UNH fellow presents Nashua’s 2024 greenhouse-gas inventory; city not on track for 2025 municipal target

Taylor Berry, a UNH Sustainability Institute fellow and Nashua resident, presented the city’s 2024 municipal greenhouse‑gas inventory to the Board of Aldermen on Aug. 11. The inventory covered local government operations — including the vehicle fleet, city buildings and solid‑waste operations — and reported a total of 38,469 metric tons of carbon‑dioxide equivalent for 2024.

Berry said Nashua’s emissions rose 1.05% between 2016 and 2024, falling short of the municipal 25% reduction target the city set for 2025. “Between 2016 and 2024, you can see that this city increased its emissions 1.05%,” Berry told aldermen, adding that population growth makes a flat emissions profile partly meaningful but that the municipal goals are not being met as of 2024. She recommended targeting the solid‑waste sector — calling out food waste as responsible for about 58% of landfill emissions — and suggested pursuing food‑waste diversion, composting partnerships and building electrification projects.

Sustainability manager Deb Chisholm introduced Berry and urged colleagues to request the full intern report; several aldermen praised the presentation. The board asked staff to circulate the detailed inventory and to follow up on the recommendations, including options for composting, expanded solar on municipal buildings and employee‑commute programs.

Why it matters: the inventory provides the city’s most recent municipal accounting of emissions tied to its operations and establishes priorities for potential policy or budget actions to meet the city’s longer‑term climate goals.