The Office of Sustainability (OoS) was created in July 2024 to institutionalize climate actions across all City departments. Cambridge’s first Chief Climate Officer began work in October 2024. The OoS is built on nearly two decades of efforts by multiple departments to reduce Cambridge's reliance on fossil fuels and prepare for extreme weather. The Department targets solutions focused on increasing climate equity regardless of race, wealth, and language isolation. In line with its climate equity goals, OoS programs fall under the following three categories:

• Carbon-Neutral Cambridge: OoS leads the City’s work to secure renewable energy and transition buildings away from fossil fuels. Existing strategies account for 95% of the greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Cost-effective solutions for decarbonizing housing and small businesses are still to be determined.
  
  
• Safe, Cool Cambridge: Preparing Cambridge’s people and places for increasingly hot summers, unpredictable winters, rising sea levels, and bigger storms requires actions across all City departments. OoS resources prioritize people and resources that require public support to prevent harm. Sustainable Cambridge: Cambridge’s climate impact can be enhanced if other communities pursue efforts similar to the City’s work.
  
  
• Sustainable Cambridge brings the City’s climate-related work under an umbrella term, where it can be better understood and communicated inside and beyond the city.