by Brett Rosenberg
May 22, 2006

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez moderated an interactive session addressing the impact buildings have on energy use and the environment. Chavez said, “One of the rare opportunities for us to lead in our communities through encouraging energy independence and environmental responsibility.” Chavez continued, “In the process of doing the right thing, we as mayors send a national message.” Chavez introduced Edward Mazria, President of Mazria, Inc. Odems Dzurec, who spoke extensively about the impacts buildings have on the environment, resource depletion and energy consumption.

Mazria put a typical building into a larger context. After presenting a graphic demonstration of the effect of rising sea levels on the U.S. east coast should heat trapping gases continue to accumulate in the earth’s atmosphere, Mazria explained that buildings consume 48 pecent of the nation’s energy use, and are responsible for 76 pecent of electricity use for normal operations. This translates into an enormous amount of energy unnecessarily wasted and hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide discharged into the atmosphere. In calling for a “Blueprint for Change,” Mazria challenged mayors to lead the way in making buildings more energy efficient, saying, “The solution is simple, but requires tremendous political will.”

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chavez have submitted a resolution for consideration at The United States Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting this June, calling for adopting the so-called 2030 Challenge. The resolution incrementally reduces fossil fuel use by new building over the coming decades and specifies the year 2030 as a target for all new buildings to be carbon neutral, that is, the buildings, their energy needs, and operations would have no net greenhouse gas emissions.

Following Mazria’s presentation, mayors delved deeper into how to implement greener building strategies. La Mesa (CA) Mayor Arthur Madrid asked whether there is some secret to bringing the American Institute of Architects into the green building development process. Mazria suggested that it more a matter of reaching out to developers and the Conference of Mayors can lead by example by requiring developers to attain specific green performance standards and codes. Palatine (IL) Mayor Rita Mullins asked if cities have explored whether the federal government provides tax credits or other incentives for green building and development. Mazria responded that federal incentives are not exactly forthcoming, although there are some tax incentives for energy efficiency programs; this, he said, is a major reason that mayors must take the lead on green developments.