2007 Mayors' Protection Awards Program

09/07/2007

Mayors Martin Chavez of Albuquerque (NM), and Dan Coody of Fayetteville (AR) have been awarded First Place honors in the 2007 Mayors’ Climate Protection Awards Program by The U.S. Conference of Mayors, sponsored by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 

The Awards recognize and honor mayors for outstanding and innovative practices that mayors are taking to increase energy efficiency in their cities, and to help curb global warming. An independent panel of judges, selected by The U.S. Conference of Mayors, determined the winning cities from a pool of over 100 applicants based on the following criteria: mayoral leadership, creativity and innovation, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and/or improved quality of life in their community. 

Outstanding Achievement Awards were also received by Austin Mayor Will Wynn; Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon; and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.  

Honorable Mention citations were awarded for the following cities: Mayor Graham Richard, Ft. Wayne, IN; Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Honolulu, HI; Mayor R.T. Ryback, Minneapolis, MN; Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York, NY; Mayor Marsha McClean, Santa Clarita, CA; Mayor Greg Nickels, Seattle, WA; Mayor Gene Marks, Northbrook IL; Mayor Richard S. Kelly, Palm Desert, CA; Mayor Gary A. Slagel, Richardson, TX; Mayor Marty Blum, Santa Barbara, CA. 

The Mayors’ Climate Protection Awards were jointly presented at the Conference of Mayors’ First Annual Luncheon by President Mayor Palmer and Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations. Wal-Mart Store Inc.’s support makes the Climate Protection Awards Program possible. 

"These two outstanding cities, Albuquerque and Fayetteville, demonstrate that mayors are crossing geographic and population lines and all taking action, regardless of where they’re located,�� said Conference President Doug Palmer.  ��We commend all the award winning cities as well as the honorable mentions, and we’re grateful to Wal-Mart for making these awards possible.��

Tom Cochran, Executive Director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors added, "It’s amazing to see the variety and scope of projects that mayors have created in their cities to take action in protecting our planet.  We’re very happy to be able to honor so many great mayors for their admirable efforts, and many will serve as examples for other cities, large and small."

��We’re proud to be working alongside the U.S. Conference of Mayors to raise environmental awareness, and congratulate Mayors Chavez and Coody for their outstanding dedication to energy efficiency in their cities,�� said Dach. ��All of the award winners recognize the need to take proactive steps to address climate change and the significant benefits these actions can have for their communities. Wal-Mart salutes each and every mayor who is promoting environmental sustainability in their city.��

Following are brief summaries of the award winning programs:

LARGE CITY

First Place - AlbuquerqueGreen Program

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez was selected to receive the first place award in the large city category for the AlbuquerqueGreen Program. This program features a multi-faceted, integrated approach with real action-oriented solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its impacts on climate change. The Albuquerque Green program aggressively seeks to improve the quality of life for Albuquerque residents by:

 

��        Commiting to make Albuquerque the most bicycle-friendly Southwestern city;

��        Promoting the growth of green-tech companies, employment and investment;

��        Making sure all newly-purchased city vehicles are alternatively fueled;

��        Changing city operations which so far have resulted in cutting natural gas by 42%, and refrigerants by 95%, and cutting green house gas emissions by 67% and;

��        Promoting pedestrian-friendly mixed-use urban village initiatives.

These efforts have resulted in an overall reduction of city greenhouse gas emissions of 67% since 2000. Additionally, the city is now requiring all new buildings to be carbon neutral and powered from 100% renewable energy by 2030.

SMALL CITY 

First Place - Fayetteville’s Alternative Transportation and Trail Master Plan

Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody was selected to receive the first place award in the small city category. Through his leadership, the city of Fayetteville’s Alternative Transportation and Trail Master Plan has created 129 miles of multi-use trails and 163 miles of on-street linkages to the city.  The goal of this program is to establish alternative modes of transportation and active recreation as an integral part of daily life. This innovative program provides an alternative to auto-based transportation for area residents, and the trails have ultimately helped reduce vehicle miles traveled, which leads to fewer green house gas emissions. Fayetteville’s master plan also spawned the development of other trail plans in the region, which will eventually lead to a regional network.

Outstanding Achievement

AUSTIN, TX - Austin Mayor Will Wynn was chosen as an Outstanding Achievement Award winner for his innovative program that includes: making all city facilities, fleets and operations totally carbon-neutral by 2020; switching their fuels to be 30% renewable by 2020; and 3) targeting to have the most energy-efficient building codes in the nation by making all new single-family homes zero energy capable by 2015. 

CHICAGO, IL - Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s ��Smart Bulb Program�� was selected in part because it was the first program in the nation that has distributed 500,000 free CFLs to community residents.  Additionally, area residents were educated through flyers and their website on the benefits of CFLs, in turn reducing electric bills for many Chicagoans while reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the city.   

BALTIMORE, MD - Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon’s ��Energy Conservation Program�� was selected because it serves as a strong city-wide model to reduce the City’s cost and consumption of energy. This project also included incorporating an energy reduction project at 180 public school buildings in Baltimore, as well as in 33 city buildings.