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
