The City of Atlanta has long been a pioneer and thought leader in terms of business, civil rights, education and now environmental sustainability. As early as the 1920’s, businesses dedicated to comprehensive energy efficiency solutions and sustainability programs, such as Servidyne, Inc, were being founded and headquartered in Atlanta. Other organizations and companies with a strong interest in environmental sustainability followed suit throughout much of 20th century including Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, Georgia Conservancy, Urban Land Institute, UPS Foundation, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Piedmont Park, Interface and The Home Depot.

As a result of the city’s rich history of civic leadership and economic prosperity, Mayor Shirley Franklin cemented a long-term economic and environmental commitment to sustainability for Atlanta. Environmental sustainability was identified as a critical factor in making Atlanta a more competitive and viable city. City leadership were then charged to create a community dedicated to sustainability and in 2006, Sustainable Atlanta was born.

With the help of city officials and expert consultants, Sustainable Atlanta’s first step was to assess current sustainable practices for the City of Atlanta and recommend a course of action to implement new-high impact policies and programs. Now Sustainable Atlanta continues this work through its focus on convening leaders from academic, business, civic, governmental sectors and non-profits to develop sustainable policy and programs for those who live, work and play in Atlanta.

As a 501(c) 3, Sustainable Atlanta serves as a catalyst, consultant and facilitator for sustainable progress in Atlanta as well as across the nation. Sustainable Atlanta leverages its expertise to help make Atlanta, other municipalities, citizens and organizations more bottom-line efficient, environmentally responsible and more competitive when attracting employers/jobs. These are all critical functions in the challenging economic times that the City of Atlanta, the United States and the World are currently facing.