Fulton County Government Resiliency

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Fulton County Government’s legacy of optimizing new technologies for public facilities by conserving energy and advancing environmental stewardship goals is thoroughly practical and aesthetically inspiring. Cleveland Avenue Library is our first U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum Library, validating our level of commitment to sustainability and responsibility to taxpayers who expect that the triple bottom line of sustainability (i.e., the economic, ecological, and social values) is reflected in our library’s capital improvement program. In 2008, the Board of Commissioners and our taxpayers voted to float $275M in bonds to build nine new libraries, and renovate our entire portfolio of existing libraries. That 2008 investment in sustainability and resilience has resulted in having our county-owned library facilities achieve LEED Platinum, Gold and Silver Certification. High performance green libraries save taxpayer dollars by reducing the county's carbon and water footprints. Benchmarked energy and water savings are displayed on lobby monitors for public viewing. Our libraries provide excellent indoor air quality, recycling, sustainable sites and green jobs training for low-wealth residents. Fulton County Government's enduring thoughtfulness includes using our eight new solar PV installations at county facilities as temporary emergency warming areas, called “Resiliency Hubs” for residents during future historic storm events.