All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, “Oh, why can’t you remain like this for ever!” This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.

(more…)

Cities achieved tremendous results in energy efficiency through the implementation of building energy performance policies and programs. Through these efforts, community businesses and residents participated in broad and targeted stakeholder engagement forum and committed to ambitious goals to curb energy waste, and bring major economic, health, and taxpayer benefits to their jurisdictions.

See the list of City Energy Project participants below.

Atlanta

Mayor: Keisha Lance Bottoms
Population: 443,775
Office of Sustainability

Boston

Mayor: Martin J. Walsh
Population: 636,479
Office of Environmental & Energy Services

Chicago

Mayor: Lori Lightfoot
Population: 2,715,000
Office of Environment and Sustainability

Denver

Mayor: Michael B. Hancock
Population: 634,265
Energize Denver

Des Moines, IA

Mayor: Frank Cownie
Population: 207,510
City Manager’s Office

Fort Collins, CO

Mayor: Wade Troxell
Population: 152,061
Office of Sustainability

Houston

Mayor: Sylvester Turner
Population: 2,161,000
Division of Sustainability

Kansas City, MO

Mayor: Sly James
Population: 464,310

Office of Environmental Quality

Los Angeles

Mayor: Eric Garcetti
Population: 3,858,000
Mayor’s Office of Sustainability

Miami-Dade County, FL

Mayor: Carlos Gimenez
Population: 2,617,000
Office of Resilience

New Orleans

Mayor: LaToya Cantrell
Population: 378,715
Office of Resilience

Orlando, FL

Mayor: Buddy Dyer
Population: 249,562
Office of the Mayor

Philadelphia

Mayor: Jim Kenney
Population: 1,548,000
Office of Sustainability

Pittsburgh

Mayor: William Peduto
Population: 305,841
Office of Resilience

Providence, RI

Mayor: Jorge Elorza
Population: 177,994
Office of Sustainability

Reno, NV

Mayor: Hillary Schieve
Population: 233,294
Office of Sustainability

Salt Lake City

Mayor: Jackie Biskupski
Population: 189,314
Office of Sustainability

San Jose, CA

Mayor: Sam Liccardo
Population: 998,537
Environmental Services Department

St. Louis

Mayor: Lyda Krewson
Population: 318,416
Sustainability Office

St. Paul, MN

Mayor: Melvin Carter
Population: 294,873
Mayor’s Office

Engaging stakeholders is an ongoing priority when planning, launching, and managing a city-led policy or program. City residents, businesses, and government all play an active role in ensuring success and meeting goals.

As hosts and facilitators of diverse community interests, cities should use energy efficiency as a tool to engage stakeholders and promote gains in building efficiency to create healthier and more sustainable places where people spend their daily lives. However, cities can only be as nimble and innovative as they are able. Cities should learn how to test and find approaches for bringing together their unique stakeholders. Cities will learn to listen, prioritize interests and figure out the best ways to achieve a myriad of goals including reducing city-wide carbon reductions, improvements in air quality and public health, and the creation of more jobs.