Impact in Action

Building a More Resilient and Sustainable Orange County 

From reducing waste and expanding clean energy to supporting education and climate resilience, Orange County is taking action across many areas to create a healthier, more sustainable future. We’re working with local partners, departments, and community members to make a real impact.

Learn more about recent projects and initiatives below.

Triangle Regional Resilience Assessment

  • A high-level analysis of regional assets, the threats to those assets, and possible tactics to build regional resilience. It was developed in partnership with the Town of Chapel Hill, Durham County, the City of Durham, Town of Cary, and the City of Raleigh as the first effort of the Triangle Regional Resilience Partnership. 

Other Projects & Impacts

  • Diverted over 1200 surplus county computers. A portion of the donated computers were re-used in an Orange County student training program in partnership with the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools system and Orange County Information Technologies, under the guidance of Solid Waste Management. The most recent donation of 572 computers was to Triangle Ecycling, where they were re-used, refurbished, or recycled and used for education in semester-long internships for local high school students.
  • Establishing a Waste Wise Event Program to reduce trash at County staff events in partnership with Solid Waste.
  • Currently working across departments to improve communication around excessive heat. Here you can find Hot Weather Resources.
  • Working on creating resilience hubs in the County that can support community members when there are climate emergencies.
  • In April 2024, the Orange County Arts Commission and the Office of Sustainability teamed up to provide 1.5°C, an art exhibit focused on climate change, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. Over 60 local visual artists submitted works to be featured in the Eno Arts Mill gallery for a month. Learn more about the exhibition here.
  • Solarize 23 with PartnersSolarize the Triangle installed 617.8 kW of new clean energy capacity in Orange County from 2022 to 2023.
LED lighting in DSS and library
  • REPAIR CAFEOn November 16, 2024, the Orange County Sustainability Team, Orange County Public Library, and Repair Café North Carolina came together to host a free Repair Café. Residents brought in damaged items ranging from electronics to furniture to jewelry and worked side-by-side with volunteer coaches to fix the items. The event was so successful that a second event was held March 15, 2025. See this video of the latest event.
  • The Sustainability Team joined up with Cooperative Extension to give away 100 red maple tree seedlings on March 15, 2025.
  • Orange County is pursuing grant funding for a pilot agrivoltaic project at W.C. Breeze Research & Education Farm to study which crops thrive under solar panels and support farmers in adopting this innovative solution. Learn more with this video