Blog: Alliance News

Along with the City of Santa Monica, we have released three new videos showcasing the City’s sustainability efforts. The videos were created to highlight some of the leadership qualities that led the City of Santa Monica to win the grand prize award for our 2009 California Sustainability Awards. 

The City of Santa Monica Leadership in Sustainability Videosfeature unique government practices in solar energy, farmers markets and urban forestry and include the following three videos:

• Net Zero Energy showcases Solar Santa Monica, a city agency serving as a “one-stop shop” for energy efficiency and solar energy information for local residents, businesses and municipal buildings since 2006. The agency provides free technical support to residents and businesses, which has resulted in more than 300 installations generating over 2.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity, moving Santa Monica toward its goal of becoming a net zero energy city.

• The Value of Trees spotlights the City of Santa Monica’s urban forestry management and explains how their trees are worth $138 million by their replacement value alone. When environmental benefits are also considered, the Santa Monica urban forest is worth $300 million. These benefits include valuable energy savings through shading, air filtration, reduction of stormwater runoff, carbon sequestration, and more.

• A Tale of Two Carrots features the City of Santa Monica’s Farmers Markets support of sustainable agriculture and local economic development through the voices of local residents, restaurateurs and school children. Eighty-five percent of residents and more than 80 local restaurants patronize the City’s four weekly farmers markets which keeps dollars in the local economy and offers residents an opportunity to obtain produce that uses less fuel for transport than produce from the grocery store.

While the nuances of sustainability efforts are often complex, the videos are presented in simple terms, and are designed to appeal to a wide audience by featuring compelling stories about local residents who are making sustainable choices in Santa Monica. Using a distinctive brand of film-making combining animation with live footage, the videos provide examples that will inspire viewers to make smart sustainable choices in their everyday lives. 

We have released The Competitive Edge: Commercial Green Building in California, a video designed to help viewers understand what characteristics green buildings have, and the types of green building measures most effective in the state of California.

The video features successful case studies from Adobe Systems and Thomas Properties Group, and is designed to educate a wide audience - including policymakers, governmental agencies, property managers, developers, lenders/investors, architects, engineers, building owners and tenants.

"Understanding what measures can be taken to reduce energy use in commercial buildings is critical, and further underscored by the recently announced federal initiative to achieve a 20 percent reduction in commercial energy use by 2020, Craig McDonald, Navigant Managing Director explained." According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, energy used by commercial and industrial buildings costs more than $200 billion per year and accounts for nearly half of all energy consumption in the U.S.

The video highlights the green building efforts of Thomas Properties Group, Inc., one of the pioneer real estate companies developing and operating green buildings in California and a 2008 Sustainability Showcase Award winner. Spotlighted properties include City National Plaza Building in Los Angeles and the Joe Serna Jr. Cal/EPA Headquarters Building in Sacramento which, through green building measures, each save close to $1.4 million in annual operating costs.