City of Atlanta Leads the Country with Commercial Buildings Committed to Reducing Energy and Water Use

Atlanta Better Building Challenge reaches 100 million square feet of building space participation

ATLANTA – August 21, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Kasim Reed announced yesterday at the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (Atlanta BBC) 2015 Expo that the City of Atlanta leads the country with 100 million square feet of building space committed to reducing energy and water usage.

As part of the federal program managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Atlanta BBC has a goal to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by the year 2020. With the addition of two new partners to the challenge, the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Atlanta now has the largest commitment of any local partner in the country.

“For the past three years, the Better Buildings Challenge has positioned Atlanta as a national leader in energy and water efficiency best practices,” said Mayor Reed. “I am proud that our new partnerships with MARTA and the Atlanta Botanical Garden have made Atlanta a national leader again, with more than 100 million square feet of building space engaged in conserving energy and water. With our partners, we are building a cleaner, better future for Atlanta.”

To date, Atlanta BBC has already achieved 20 percent water savings since 2010, and 11 percent energy savings since 2009.

During the expo, a new dashboard was unveiled that displays the data gathered from the program in aggregate form. To help contribute to the City’s goals to reduce energy and water consumption by year 2020, the 2015 Expo featured presentations by nine industry experts on innovative new approaches to saving energy and water in commercial spaces.

“I am proud to say we are making great strides with the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “Our success is made possible thanks to generous support from Georgia Power, McKenney’s, TOTO USA, Brogdon Group, Recycling Management Resources, ALB Energy Solutions, AGL Resources, The University Financing Foundation, Bes-Tech, Llumar Window Film and Mingledorff’s.”

The Challenge dashboard can be found at www.abbcdata.com.

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For more information about the City of Atlanta, please visit http://www.atlantaga.gov or watch City Channel 26. Follow the City of Atlanta on Facebook and Twitter @CityofAtlanta. Follow Mayor Reed on Facebook and Twitter @Kasim Reed

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