Tallahassee Earns LEED Gold Certification

City is highest scoring municipality in international rating system

June 02, 2021

The City of Tallahassee has been a pioneer in sustainability and resiliency through highly efficient operations, impactful community-wide campaigns and bold strategic initiatives. Today, June 2, that holistic, focused, long-term organizational commitment earned the City of Tallahassee recognition as a Gold level LEED-certified City by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

“From how we leverage technology and modernize our infrastructure to how we preserve canopy coverage and grow our parks system, the City’s commitment to sustainable progress has forged new solutions to issues facing many communities around the world,” Mayor John Dailey said. “This certification and record-breaking score recognize the multitude of efforts – both past and present – by the City of Tallahassee to deliver quality municipal services in innovative ways, to provide current residents and future generations the opportunity to live their best lives here.”

The USGBC’s LEED for Cities and Communities is an international rating system that provides a framework for communities to benchmark their sustainability and resilience performance relative to peers across the globe. LEED for Cities and Communities was established by the USGBC in 2016 to encourage cities and communities to increase transparency around their sustainability and resiliency performance and encourage them to focus on outcomes associated with their efforts.

The metrics identified in the LEED framework are well-aligned with the City’s strategic goals and objectives identified in both the 2024 Strategic Plan and the Community Resilience Plan, such as enhancing and modernizing the City’s public infrastructure, facilitating the construction of affordable housing, leading in environmental stewardship, providing efficient and equitable public transit, and leading in utility service.

“Tallahassee's LEED certification demonstrates tremendous sustainability and climate leadership,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. “LEED for Cities was created to help improve our living standard and ensure every citizen has access to healthy, green and high performing places and spaces. Cities that achieve LEED certification develop responsible, sustainable and specific plans for green energy, water, waste, transportation and many other factors that contribute to quality of life, such as equity, education, resilience, infrastructure and more. Tallahassee is a prime example of how innovative planning and collaboration can help achieve sustainability and resilience goals.”

To earn the LEED Gold certification, the City conducted an in-depth, cross-departmental data analysis and evaluation related to its strategic sustainability and resilience efforts. Thanks to the scope and breadth of its sustainability programs, the City received, to date, the highest number of points for any municipality in the current version of the rating system.

Tallahassee now joins an elite global network of 126 cities and communities that have achieved LEED certification. Of those entities, 115 are located within the United States, including 14 local governments from Florida.

The City’s sustainability efforts have been previously recognized by the Florida Green Building Coalition as a Gold Certified City, one of the first in the state of Florida.

Following the receipt of a partial grant from USGBC in late 2019, the City established an internal team to begin coordinating the certification of the City through the global LEED for Cities program. As part of this effort, USGBC reviewers assessed the City across a range of metrics. The following highlight some of the accomplishments that helped the City earn this certification:

• Integrative Planning - The City received the maximum number of points available for its comprehensive planning and leadership.
• Natural Systems and Ecology - The City was awarded the maximum number of points available for its ecosystem assessment, green spaces availability, natural resource conservation and resilience planning.
• Transportation and Land Use - The City was awarded the maximum number of points available for its historical site preservation policies. It also received points for its transportation performance.
• Water Performance - Reviewers awarded points to the City for its annual water consumption per capita data and progressive water management policies.
• Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions – The City was awarded the maximum number of points available for energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management, which included an assessment of Tallahassee’s per capita and total GHG emissions. The City also earned points for its renewable energy generation and declining GHG intensity (GHG relation to GDP). Lastly, the City received the maximum points allowed for its net metering practices.
• Quality-of-Life - The City was awarded points for demonstrating positive trends for educational attainment, unemployment and the number of small businesses in the City. In addition, the City was awarded points for environmental justice, civil and human rights, housing and transportation affordability, as well as civic and community engagement.
• Innovation - The City received the maximum number of points available for its innovative approaches to advancing sustainability and resiliency. Points were awarded for initiatives such as City Farm TLH, the Clean Energy Resolution, Green Fleet operations, Neighborhood REACH, Think About Personal Pollution (TAPP), as well as the City’s proactive response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Regional Priority - The City received regional priority credits for membership and participation in the Capital Area Sustainability Compact, its disaster preparation efforts, initiatives to reduce housing insecurity, as well as the City’s significant efforts to protect Wakulla Springs.

From outreach campaigns that help protect local water bodies to a 62-megawatt solar farm at the Tallahassee International Airport, protecting the environment and the quality of life for all Tallahassee residents is an integral part of the City’s daily business. The USGBC certification takes the City’s previous green city recognition a step further and certifies the City with its peers around the world. Learn more about the City’s commitment to sustainability at Talgov.com/Sustainability and its long-term goals at Talgov.com/2024.