Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners voted last week to pass the county’s first sustainability plan. As its “neighbor” Atlanta has gotten more serious in tackling environmental issues, the county is now taking big steps to do the same.
The plan passed unanimously on the four Democrats, three Republicans-split commission and establishes six priority areas to preserve natural resources and improve the county’s resiliency. These six areas are: climate change mitigation; social equity and smart transit; high-performance county infrastructure; education, outreach and green jobs training/placement; fostering partnerships for plan implementation; and budgetary appropriation for implementation of the plan.
“This board again showed its commitment to the future of Fulton County,” said Chairman Robb Pitts. “It is our civic duty to our current and future constituents to do everything in our power to take care of our planet and its natural resources. By adopting this Sustainability Plan, we are taking responsibility for our environmental impact and ensuring that our environment is considered in every decision.”
Within each priority area, there are individual initiatives to increase sustainability. Some of these are already ongoing, including getting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, commonly known as LEED, certification on several of the library renovation projects. This has been ongoing since 2005, when the East Atlanta Library was the first to attain LEED certification. Others are slated to take several years to establish, like reducing the energy consumption by county up to 20% by 2025. This can be accomplished by installing more energy efficient appliances and fixtures, but also altering behavior to lower usage overall.
“I’m very proud of the efforts since last fall that included input from leadership, department leaders, staff and the Fulton County Citizens Commission on the Environment to ensure the plan matches our vision to be a leader in sustainability,” said Ellis Kirby, Fulton County’s deputy chief operating officer for infrastructure. “This plan is a monumental step for Fulton County and sends a message that we are committed to environmental responsibility in our operations, decisions and the communities that we serve.”
Fulton County has already been certified by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) as a “Green Community,” based on its existing policies and practices. The county established a “Green Team” in 2007, an interdepartmental program with the aim of recommending environmentally-conscious policies and practices throughout county government. The county also has a “lights out” campaign to encourage employees to power down devices and lights in their workspaces, a no idling policy and emphasis on commute alternatives, and paper reduction strategies.
“This certification is an indicator that we are living up to our commitments to environmental sustainability,” said County Manager Zachary L. Williams. “We are continually seeking ways to improve our green practices. It is good to know that we are heading in the right direction.”
Fulton County was among the first communities to be certified under this ARC program back in 2010. It was recertified in 2014 and 2018. It is currently certified at the Bronze level, there are also Silver, Gold and Platinum certification levels. Only Decatur, Norcross and Gwinnett County have received Platinum certification, followed by a handful of communities – Alpharetta, Atlanta, Chamblee, Cobb County, Roswell and Woodstock at the Gold level. DeKalb, Rockdale and Douglas counties, along with Douglasville, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, have all earned Silver.
With the county-wide sustainability plan ongoing, the next round of certifications could possibly bump Fulton into the next bracket.
