Atlanta, GA

Background

Through the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (http://www.atlantabbc.com/), the City of Atlanta has united with the metropolitan business and nonprofit community to implement a comprehensive energy upgrade program for downtown buildings to meet the goal of improving energy performance a minimum of 20% by 2020. The effort is underway with a benchmarking initiative for Atlanta's 400 block downtown area, including City Hall, the Civic Center, and other landmark downtown buildings. Going forward, project partners will work with banks, funds, energy service companies, and others to enable substantive retrofits of buildings from the university, healthcare, municipal, and commercial sectors. Over 30 property owners totaling over 30 million square feet have taken the Challenge since its official launch in November 2011 as part of a strategic partnership between the City and Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta’s downtown improvement district.

The Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability is working with city leadership to encourage policy development and reform in select areas. All city government operations are being filtered through the lens of ensuring that current levels of consumption can be maintained in perpetuity. Implementing Power to Change, the city's first sustainability plan, the Mayor's Office of Sustainability is working with all city departments and stakeholder groups to balance Atlanta’s economic growth with environmental protection while being mindful of social justice. Through collaboration with foundations, hospitals, universities, and other stakeholders, the office will develop education and training programs in key action areas both for city employees and the Atlanta community, and will work to communicate its progress by tracking its successes and sharing those best practices with the greater Atlanta community.