State Representative Lipper-Garabedian Named Keep Massachusetts Beautiful 2025 Environmental Legislator of the Year
BOSTON-Monday, May 19, 2025 - On Thursday, May 15, Keep Massachusetts Beautiful honored State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose) as the 2025 Environmental Legislator of the Year. The membership of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful focuses on making Massachusetts a cleaner, greener place to live, work, and play. Representative Lipper-Garabedian partners with Keep Melrose Beautiful, one of the local branches of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful, for a number of events each year. The Environmental Legislator of the Year award recognizes a Massachusetts legislator for his or her efforts to protect or enhance the Massachusetts environment.
“I am glad to celebrate the work of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful and humbled to receive the award for 2025 Environmental Legislator of the Year,” said State Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “This recognition holds profound significance for me, at a time when the climate crisis demands not just our attention but sustained action. I have had a strong interest in sustainable and climate conscious practices long before I entered the realm of public service, beginning when I was a student in the Richmond, Virginia, public schools. Now, as a mother, I see that same spirit of concern about and commitment to our environment in my two sons as well as their peers, like the young people who come to the State House to advocate for climate policies that protect their futures.”
As a Melrose City Councilor, Representative Lipper-Garabedian supported ordinances aimed at curbing the use of plastic straws and polystyrene products. As State Representative, she has consistently championed the conservation and sustainability efforts of organizations such as Keep Melrose Beautiful, Zero Waste Melrose, the Wakefield Environmental Sustainability Committee, and the Melrose Energy Commission.
At the local level, Representative Lipper-Garabedian spearheads annual Recycling and Sustainability Days in the 32nd Middlesex District. For these events, she collaborates with municipal leaders and local organizations to empower residents to learn more about and participate in local, state, and national recycling and climate initiatives. The Representative also has highlighted climate action in her virtual Community Conversations and Conversations with Kate podcast series. The Community Conversation entitled Consumer Action for Climate Resilience: Demystifying Solar, Heat Pumps, and Electric Vehicles focused on educating viewers on three key technologies for promoting environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, guests on the Representative’s podcast have included local climate experts such as members of the Wakefield Environmental Sustainability Committee, the former City of Melrose Sustainability Director, and the former chair of the Joint Energy Committee.
As a legislator, Representative Lipper-Garabedian – including as a member of the Zero Waste Caucus focused on reducing waste, promoting sustainability, and advancing environmental justice and as a member of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy in the last two legislative sessions –proudly voted to enact three comprehensive climate law focused on the goal of reaching net zero by 2050 – the roadmap law of 2021, the offshore wind law of 2022, and last year’s law on the clean energy grid. These laws demonstrate the legislature’s recognition of the need to be ambitious, comprehensive, and unrelenting when it comes to responding to the climate crisis.
“I am committed to supporting climate-centered policy initiatives to safeguard our environment, protect our heath, and empower our residents to join us in this existential fight,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “Together, we are forging a path toward a more sustainable and resilient future for all.”
Keep Massachusetts Beautiful collaborates with volunteers, business partners, and government leaders to protect the environment through sustainable actions. It focuses on issues of litter prevention and cleanup, waste reduction and recycling, community beautification, and environmental education and sustainability. The non-profit launched in May 2014, with roots dating back to 2008 in Mansfield. Keep Massachusetts Beautiful has local chapters across the state, and local leaders and volunteers continue to launch more.
Representative Lipper-Garabedian was recognized at the annual Massachusetts Clean Community Awards event in Framingham on May 15.
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