Sustainability

CAP is committed to ensuring that Downtown Atlanta grows in a manner that is environmentally and economically sustainable. As our community changes, we believe that investing in sustainability and resilience enables us to preserve, protect, and enhance the economic health and vitality of Downtown.

Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge

In partnership with the City of Atlanta, we launched the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (ABBC) in 2011. ABBC signed on over 450 buildings across the City to reduce energy and water usage by 20% across participating buildings by 2020. ABBC quickly became one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation and Downtown rated first in Atlanta for the number of square feet committed to participating in the challenge.

ABBC helped Downtown community members realize significant economic savings, as well as meaningful environmental and public health benefits; read more about the program’s accomplishments in the final report. ABBC exemplified the power of public-private partnerships to accelerate sustainability in Downtown.  We achieved our goal of reducing energy usage by 20% two years ahead of schedule! Learn more about the program, its participants, and its achievements at AtlantaBBC.com.

Downtown Sustainability Action Plan

In the Downtown Atlanta Master Plan, we committed to formalizing our commitment to sustainability by creating the Downtown Sustainability Action Plan. The plan, slated for release in 2020, will provide a framework for developing sustainability initiatives tailored to Downtown that align with the City of Atlanta’s ambitious goals. To develop the plan, CAP engaged an official advisory committee, made up of over 30 individuals representing diverse cross-sector interests over a period of six months. Their feedback informed the creation of more than 25 strategies across five overarching topic areas: Energy and Water Use, Materials Management, Transportation, Natural Environment, and Community & Culture. Report coming soon!

Downtown Tree Planting Plan

The Downtown Atlanta Master Plan introduced a bold goal for increasing the tree canopy in Downtown - planting 10,000 trees in the next 10 years. In 2020, we will work with Trees Atlanta to develop a Downtown Tree Planting Plan as a blueprint for moving our goals from vision to reality.  Enhancing the urban tree canopy will be critical to creating urban neighborhoods that are healthy, comfortable, safe, and beautiful.

Stormwater/Green Infrastructure Plan

Also underway in 2020 is an effort to understand stormwater challenges and opportunities in Downtown. We are working with Sherwood Engineers to evaluate local streetscapes and identify unique opportunities for stormwater management in Downtown. The resulting stormwater strategy will prioritize green infrastructure and urban greening as a solution to urban flooding. Green infrastructure will benefit the Downtown community in a number of ways, such as enhancing shade and comfort, and reducing flooding.

Source: 2017 Downtown Atlanta Master Plan