Who's Who for Obama's New Better Buildings Push

May 12, 2014
The US Better Buildings Challenge gained new committments from 25 businesses, organizations, states, cities and school districts.President Barack Obama announced the effort May 9 at a Walmart in Silicon Valley.

The US Better Buildings Challenge gained new committments from 25 businesses, organizations, states, cities and school districts.

President Barack Obama announced the effort last week at a Walmart in Silicon Valley (Related story here.)

Together, they are expected to bring new energy savings to one billion square feet of building space, an area the size of 17,000 football fields, according to the White House.

Below is a list of the who is making the new committments:

  • Anne Arundel County Public Schools commits 13 million square feet of school buildings.
  • Balfour Beatty Communities commits 50 million square feet of multifamily residential housing across 44,000 units.
  • Capitol Hill Housing commits more than 1 million square feet of multifamily residential housing.
  • Commonwealth Partners commits 11 million square feet across its commercial properties.
  • Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, the 7th largest Public Housing Authority in the country, commits its multifamily portfolio over 10,500 units.
  • Eastman Chemical commits 8 plants.
  • General Mills commits 27 plants.
  • General Motors commits 31 plants covering 84 million square feet.
  • HARBEC commits 1 plant covering 50,000 square feet.
  • Hilton Worldwide commits its company owned portfolio of 14 million square feet.
  • Jonathan Rose Companies commits 2.7 million square feet across 2,855 multifamily housing units.
  • City of Margate, FL commits 120,000 square feet.
  • MGM Resorts International commits 78 million square feet.
  • Minneapolis Public Housing Authority commits almost 4.5 million square feet of affordable multifamily housing.
  • New Bedford Housing Authority commits 2.6 million square feet across 2500 multifamily housing units.
  • Penn State University commits 28 million square feet.
  • Rockford Housing Authority commits 3 million square feet across more than 1,000 multifamily housing units.
  • City of San Diego, CA commits 9.5 million square feet.
  • Towson University commits 5.5 million square feet campus-wide.
  • University of Virginia, commits 15 million square feet.
  • UTC commits 159 plants covering 38 million square feet.
  • Walmart commits 850 million square feet.
  • Whole Foods Market commits close to 13 million square feet.
  • VLV commits 25,000 square feet of multifamily residential housing.
  • Volvo commits 8 plants covering 5 million square feet.
  • Wishrock Investment Group commits 8 million square feet across 8,000 multifamily housing units.

In addition, seven organizations have committed to deliver energy efficiency financing for multifamily housing and other organizations.

  • California Housing Partnership Corporation commits $25 million.
  • Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) commits $25 million.
  • Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. commits $25 million.
  • Hannon Armstrong commits $250 million.
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) commits $25 million.
  • Low Income Investment Fund commits $2.5 million.
  • Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Fund commits $25 million.
About the Author

Elisa Wood | Editor-in-Chief

Elisa Wood is an award-winning writer and editor who specializes in the energy industry. She is chief editor and co-founder of Microgrid Knowledge and serves as co-host of the publication’s popular conference series. She also co-founded RealEnergyWriters.com, where she continues to lead a team of energy writers who produce content for energy companies and advocacy organizations.

She has been writing about energy for more than two decades and is published widely. Her work can be found in prominent energy business journals as well as mainstream publications. She has been quoted by NPR, the Wall Street Journal and other notable media outlets.

“For an especially readable voice in the industry, the most consistent interpreter across these years has been the energy journalist Elisa Wood, whose Microgrid Knowledge (and conference) has aggregated more stories better than any other feed of its time,” wrote Malcolm McCullough, in the book, Downtime on the Microgrid, published by MIT Press in 2020.

Twitter: @ElisaWood

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