The Construction Source America

6 | City of Atlanta Kasim Reed. Following the recent release of “Rising to the Challenge” (a comprehensive report highlighting Atlanta’s effort to reduce energy and water consumption in commer- cial buildings), Mayor Reed credited the partnership between businesses, universities, neighboring governments and non-profits as critical to Atlanta’s distinction as a leader among cities advancing sustainability prac- tices. At the same time, there can be no dis- missing the fact that the City administration has been leading by example and growth in sustainability policies and programs have been anchored by a conscious commitment to the City’s “Power to Change” sustainabil- ity initiative. The plan includes specific tar- gets and metrics for both City departments and the Atlanta community. Stakeholder en- gagement, a robust web-portal, and a gover- nance & accountability board are just a few highlights of the strategy to make Atlanta a top-tier city for sustainability; a goal set forth by Reed in his first year as Mayor. Another essential ingredient to that strat- egy was the 2011 appointment of Denise Quarles who serves as Director of Sustain- ability for the City. The Office of Sustain- ability was initially developed in 2008 un- Atlanta Beltline