Our Sustainable Oldsmar

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability is meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow. It is looking at current and future needs to make the best decision for both. There are 3 Pillars of Sustainability - People, Planet, and Profit. These pillars are like a three legged stool...if you take one away, you can balance for a little while, but eventually you will fall. In Oldsmar, we strive to ensure our community grows and thrives in a sustainable way.

What is Resiliency and how is it different from Sustainability?

Resiliency is the capacity of individuals, communities, and systems to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of stress and shocks and even transform when conditions require it. Though resiliency uses similar tools as sustainability, they are different concepts. Sustainability focuses more on the average day to day workings of a system, where resiliency prepares and focuses on extreme or extraordinary events (such as hurricanes, flooding, pandemics, and economic crisis). Though separate, the two work hand in hand in creating a more robust and successful community.

Photo Credit: City of Oldsmar

What is Oldsmar doing to be more sustainable and resilient?

The City of Oldsmar has a strong history of innovation and commitment to sustainability. The City was the first municipality in the Tampa Bay area to implement single stream recycling, the first municipality in the Tampa Bay area to install electric charging stations, and Florida’s first Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant to be certified in Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) and second in the nation.

For all its sustainability efforts, the City was awarded two 1st Place Future of the Region Awards in both "Development/Infrastructure" and "Going Green" by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, has been recognized as Outstanding Municipality of the Year by the US Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, and is certified as a Gold Florida Green Local Government by the Florida Green Building Coalition.

Oldsmar completed its first Climate Resiliency Plan in 2021. This plan assessed the risks to city infrastructure and proposed a suite of strategies to help mitigate the affects of the risks. Through programming and capital improvements, the City is committed to creating a more sustainable and resilient community.

If you’ve got a great idea for how to improve the Sustainability Initiatives in Oldsmar, please contact the Sustainability Coordinator.

To see ongoing and new projects and initiatives, click the links below to find out more!