After five years of oversight from Architecture 2030, the fifteen 2030 Districts across North America establish their own non-profit
SANTA FE, NM – January 27th, 2016 –The private-sector led 2030 Districts have been established in cities across North America as grassroots efforts to provide a business model for urban sustainability through collaboration, leveraged financing, and shared resources. The 2030 Districts work towards a common goal of meeting the energy, water, and vehicle emissions reduction targets for existing buildings and new construction called for by Architecture 2030 in its 2030 Challenge for Planning.
After five years of support and oversight from Architecture 2030, the fifteen 2030 Districts have now established a non-profit, the 2030 Districts Network, to supported their efforts from January 2017. “We understood the power of creating a District model to address resource conservation in cities,” said Edward Mazria, Founder and CEO of Architecture 2030 and member of the new 2030 Districts Network Board. “It has been gratifying to see the market signal that this is the right way to create change in the industry.” The 2030 Districts Network includes more than 290 million square feet of member-owned real estate, over 1,000 buildings, and over 600 different member organizations.
While the Districts are managed by their local boards, the 2030 Districts Network was established to support peer exchange across Districts, store and share data, use the aggregate purchasing power of the District membership to secure reduced costs, create national partnership relationships, and influence national policy on transportation infrastructure and building water and energy efficiency. Previously, Architecture 2030 had run the Network, making sure all 2030 Districts benefit from partnerships, support, and services, including technical support, fundraising guidance, access to national partners, summits, webinars and capacity building workshops. But with the 2030 Districts’ successful growth – in addition to the fifteen Established Districts, there are five more cities that have reached the Emerging District stage of development – the logical step was for the Network to become its own non-profit organization.
As part of this move, the 2030 Districts have selected the following thirteen members to its initial Board of Governors:
|
Name |
Organization |
Name |
Organization |
|
Tyler Harris |
Government Services Administration (GSA) |
Anna Siefken |
Carnegie Mellon |
|
Jason Kobeda |
Major League Baseball |
Jiri Skopek |
Jones Lange LaSalle |
|
Edward Mazria |
Architecture 2030 |
Tim Thiel |
Covestro, LLC |
|
Sara Neff |
Kilroy Realty |
Jon Utech |
The Cleveland Clinic |
|
Brett Philips |
Unico Properties |
Jenita Warner |
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District |
|
Dave Pogue |
CBRE |
Jill Ziegler |
Forest City Realty Trust |
|
Megan Saunders |
Stamford 2030 District |
|
|
Under this new leadership, the Network will look to build upon the success and expand its reach to more cities in North America and beyond. “As a national real estate owner and developer, Forest City Realty Trust’s sees the 2030 Network as a great asset in helping us achieve our sustainability goals, aligning those objectives with municipal plans, and effectively communicating our efforts to stakeholders,” said Jill Ziegler, Forest City’s Director of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, and a new 2030 Network board member. “We look forward to working with like-minded organizations within the 2030 Network to share best practices and further sustainability efforts on a broader scale at all levels.”
The majority of 2030 Districts are located in downtown commercial cores and city centers, which typically have the highest and most concentrated energy and environmental impact. There, the reduction of energy and water consumption, transportation emissions, and improved indoor air quality provides the additional benefit of increased competitiveness in the business environment and owner’s returns on investment. Several of the Districts that are vulnerable to environmental threats such as flooding also focus on community and economic resilience.
The Districts have an impact on raising awareness of climate change and mobilizing community action. Several Districts have published annual reports documenting their successes and have been able to create meaningful and quantifiable strides to meeting their goals. Pittsburgh realized a 63% drop in energy consumption in its District through the end of 2014. The Seattle District has seen a 10% reduction in energy consumption through 2015 and the Stamford District saw a 6.2% reduction in energy consumption through 2015.“Architecture 2030 is delighted to be handing over supervision of the 2030 Districts to their own free-standing organization. The Districts have been a great success, and we look forward to their continued growth and development, supported by the 2030 Districts Network,” said Edward Mazria.
About Architecture 2030
Architecture 2030 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization with the mission of rapidly transforming the built environment from the major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a central part of the solution to the climate and energy crises. Architecture 2030 pursues two primary objectives:
1. the dramatic reduction in global fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions of the built environment by changing the way cities, communities, infrastructure, and buildings, are planned, designed, and constructed and;
2. the regional development of an adaptive, resilient built environment that can manage the impacts of climate change, preserve natural resources, and access low-cost, renewable energy resources.
More info: visit architecture2030.org, or follow Architecture 2030 on Twitter and Facebook.
About 2030 Districts
2030 Districts were established as a grassroots effort that, through private/ public partnerships, bring property owners and managers together with local governments, businesses, and community stakeholders to provide a business model for urban sustainability through collaboration, leveraged
financing, and shared resources. Together they benchmark, develop, and implement creative strategies, best practices, and verification methods for measuring progress towards a common goal of meeting energy, water, and vehicle emissions reduction targets for existing buildings and new construction. 2030 Districts have been formed in Seattle, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Denver, Stamford, San Francisco, Dallas, Toronto, Albuquerque, San Antonio, Grand Rapids, Ithaca, Austin and Portland, ME.
More info: visit www.2030districts.org
