February 2015
| Business World
59
part. “Of course, there is still much work to
be done”, says Bastian, “but participation is
steadily growing.”
“”We are boosting our numbers and citywide
participation, and are extremely proud to
be half-way towards the 2020 savings goals.
We’re currently at a 9% portfolio-wide en-
ergy savings, which we benchmark through
a tool created and managed by the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) known
as Energy Star Portfolio Manager.”
The Better Buildings Challenge and its suc-
cess is a tremendous source of pride for the
City of Atlanta and Mayor Kasim Reed. The
collaborative efforts between government
and the private sector continue to pay off as
Mayor Kasim Reed was recently named one
of the country’s top eight mayor’s for sustain-
ability by Our Green Cities, an independent
sustainability ranking organization.
“The Better Buildings Challenge is a great
example of public-private partnership at
work.All participation is voluntary and we
work collaboratively to make sure that par-
ticipants are not only engaged and know
what the requirements are, but we provide
technical resources, troubleshooting, and
education on an ongoing basis. We offer a
monthly education series, some with con-
tinuing education credits, on different topics
be it lighting technologies, energy reduction
