ICLEI USA Applauds Houston Mayor Parker for Receiving the 2011 U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Award
Mayor Parker and City of Houston Recognized by US Mayors for Implementing the Green Office Challenge, an Innovative ICLEI USA Program to Reduce GHG Emissions and Energy Consumption Among Businesses and Commercial Buildings – Millions of Dollars in Savings
Washington, DC, June 22, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Local Governments for Sustainability USA congratulates Houston Mayor Annise Parker for receiving the 2011 US Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Award. Mayor Parker was honored for her unparalleled work in implementing the Houston Green Office Challenge, an ICLEI USA program that encourages commercial building managers and tenants to reduce energy use, water use, and waste by 10 to 50 percent. Mayor Parker was also recognized for her work in implementing the Energy Efficiency Incentive Program, a U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR initiative. She received the honor during the US Conference of Mayor’s annual meeting in Baltimore, MD.
“On behalf of our local-government members across the nation, we extend our heartiest congratulations to Mayor Annise Parker for receiving this prestigious national award,” said Martin J. Chávez, Executive Director of ICLEI USA and three-term mayor of Albuquerque, NM. “We are honored that our partnership with Mayor Parker in the Green Office Challenge has made Houston a model for continued progress toward sustainability and increased energy efficiency. This is the type of local government action and commitment that makes communities greener and more livable, and guides them on a successful path toward sustainability.”
The Green Business Challenge is a unique program that seeks to engage local property managers and tenants in a friendly competition to save energy, reduce waste and water consumption, procure greener products, and implement other sustainable activities within their companies. More than 330 private sector partners have already taken up the Houston Green Office Challenge, with the city reimbursing building owners for 20 percent of materials and labor for qualifying improvements.
"Houston's public and private sector green building and energy efficiency initiatives reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and bring Houstonians into our sustainability movement," said Laura Spanjian, Sustainability Director for the City of Houston. "These innovative initiatives are just the beginning."
The city of Houston has set forth a multi-year agenda to retrofit all 262 city-owned buildings, including fire stations, police stations, libraries and even performance halls, and has launched its Houston Green Office Challenge (HGOC), including its Energy Efficiency Incentive Program (EEIP), that challenges private commercial building owners/mangers and tenants to reduce energy use, among other objectives. For city-owned buildings, these improvements are expected to reduce energy use by 30 percent in more than five million square feet of office space.
About ICLEI USA’s Green Business Challenge
In 2009, former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley launched the Chicago Green Office Challenge in partnership with ICLEI USA as an innovative strategy to significantly improve the environmental performance of commercial buildings, which account for a major share of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. ICLEI USA has worked to adapt and scale the program for communities across the country, including Houston; Westchester, NY; the Port of San Diego, CA; Arlington County, VA; Saint Louis, MO; Charleston, SC; Austin, TX; Chula Vista, CA; Bellevue, WA; and Triangle J Council of Governments, NC.
For more information on ICLEI USA’s Green Business Challenge, visit www.icleiusa.org/greenbusinesschallenge
For more information on the Houston Green Office Challenge, visit www.houstongoc.org
For more information on EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for commercial buildings, visit www.energystar.gov/buildings
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“On behalf of our local-government members across the nation, we extend our heartiest congratulations to Mayor Annise Parker for receiving this prestigious national award,” said Martin J. Chávez, Executive Director of ICLEI USA and three-term mayor of Albuquerque, NM. “We are honored that our partnership with Mayor Parker in the Green Office Challenge has made Houston a model for continued progress toward sustainability and increased energy efficiency. This is the type of local government action and commitment that makes communities greener and more livable, and guides them on a successful path toward sustainability.”
The Green Business Challenge is a unique program that seeks to engage local property managers and tenants in a friendly competition to save energy, reduce waste and water consumption, procure greener products, and implement other sustainable activities within their companies. More than 330 private sector partners have already taken up the Houston Green Office Challenge, with the city reimbursing building owners for 20 percent of materials and labor for qualifying improvements.
"Houston's public and private sector green building and energy efficiency initiatives reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and bring Houstonians into our sustainability movement," said Laura Spanjian, Sustainability Director for the City of Houston. "These innovative initiatives are just the beginning."
The city of Houston has set forth a multi-year agenda to retrofit all 262 city-owned buildings, including fire stations, police stations, libraries and even performance halls, and has launched its Houston Green Office Challenge (HGOC), including its Energy Efficiency Incentive Program (EEIP), that challenges private commercial building owners/mangers and tenants to reduce energy use, among other objectives. For city-owned buildings, these improvements are expected to reduce energy use by 30 percent in more than five million square feet of office space.
About ICLEI USA’s Green Business Challenge
In 2009, former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley launched the Chicago Green Office Challenge in partnership with ICLEI USA as an innovative strategy to significantly improve the environmental performance of commercial buildings, which account for a major share of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. ICLEI USA has worked to adapt and scale the program for communities across the country, including Houston; Westchester, NY; the Port of San Diego, CA; Arlington County, VA; Saint Louis, MO; Charleston, SC; Austin, TX; Chula Vista, CA; Bellevue, WA; and Triangle J Council of Governments, NC.
For more information on ICLEI USA’s Green Business Challenge, visit www.icleiusa.org/greenbusinesschallenge
For more information on the Houston Green Office Challenge, visit www.houstongoc.org
For more information on EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for commercial buildings, visit www.energystar.gov/buildings
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ICLEI USA
Guillermo Meneses
(202) 629-3591
www.icleiusa.org
Guillermo Meneses
(202) 629-3591
www.icleiusa.org
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