Since being dubbed by the EPA in 1969 and reported to American homes by Walter Cronkite as the “Dirtiest City in America”, the City of Chattanooga has been hard at work reversing the negative impacts of local industry on its air, land, and water quality. Following years of mitigation, the community and local government came together to draft a Climate Action Plan in 2009. An Executive Order was then issued in 2012 with ambitious energy, greenhouse gas and waste reduction goals. As a way to plan, measure and manage our progress toward these prescribed energy reduction goals, Mayor Andy Berke has signed the City of Chattanooga on to the Better Buildings Challenge.  

Chattanooga has committed 2 million square feet of its municipal building portfolio to the Better Buildings Challenge, including over 200 individual facilities. Buildings include City Hall, City Council, the Downtown Public Library, Development Resource Center (housing the department of Public Works and the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency), Police and Fire Department facilities, Youth and Family Development Centers, and other administrative buildings. Most importantly, the portfolio includes the Moccasin Bend Waste Water Treatment Plant, which services a six-county area, and is by far the largest energy consumer of the city’s owned and operated facilities.

In addition to the commitment of the city’s municipal building portfolio, the City of Chattanooga is engaging the community at large to join the Challenge. Through partnerships with the Electric Power Board (EPB), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Chamber of Commerce and others, the city aims to provide vital resources and guidance to potential program engagement partners, including local businesses, schools, home owners and industry. Further, the city has formed a Stakeholder Advisory Group, which will be comprised of key area representatives, to provide transparency and an opportunity for input in the city’s challenge, while also creating a forum for information sharing, collaboration and engagement in the program.