Department of the Environment presents three-year strategic plan, elevating racial equity to top goal

San Francisco's Department of the Environment presented a refreshed three-year strategic plan that elevates racial equity to the top of six strategic goals and narrows the planning horizon to three years so the department can iterate more quickly.

Director Deborah Raffel and program manager Asia Meshack told the commission the plan keeps the department's mission to "advance climate protection and enhance quality of life for all San Franciscans" and adds a new, explicit first goal to advance racial equity. The plan details six goals and associated subgoals and strategies: (1) advancing racial equity across department programs; (2) promoting healthy communities and ecosystems; (3) leading on climate action with a target of net-zero emissions by 2040; (4) strengthening community resilience (including battery storage and microgrids at critical facilities); (5) achieving zero waste and zero toxics with upstream consumption strategies; and (6) amplifying community action through partnerships and workforce development.

Meshack said the plan was informed by prior community engagement and Climate Action Plan outreach; it retains measurable objectives and performance metrics at the subgoal level but is deliberately presented as a refresh (three-year timeframe) rather than a five-year overhaul. Raffel said the department will return to the commission and community in a year or two to reassess progress and update the plan.

Commissioners praised the plan's emphasis on racial equity and the practical focus on targets and metrics. Raffel said the plan is designed to be a compass and touchstone to guide resource allocation, program development and advocacy at the state and federal level.

Staff said more detailed objectives and strategies are in the full document and invited commissioners and the public to review the plan and follow upcoming presentations of the Climate Action Plan.