Sustainable Georgia Roundup
Stronger Commitment: Carrollton-based Southwire, which manufactures wire, cable and cord products, signed the UN Global Compact, a worldwide voluntary corporate citizenship initiative that pursues integration of sustainability practices in business strategies and operations.
Remarkable Rebate: Recognizing energy efficiency upgrades at two Georgia Tech facilities, Georgia Power presented the university with a rebate check of $500,000, the largest single rebate from the company’s Commercial Energy Efficiency Program. Georgia Power estimates the Tech upgrades will save more than 16 million kilowatt hours annually. Since 2011, the program has rebated more than $44 million.
Better Buildings: The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge, a public-private initiative to reduce the city’s water and energy consumption 20 percent by 2020, recently recognized participating buildings that have reached water or energy reduction goals. The Most Valuable Players included Emory University, Georgia-Pacific Center, Atlanta History Center, Atlanta Community ToolBank, Fulton County Schools, Hemphill Water Treatment Plant, T3 Labs and AMLI Resident.
Safer Water: According to tests by Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, the city’s drinking water continues to meet or exceed standards for clean, safe drinking water established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Safe Drinking Water Act.
Learning Gardens: The Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program, a nationwide community improvement nonprofit, awarded Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful a $20,000 grant for Project Plant It Forward. The project will allow 11 local schools to create edible and pollinating learning gardens and is a collaborative effort among Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, county schools, Monarchs Across Georgia and the Captain Planet Foundation.
