Phillips applauds King County’s participation in President Obama’s announced energy upgrade investment

December 5, 2011

Summary

Upgrades to buildings in King County and across the nation will create jobs, save billions

Story

King County is a part of the Better Buildings Challenge introduced by President Obama that will invest a combined $4 billion in federal, local, and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next two years. The investments will create jobs in the hard-hit construction sector, reduce energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. King County’s participation is through membership in the Seattle 2030 District, a nonprofit organization committed to reducing environmental impacts of facility construction and operations.

“By joining the President’s Better Buildings Challenge, King County is part of a nationwide public-private effort to boost our economy through job creation and reduced energy costs,” said Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, National Co-Chair of Climate Communities, which advocates for federal-local partnerships for responding to the climate crisis. “Upfront investments in making buildings more energy efficient pay off in saved lifetime energy costs and promote green businesses and jobs. I applaud the great work of the Seattle 2030 District in advancing high-performing, energy-efficient buildings.”

President Obama announced the $2 billion federal commitment to upgrade federal buildings, paid for through long term energy savings, on December 2. He was joined by 60 CEOs, mayors, university presidents, and labor leaders in committing to investing nearly $2 billion in additional energy improvements to buildings. These projects will upgrade the energy performance of 1.6 billion square feet of buildings by 2020. The Seattle 2030 District, including King County, is part of that consortium.

The 2030 District is made up of more than 60 civic leaders. Besides King County, the district includes building owners and professionals, utilities, Architecture2030, the City of Seattle. The District has made aggressive building energy reduction goals and committed more than 23 million square feet of building space to the Better Buildings Challenge.