SPEER Launches Austin 2030 District with Widespread Local Support

Public/private partnership seeking participants help buildings in downtown area achieve 50 percent reduction in energy and water use as well as transportation CO2 emissions by 2030 

Austin, Texas, January 24 – SPEER formally launched its Austin 2030 District January 19. The Austin 2030 District joins fellow projects in Dallas and San Antonio, and is part of a fifteen-city 2030 Network in the US and Canada. The goal is to keep Austin competitive and ensure a resilient, vibrant city in 2030 by asking business leaders to reduce the downtown business district’s energy use, water use, and carbon emissions – all while stimulating economic growth and delivering bottom-line benefits.

The District was established with funding from the Meadows Foundation and Funders’ Network – Partners for Places, and broad local support from the Downtown Austin Alliance, the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability, Austin Energy, and Austin Water Utility. Its first building members included Congress Holdings Group, The Austonian, the JW Marriott, and the Paramount and Stateside Theatres. As of the January 19^th event, the District had surpassed 6M square feet committed to reach these savings goals. The District continues to add multi-sector participants and downtown stakeholders from businesses and NGOs.

Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo offered remarks at the formal launch event, which was open to all downtown stakeholders, and held at the JW Marriott.

Chief Sustainability Officer Lucia Athens states, “The Office of Sustainability is thrilled to be a key partner in the 2030 District. This initiative will help us meet the City of Austin’s Community Climate Plan goals, with its focus on energy and water conservation and use of alternative transportation. In addition, as a major property owner, the City is poised to work with other partners to improve the sustainability performance of our facilities and share lessons learned.”

Intended to keep Austin competitive and ensure a resilient, vibrant city in 2030, local businesses have the potential to transform the city’s urban core by supporting each other in their efforts to reduce waste and increase building performance through its no-nonsense business case for efficient operations. Working collectively, business leaders can reduce the downtown business district’s energy use, water use and greenhouse gas emissions – all while stimulating economic growth and delivering bottom-line benefits.

To learn more about the 2030 Districts, please visit www.eepartnership.org and www.2030districts.org.