Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge Makes Sponsorship Gains
October 30,2015
Multi-family housing program preps for expansion in 2015
The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (Atlanta BBC) welcomed Dr. Kathleen Hogan, U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency, on October 29th to a multi-family housing roundtable discussion at the offices of Central Atlanta Progress.
The program recently launched an initiative managed within the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability that focuses on providing resources to multi-family housing facilities interested in improving their energy and water efficiency. The Affordable Multi-family Housing Challenge (AMHC) is funded by a grant from the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) available to cities participating in the City Energy Project. Atlanta is one of only three cities nationwide to launch this program as a pilot this year.
All multi-family housing facilities that sign up for the City’s AMHC will automatically enroll in the Atlanta BBC as well, confirming their commitment to sustainability at a City level. Program participants will receive tools for reducing energy and water costs, incentives for resource-efficient retrofits, and utility bill analysis for benchmarking.
Atlanta continues to lead the nation in launching innovative programs to continuously deepen its impact in all types of building efficiency projects. With over 100 million square feet over more than 400 buildings citywide since its launch in 2011, the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge still aims at increasing energy and water efficiency 20% by the year 2020.
“As a Better Buildings Challenge partner, Atlanta has been a national leader in energy and water savings,” said Dr. Kathleen Hogan, U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency. “As the city expands their efforts to multifamily housing organizations, we look forward to learning from their success and sharing their results.
Attendees at the roundtable discussion on Thursday included representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, Central Atlanta Progress, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Southface Energy Institute, Midtown Alliance, Livable Buckhead, Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light, Atlanta Housing Authority, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Turner Foundation, Partnership for Southern Equity, Atlanta Apartment Association, Atlanta Regional Commission, and the Public Service Commission. In addition to discussing the recent launch of AMHC, the group addressed the challenges and opportunities associated with benchmarking multi-family housing facilities.
About the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (Atlanta BBC): The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge is a nation-leading public/private initiative. Led locally by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and managed by Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the goal of the Atlanta BBC is to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by 2020. For more information, please visit www.atlantabbc.com.