LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Partnership for a Green City, a collaboration among four public organizations working to boost sustainable practices in the Louisville area, marked its 10th anniversary today in a celebration at The Nucleus, 300 E. Market St.
Partnership members are Louisville Metro Government, Jefferson County Public Schools, University of Louisville and Jefferson Community and Technical College.
During the celebration, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer was joined by JCPS Chief Operations Officer Michael Raisor, UofL Provost Shirley Willihnganz and JCTC President Tony Newberry to provide details about the partnership’s past accomplishments and commit to another 10 years as stewards of local sustainability.
The members also gave a progress report on the Climate Action Report, published in 2009, noting that 140 of the report’s 175 recommendations have been addressed. Some of the next steps planned by the partnership include a nimble structure, updated team goals and objectives and focusing more on behavior change to improve the environment and boost sustainable practices.
Since the partnership’s launch in 2004, members teamed up to increase energy efficiency, green our buildings and transportation systems, adopt earth-friendly purchasing policies and showcase the merits of sustainability. “We worked hard to lead by example,” said partnership director Brent Fryrear.
An example, said Fryrear, included collaboration between the partners that reduced total electricity use by more than 101 million kilowatt hours from 2011 to 2013, yielding a savings of $3 million a year in both 2012 and 2013.
“That amount of kilowatt hours would light and heat nearly 9,400 average Louisville homes for a year,” Fryrear said.
Together, the partners employ about 30,000 workers, educate 138,000 students and oversee more than 25,000 acres of property. “We own and manage one-tenth of the land in Louisville Metro, operate more than 30 million square feet of building space and 7,000 vehicles, so we have a large carbon footprint,” Fryrear said. “Because of our size and connections, we’ve been able to make significant inroads for sustainability at work and in many homes.”
For more information, contact Fryrear at 502-852-8854 or brent@partnershipforagreencity.org