success stories

Atlanta, GA, leads U.S. in LEED-certified buildings

The Achievement

Los Angeles, CA, adopts sustainable green building ordinance

The Achievement

Albuquerque, NM, building earns fourth Energy Star

The Achievement

Compressed Workweek in Asheville, NC

The Achievement

In 2008 the City began a pilot of alternative work schedules to reduce commute costs for employees and the City's building energy demand and associated carbon footprint. All staff in the department except senior management are working 10 hours a day for four days a week instead of the traditional 5/8 schedule.

Saint Paul, Minn. plants 12,000 native trees and 10,000 native grasses

Ann Arbor, Mich., cuts streetlight bills in half with LEDs

The Action Steps

Ann Arbor plans to become the first U.S. city to convert 100% of its downtown streetlights to energy-efficient LED technology. In 2007, the process began, and the City expects to install 1,045 LED streetlights over a two-year period. LED lights typically burn five times longer than the bulbs they replace and require less than half the energy. Each fixture draws 56 watts and is projected to last 10 years, replacing fixtures with bulbs that use more than 120 watts and last only two years. The City anticipates a 3.8-year payback on its initial investment.

Austin, Texas, launches Zero Energy Capable Homes Initiative

The Achievement

The Zero Energy Capable Homes (ZECH) program in Austin, Texas, requires new single-family homes to be zero net-energy capable by 2015. These homes will be 65% more efficient than homes built to the Austin Energy Code in 2006, and it will be cost-effective to install renewable on-site generation and become zero energy homes.

The program will be implemented in phases. The first of four planned local amendments to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) was approved by the City Council in October, 2007.

Austin's program demonstrates that increasing energy efficiency and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions can both be cost-effective. When the increased cost of building the home is rolled into a 30-year mortgage, reduced energy costs are greater than increased mortgage payments.

Portland, OR, Residents Save $1.1 Billion by Driving Less

The Achievement

• It’s not a typo: The two million people who live in metropolitan Portland, OR, save a combined $1.1 billion per year by driving, on average, 20 percent fewer miles per day than the typical U.S. metropolitan resident (four miles per day less).
• If Portlanders drove as much as the typical resident, they would produce eight million more vehicle miles per day, or about 2.9 billion more miles per year. The total estimated savings on car purchases, gas, and other vehicle-related expenses comes to $1.1 billion per year.

New Jersey Meadowlands Commission builds 700 kW solar array

The Achievement

The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, a regional zoning and planning agency in Northern New Jersey, has initiated a set of comprehensive policies and programs across the 14-town Meadowlands District in an ongoing commitment to improve green building infrastructure. In June 2007, the NJMC announced plans for a 700 kilowatt startup solar array on its properties in Lyndhurst.

Fayetteville, Ark., saves $400,000 with energy management program

The Achievement

In 2007, Fayetteville, Ark., implemented an energy management program that included extensive energy conservation measures. The City also installed programmable thermostats that cost $100 each. More recently, the City has begun conducting energy audits that include a menu of action items to improve energy efficiency.

The Benefit

In the program’s first year, Fayetteville saved $400,000 in energy costs due to the emphasis on energy conservation. The $100 thermostats paid for themselves in the first month of use.