategies to prioritize. This grant provided quantifiable data by MAPC experts detailed in Ashland’s 2023 Community Decarbonization Report and will be used in achieving Ashland’s Net Zero Solution. These strategies detail a broad electrification effort to address building, transportation, and electricity generated greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the efforts of new and retrofitted green infrastructure, Ashland has been successful in passing local bylaws that will require energy efficiency both for town projects and private developments like homes and commercial facilities. The town has prioritized outreach and education to residents, to encourage home assessments and energy efficiency projects, including sharing information about the Mass Save® programs. This outreach includes webinars, town campaigns, and in-person events like the annual Earth Day Celebration.
Ashland opted for an ultra-energy-efficient and low carbon approach to its new Mindess Elementary School, working through the Mass Save Path 1: Net Zero and Low EUI Buildings program to help the team succeed. The goal was to build an all-electric, geothermal school that would serve as a featured example of sustainable new construction for Massachusetts public schools. The Eversource and Ashland teams worked together toward an ambitious Energy Use Intensity (EUI) goal of 25 EUI or less – well below the Massachusetts school median EUI score of 65. EUI normalizes total annual energy consumption by square feet, making it a key indicator of energy performance.
The approach to low EUI and low carbon design for Mindess Elementary included a high-performance building envelope that reduces the energy needs of the building so that they can be met efficiently with the ground source heat pump system. Other efficient design elements include solar shading, energy recovery, efficient lighting, and a future solar system that will enable the project team to achieve net zero status. Another impressive project the town pursued is the Ashland Public Safety Building, which was also substantially decarbonized using heat pump technology and which included high performance envelope strategies, low flow plumbing fixtures, and efficient lighting. Initiatives such as these position Ashland as a leader among Massachusetts municipalities in demonstrating effective efforts to reduce the town’s carbon footprint.
