by Shane Henson — June 30, 2014—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently recognized Atlanta for its progress and leadership in meeting a citywide goal to improve the energy performance of its buildings by 20% by 2020. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, Atlanta is engaging local business leaders, building owners and operators, and other organizations to increase energy and water efficiency across more than 50 million square feet of building space, achieving more than 9% energy savings since 2011.
The Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative launched by President Obama in 2011 with the goal of making American commercial, multifamily, and industrial buildings 20% more energy efficient by 2020. A cornerstone of the President’s Climate Action Plan, the Better Buildings Challenge supports the goal of doubling American energy productivity by 2030 while motivating corporate and public sector partners across the country to save energy through commitments and investments. More than 190 participating organizations are on track to achieve their 20% goals, demonstrating, on average, 2.5% energy savings each year, saving a total of $300 million since the program launched, says the DOE.
“With building portfolios covering more than 3 billion square feet, Better Buildings Challenge partners like the city of Atlanta are leading the way to greater energy efficiency,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Dr. David Danielson. “These partners are demonstrating how to move toward a cleaner energy economy, while reducing energy bills, creating American jobs, and protecting the environment.”
As the city makes improvements across its building portfolio, including offices, hospitals, and sports arenas, it is sharing these achievements more broadly with others and fostering competition and collaboration among businesses and organizations looking for innovative and cost-effective ways to make energy efficiency improvements of their own, says the DOE. To further encourage collaboration, Atlanta hosts spotlight events for participants to tour top-performing facilities and share best practices each month and also organizes local events to feature progress of participants.
