DECEMBER 2023 THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AMERICA - EAST 4 | City of Cincinati And in terms of strategies for sustainability; that is, adopting practices to reduce its carbon footprint and operate with greater ecosensitivity, Cincinnati started blazing a trail while some communities were still struggling to find a path. The city had established an Office of Environmental Management more than twenty years ago which sought solutions to the future and benefitted from support of city leadership, but in 2003, budget problems combined with political tensions and turnover to see that office and all its potential, suddenly eliminated. A little over two years later, in his campaign for City Mayor, Mark Mallory (a former Member of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio State Senate) ran on a platform that pledged to restore the office. After winning the election, he fulfilled that promise and established what is recognized today as Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality. That decision has not only helped reduce annual city operational costs in the millions of dollars, but has also led to new jobs and greater potential for the city to reap further benefits vital to its future. Metro Hybrid Bus City of Cincinati | 5 877-OWN-SOLAR thirdsunsolar.com Delivering a smooth transition to clean solar power at any scale. CURSED BY ITS BLESSING Larry Falkin, the Director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality, says to truly talk sustainability, one must understand that it is “a place-based discussion.” He says local issues, the local facts on the ground, dictate that sustainability never means the same thing or works the same way from one place to the next. And when it comes to sustainability strategies in Cincinnati, Falkin says it is a community that is almost cursed by its blessings. To put that in context, in many cases, a city’s move to greater sustainability practices may be prompted by critical Solar panels on the City’s Beekman Garage - made possible through the City’s Solar Power Purchase Agreement with The Sun Team (Solar Power and Light, Dovetail Solar and Wind and Tremco Roofing)
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