Getting to Zero in Menlo Park

This case study describes the efforts of the City of Menlo Park and the nonprofit Menlo Spark to achieve a zero-carbon future by 2025. It details a comprehensive approach to the built environment, including updated zoning and general plans that mandate renewable energy for all energy uses, sustainable building standards, and strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled in a car-centric suburb.

• The City of Menlo Park committed in 2013 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 27 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. This effort led to the establishment of Menlo Spark, a nonprofit aiming for the city to reach zero carbon by 2025.
• Menlo Park has implemented a novel zoning requirement that mandates new developments use 100 percent renewable energy for all energy needs, including natural gas. This is noted as the first known instance of extending renewable energy requirements to cover natural gas uses, which produce more than twice the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity.
• The city's updated General Plan and zoning include specific sustainability mandates for new construction: buildings between 10,000 and 100,000 square feet must be LEED Silver, while those over 100,000 square feet must be LEED Gold. Additionally, new buildings must install at least 30 percent of the maximum feasible on-site renewables and enroll in the EPA’s Energy Star Building Portfolio Manager.
• To address its car-centric nature and jobs-housing imbalance, the city's plan adds 4,500 multifamily housing units and requires transportation demand management (TDM) plans for developments over 10,000 square feet. These TDM plans aim to reduce car trips by 20 percent below standard rates.
• In response to projected sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay area, Menlo Park has established minimum elevations for new buildings above future flood levels. An example cited is Facebook’s Building 20, which elevates the structure by placing parking at ground level.

APA

Bailey, D. (2017). Getting to Zero in Menlo Park. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/getting-zero-menlo-park/

Chicago

Bailey, Diane. Getting to Zero in Menlo Park. RMI, 2017. https://rmi.org/resources/getting-zero-menlo-park/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bailey |first1=Diane |title=Getting to Zero in Menlo Park |publisher=RMI |date=3 January 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/getting-zero-menlo-park/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bailey2017getting, author = {Bailey, Diane}, title = {{Getting to Zero in Menlo Park}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/getting-zero-menlo-park/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }