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Mandy Schmitt, MEM '05 - more information
Atlanta Rises Again – This Time, Green
Mandy Schmitt MEM ‘05, has her work cut out for her.
She is the sustainability director for the City of Atlanta, the poster child for runaway sprawl. Just how does someone go about greening a city that's grown outward, turning it into one of the country's smoggiest cities with the worst commutes? In short, by starting small, aiming big and focusing on the center of government.
"A lot of things that the city does impacts how people get around—transportation, housing," says Schmitt. "But my focus is not that. My focus is about building the foundation so the city gets its house in order first. Then we can go out and support initiatives in the community."
The first item on Schmitt's greening agenda frequently tops any sustainability to-do list—the low-hanging fruit of efficiency. For this, Schmitt is targeting the 300 buildings the city owns and operates.
"Many of those buildings are quite old," says Schmitt. "So we're looking at projects to improve the insulation in the buildings, to make sure all the systems are working properly and are upgraded, to replace the windows, to ensure that all of our lighting is as efficient as it can possibly be, … to retrofit plumbing and piping to decrease energy use "
The list goes on. The idea is to implement projects that cross all departments and address key issues of water, energy and air to build a base and learn from doing. This will enable the city to go after the cooler, more innovative, exciting projects that cities like Portland, Boston and New York already are implementing.
"But until we get our buildings to be efficient, it makes no sense to put a solar panel on our roof," says Schmitt.
Schmitt's Sustainability Roots Trace Back to Duke
Efficiency and innovation were two hallmarks of Schmitt's time at Duke. She was a force in creating both the energy track in the Nicholas School’s Master of Environmental Management program and the Duke University Greening Initiative (DUGI).
DUGI was the brainchild of Michael Vitarelli, Justin Siegel and Schmitt. Their first goal was to persuade the university to make all its new buildings LEED-certified. Spurred by the mentorship of former Nicholas School Board of Visitor’s Chairman Simon Rich, the students took their green-building initiative to Duke Executive Vice President Tallman Trask. “He said yes without blinking an eye,” said Schmitt. “And he challenged us to take a more aggressive look.”
A quick survey of the Duke campus shows DUGI's enduring influence: recycling, bike racks, low-flow showerheads, and the LEED-certified buildings, to name just a few. The university's commitment to sustainability earned it the #5 spot on Sierra Club's November 2007 rankings of the "greenest schools."
Another legacy of DUGI's founders is the university's sustainability coordinator. Schmitt and her fellow students in DUGI suggested that the university add the position. In 2004 Duke hired its first coordinator to helm its efforts, much like Schmitt does today for Atlanta.
Greening the South From Durham to Atlanta
Before becoming Atlanta's sustainability director, Schmitt worked on a number of greening initiatives there. In fact, she moved back to Georgia, her home state, when the first big greening opportunity knocked. While still pursuing her master of environmental management degree at Duke, Schmitt worked with developer Ray Weeks to analyze what was driving the Atlanta metro area and determine what initiatives could improve it.
That project led to a consulting position on the Atlanta Beltline, a 25-year, $3-billion greening project that aims, among other things, to transform the city's transportation system and spur economic development.
Tina Arbes, the Beltline's chief operating officer, credits Schmitt with helping lay a solid foundation for the nation's largest redevelopment project. "She created a healthy and credible relationship with some key funders early on," said Arbes. "She recognized the importance of public awareness … and was creative in how to build interest. …The staff positions she recruited are among the strongest we have today."
From the Beltline, Schmitt joined Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin's team tasked with starting Atlanta down a more sustainable path. Schmitt and seven other consultants studied 40 of the greenest cities in the United States and Canada, creating a master sustainability plan for Atlanta modeled on what worked elsewhere.
In February 2008, Mayor Franklin acted on one of the recommendations from Schmitt's green team: hire someone to helm the city's sustainability efforts.
There’s a lot of work to be done between now and 2010 when Schmitt’s tenure as the sustainability director is up along with the mayor’s term—not the least of which is to rack up enough savings to fund a full-time position. Schmitt is a loaned executive. But if the past is any indication, Schmitt will cover a great deal of green ground—which will provide the green to fund it.
Guiding Atlanta Into the Vanguard of Sustainability
In sync with its motto "resurgens" (Latin for "rise again"), Atlanta is making itself over, this time following a more sustainable path. As in 1887 when it rebuilt itself from the ashes of General Sherman’s fiery march, the Southeast's largest city is resurging, slowly upping its ranks among sustainable city centers.
When stacked up against the green cities surveyed by the mayor's team in 2007, such as Portland, Boston and Chicago, Atlanta earned about a "C."
"The first tier of activities that we're going after will get Atlanta to a strong 'B,'" says Schmitt, "but getting to where the Portlands and Seattles of the world are is going to take a lot of effort. They've been at this game for at least 10 years, much longer than we have."
But Atlanta is headed in the right direction.
Greening its buildings will address some 40-60 percent of greenhouse gas pollution, air pollution, storm runoff, water use and energy use. Installing green roofs like the demonstration one on City Hall will reduce the heat-island effect, prevent storm-water runoff and provide a good working space for employees. Boosting its recycling efforts will reduce waste. Working in partnership with the Beltline will address transportation issues.
"It's a good time to be working on this," says Schmitt. "2008 is very different from even 2007 was. We've got a lot of low-hanging fruit, which is good because we'll make a lot of progress quickly and I think that we'll be catching up."
