6 | City of Atlanta
a top tier city for sustainability,” says Mayor
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-
Atlanta Beltline
