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The Miami-Dade County Commission recently approved legislation sponsored by District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins which updates and improves the county’s Sustainable Buildings Program. Created in 2007, the Sustainable Buildings Program creates a uniform standard for resilience and sustainability of county buildings and infrastructure projects.
Commissioner Higgins worked together with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s administration and stakeholders to identify comprehensive program improvements, the first in over 15 years, to ensure the county stays up to speed with the latest building standards that the private industry is implementing.
“Today’s update to the Sustainable Buildings Program ensures that Miami-Dade County is prepared for the future challenges of rising energy costs, energy supply instability, sea level rise, and other climate change issues,” Commissioner Higgins said. “Additionally, this legislation will also help bring down the costs of electricity and water at county facilities, saving taxpayers millions over the next 10 years.”
To date, the Sustainable Buildings Program has saved the county more than $3.7 million in electricity and avoided 71,700 metric tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to removing 15,000 gas-powered cars from the road annually. The program updates approved include enhancing energy efficiency standards to reflect the latest development and design practices and providing greater clarity to developers as to which standard applies to them. These reforms will encourage additional program participation in public-private partnerships, spreading the benefits of energy efficiency across the entire community.
“We must make Miami-Dade future-ready to ensure the continued success of our community and residents,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “With Commissioner Higgins’ leadership, the county is constructing greener, more resilient, and stronger buildings that will be able to withstand the growing effects of climate change and provide significant economic opportunities to our residents and small businesses.”
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