Three U.S. communities serve as the gold standard in 2011 for local level sustainability planning, and were awarded the 2011 Siemens Sustainable Community Awards.
San Jose, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Greensburg, Kansas have been desribed as cities of "innovation" and "resilience", but long-term competitiveness is what led them to receive the Sustainable Community Award trophies.
Nearly 90 different communities from 40 states applied for the 2011.
"With these awards, we are honoring cities that are pioneering strategies to create environmental and economic win-win solutions," said Stephen Jordan, founder and executive director of the U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center. "We expect many more communities to build on their experiences in the years to come."
In the category of large community, San Jose, California, won the 2011 Siemens Sustainable Community Award for its adoption of Green Vision, which sets 10 goals for environmental protection and economic development.
The 15-year plan (which launched in 2007) includes: creating 25,000 cleantech jobs; building or retrofitting 50 million square feet of green buildings; installing 100,000 solar roofs; reducing per capita electricity use by half; becoming a zero waste city; recycling and reusing 100% of the city’s water; and moving to 100% renewable energy.
In the midsize community category, Raleigh, North Carolina, won the award for a range of factors including its commitment to developing a "green economy."
The city established the Economic Development Group, comprising government agencies, businesses, and community organizations, to help make sustainable jobs more available to residents. Raleigh created a workforce development program to retrain workers with the skills needed to make them more employable in the green economy, training more than 200 people in the first year.
Additionally, Raleigh is home to one of the nation’s two LEED Silver convention centers, attracting substantial economic activity that bolsters the entire community.
The winner of the small community category, Greensburg, Kansas, overcame challenging odds to become one of the world’s first municipalities to build from the ground up with a community master plan tied to sustainability principles.
In May 2007, Greensburg, a two-mile-wide town, captured headlines when it was leveled by an EF-5 tornado. Its commitment to rebuilding and reinventing itself through sustainable principles and a healthy environment is at the heart of the town’s recovery from the disaster.
Among its many accomplishments, Greensburg has the most LEED-platinum buildings per capita in the world. To date, more than 60 local businesses have re-opened or are in the process of re-opening. "The Greensburg Model" has led to new tourism opportunities, as people travel from across the world to experience the town’s green rebuilding projects.
The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards are now in their fourth year. Created in 2008 by the U.S. Chamber BCLC and Siemens Corporation, the goal of the awards program is to give rise to U.S. communities that are taking proactive steps to improve quality of life, be a steward of the environment, and increase the ability to sustain a successful community for generations to come.
"We believe there is a clear tie between sustainable development and long-term success for communities," said Alison Taylor, vice president of Sustainability – Americas, Siemens Corporation. "These communities are examples of how investment in sustainable solutions can benefit not only the environment and the bottom line–but also improve overall living conditions for residents."
Other finalists in the large, midsize, and small categories in the 2011 competition include: Baltimore, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; North Little Rock, Arkansas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Brea, California; and Burlington, Vermont.
A panel of five judges selected the finalists and winners based on the communities’ approach to achieving economic, environmental and overarching sustainability.
Loading...