New sustainability office details energy assessments, plant giveaways and pilot youth microgrants

The Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity and Resilience (OSCAR) told the council it has filled seven staff positions and is proposing a FY27 budget of roughly $920,549 to expand programs in climate resilience, energy management and waste reduction. Administrator Laura Acasio highlighted FY26 deliveries that included distribution of more than 2,000 native canoe and food plants through the La'au lau program, a heat‑resilience pilot and a near‑complete facilities energy assessment across county buildings.

Acasio said OSCAR has analyzed energy accounts—more than 838 accounts across 532 facilities—to identify priority energy‑efficiency and resilience investments. She cited a countywide electricity consumption figure reported in the presentation (about 973 million kilowatt‑hours per year) and said OSCAR’s assessments will inform asset‑management and return‑on‑investment prioritization for upgrades such as inverters, solar arrays and battery storage.

OSCAR also described pilot efforts in waste reduction (a county “reduced‑waste library” for events and county offices) and a NOAA‑funded habitat restoration project (Puapuaiki) that will move into environmental‑compliance and community engagement phases in FY27. Administrator Acasio said OSCAR expects to launch a small youth microgrant pilot to fund community groups for youth‑focused resilience programming.

Councilors asked how OSCAR will operationalize state and county policies (for example, upcoming composting or green‑fee programs) and how OSCAR will support county event organizers to adopt new procurement or single‑use rules; Acasio said OSCAR plans microgrants and education, and will coordinate with DEM and Parks where county facilities are involved.

Ending: OSCAR will follow up with the council on the public dashboard for energy and on details and timelines for the Puapuaiki grant phases and the youth microgrant pilot.