City of Detroit and partners award Detroit Energy Challenge Winners 

City of Detroit and partners award Detroit Energy Challenge Winners 

Leaders from the City of Detroit, along with building owners and managers from across the city are gathering to celebrate the winners of the Detroit Energy Challenge at an awards breakfast on Tuesday, June 14.  Many of the competitors are members of the Detroit 2030 District and have joined the movement to create healthy, high-performance buildings by reducing carbon emissions from the built environment, fulfilling a key action in the Detroit Sustainability Action Agenda, published in 2019.  The City of Detroit has 154 Buildings enrolled in the energy challenge and is a proud supporter of the competition.

A key part of a green city is reducing emissions from Detroit’s residents and businesses. The Detroit Energy Challenge was developed by the Office of Sustainability and the Detroit 2030 District to encourage private businesses to take action to reduce emissions from the operations of their buildings, vehicles, and employee commute.

The buildings sector in Detroit contributed over 70% of the total Greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, according to the updated greenhouse gas assessment completed recently as part of the Detroit Climate Strategy, which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Therefore, the city will need to take action to reduce emissions from this sector to reach the goals of our Race to Zero commitment to getting to net-zero by 2050.

Joel Howrani Heeres, Director of the Office of Sustainability, states that “the commercial buildings sector has a tremendous opportunity with the Detroit Energy Challenge to reduce the cost and emissions from energy use, improve indoor working environments, and contribute to a cleaner, climate-resilient Detroit.

In order to achieve our goals multiple partners will need to be a part of this effort and the Detroit 2030 District is a prime example of the type of collaboration that we need to accomplish such ambitious goals. 40 private businesses belong to the Detroit 2030 District as Professional Stakeholders and offer their services to building owners and managers to achieve their carbon emission and energy waste reduction goals. DTE is a primary partner of the effort, as they offer a wide array of programs and incentives to help commercial building owners reduce their energy usage. Additionally, many local nonprofit organizations have partnered with the Detroit 2030 District by becoming Community Stakeholders and collaborating on best practices and strategies to support members.

Better indoor and outdoor air quality is another positive result of investment in healthy buildings. Building occupants tend to be more comfortable and productive in buildings that have undergone retrofits to improve energy efficiency, and ventilation, which creates better indoor air quality.

For more information, visit www.detroitmi.gov/sustainability