First Quarter Update: Sustainability Is Now Part of The Very Fabric of Our City's Operations

At our monthly Dunwoody Sustainability Commission citizen advisory board meeting last week, the City's Special Projects Manager/Director of Sustainability Jeff Timler and Special Projects Planner Kimberly Larson (with both of whom it has been nothing short of terrific to work) confirmed the ARC Green Community Certification measures for which the City of Dunwoody now qualifies, indicating that polices have been passed and these practices are now part of the very fabric of our City's operations:

1. Measure # 10: LED Traffic Lights (52% of our traffic lights are now LED, with more being replaced as needed)

2. Measure #13: Energy Codes

3. Measure #36: Green Fleet Policy

4. Measure #46: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy

5. Measure #49: Recycled Paper Purchasing

These measures account for 35 points of the 175 points needed to achieve Level 1 of the Green Community Certification.
The following measures were listed as New Business:

1. Measure #45: Shared parking

2. Measure #42: Safe Routes to School

3. Measure #15: Outdoor Lighting Efficiency

4. Measure #25: Stormwater Management

Our committee is researching Best Practices around Atlanta, the country and the world and making recommendations about these measures and others on the list that are targeted for Year 1 achievement. See the City timeline for sustainability measures here. The blue and green ones are targeted for this year, our very first as the City of Dunwoody. We invite you to join in the conversation on our Community Sustainability Forum and to express your support of sustainability initiatives to our elected officials.

To see the City of Dunwoody Purchasing Policy (which includes Measures #36, #46, and #49 listed above), click here.

To see details about the ARC Green Community Certification measures, click here.

Please note that even though the City of Dunwoody does not yet have a Lights Out/Power Down Policy (Measure #11), the City is currently following those guidelines and saving energy and taxpayer dollars as a result. During Earth Hour (Saturday, March 28 from 8:30-9:30 PM), our City building lights will be dark, along with those of more than 1,400 cities in 74 countries and territories around the world.

(P.S. Do you have any idea how hard it was to not write "Dunwoody Goes Green!" as my headline, considering it is St. Patrick's Day? As the granddaughter of Irish immigrants and a native New Yorker where my best friends were named McLafferty, Rafferty and O'Callahan, I wish you all the luck of the Irish today!)