The city of Phoenix has become one of the first cities to achieve Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design, LEED for Cities Platinum certification, the world’s most widely used green building rating program.
"Phoenix has earned a national reputation for its leadership on sustainability, and this prominent certification validates our incredible progress," Mayor Greg Stanton said. "We've set ambitious goals, and Phoenix will continue to take more steps to divert waste, increase water efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions, which benefits us, our environment and our economy."
Created by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the world’s most widely used green building program and is designed to help buildings, communities and cities achieve high performance in key areas of human and environmental health. LEED for Cities enables cities to measure and track outcomes from ongoing efforts with the goal of improving sustainability and quality of life. Cities are evaluated based on 14 key metrics that include energy, water, waste, transportation, education, health, safety, prosperity and equitability. LEED for Cities performance is tracked through Arc, a digital platform that connects actions and tracks progress using a performance score.
Phoenix’s LEED Platinum certification recognizes the city’s commitment in creating a sustainable and resilient built environment, which includes: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporting clean energy innovation, and focusing on inclusive prosperity and livability.
“Phoenix is not only demonstrating its environmental leadership, but also highlighting its commitment to pursuing strategies that will improve the health and wellbeing of its residents,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO at USGBC and GBCI. “The city is setting a standard for what it means to be a high performer and we applaud their efforts and achievements so far.”
“It is great to be one of the first cities rated under this new certification system and to receive recognition for our efforts in achieving a Platinum ranking,” said Mark Hartman, Chief Sustainability Officer, city of Phoenix.
The USGBC has a vision that buildings, cities and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. In its 2017-2019 strategic plan, one of USGBC’s primary goals is to expand sustainable, healthy and resilient communities, cities, and cultures.
By certifying under LEED for Cities, Phoenix is helping to achieve this goal and is recognized as a leader for its outstanding sustainability performance. USGBC’s LEED for Cities program is supported through a grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
