Atlanta Continues to Grow and Show Impressive Results in Better Buildings Challenge

By Better Buildings Beat Team on Oct 04, 2018

The City of Atlanta continues to lead the way. Atlanta has committed more square feet to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Challenge than any other local government and leads the largest Better Buildings Challenge program in the country. The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (ABBC), encourages private building owners in Atlanta to work together in a community wide effort to drive greater energy efficiency. The city holds an annual event to honor organizations in Atlanta for their achievements in energy and water conservation.  Recently, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms recognized the 2018 Award Winners, including the top performers who produced the highest levels of energy and water savings in 2017. MVP awards were given to organizations in the ABBC who were not only top performers but also advocates for the Challenge.

The 2018 MVP award recipients include:

  • Water Innovation Award: Madison-Morgan Cultural Center
  • All-Star Award: Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School
  • Game Changer Award: Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design
  • Energy Innovation Award: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
  • Individual Champion Award: Wes Shirly, Director of Engineering, Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead

                         

Since the launch in 2011, the number of participating buildings has grown from 28 and approximately 26 million square feet, to more than 650 buildings and 116 million square feet today.  In 2017 alone, 29 buildings joined ABBC adding more than 6 million square feet to the program. The growth of the ABBC program has certainly been impressive, but the energy, environmental, and economic impacts of the program have been equally as impressive. Atlanta saw a 19 percent energy savings and a 15 percent water savings over baseline.  The electricity and water savings represent the power it takes to fully charge 16 million electric vehicles and over 34 million gallons of water, respectively.  In addition, ABBC added $16 million to the local economy and created 221 jobs, according to the recently released ABBC 2018 Annual Report. In recognition of Atlanta’s achievements, the city was named one of two winners of the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge.  As an award winner, the City of Atlanta will receive technical assistance and support package valued at $2.5 million which will provide additional resources to build upon the already impressive impacts of the ABBC program by helping the city meet its goal of a sustainable and resilient building stock by 2020.

Congratulations to Atlanta for all of its hard work and accomplishments in driving energy efficiency!