The City of Atlanta announced that it will strengthen its sustainable design standards for municipal facilities as part of the Sustainable Building Ordinance. Under the Ordinance, all major renovations and new construction of City-owned facilities larger than 5,000 square feet are required to gain LEED New Construction Silver Certification or greater, and all existing City-owned facilities larger than 25,000 square feet are required to gain the LEED Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Certification. The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously on July 17 to approve the Sustainable Building Ordinance.
 
The requirement for LEED NC Silver is effective immediately and the requirement for LEED O+M in existing buildings will be phased in over the next ten years.
 
“This new ordinance is the latest of many initiatives the City of Atlanta is implementing to ensure its place as one of the most sustainable cities in the world,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “I would like to thank my Administration for their dedication and collaboration efforts that made this happen. I would also like to thank Atlanta City Council for demonstrating their commitment by voting unanimously on this measure.”
 
This policy is a significant milestone in Mayor Kasim Reed’s legacy of making Atlanta a top-tier city for sustainability. The effort was spearheaded by the Mayor’s Office of Resilience with unwavering support from the City’s Department of Aviation, Department of Watershed Management, Office of Enterprise Assets Management, Department of Public Works, Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of City Planning.
 
The City’s leadership in building efficiency has earned national recognition. Notable accomplishments include Atlanta leading the nation in participation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge program with 114 million square feet of building space committed to reducing their energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent by 2020; passing the Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance in 2015; undergoing investment grade audits of 100 City-owned facilities; and the committing to transitioning to 100 percent clean energy sources for municipal operations by 2025 and for the entire city by 2035.
 
“Market transformation happens one building at a time. Atlanta understands the value of LEED and has exemplified extraordinary leadership in reshaping their sector,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council. “The success of LEED is due to the partnership and support of those committed to advancing green building and sustainability. Each new LEED certification is one step closer to revolutionizing the environment in which live, work and play.”