The Stamford 2030 District”™s first-ever Change Makers Award event is Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Headquarters at 1 Star Point.
Stamford was the sixth 2030 District nationally and the first in New England, “working toward the goal of cleaner and greener commercial and other large-scale buildings.” Building characteristics in line for modern updates in the program include water and energy use and transportation. The effort began in 2014 and now has 34 members, with their downtown buildings making up more than 8 million square feet already committed to participate.
The awards will be presented by the Stamford 2030 District with support from event host Starwood Hotels and Resorts and from Eversource, The Ashforth Co. and Aquarion Water Co.
The award winners are: 400 Atlantic St. (The Landis Group) for Innovation in Energy; The Mill River Park and Greenway (Mill River Park Collaborative) for Innovation in Water; The Sharrow Network (The City of Stamford and People Friendly Stamford) for Innovation in Transportation; Living Wall Project (JM Wright Technical School) for Innovation in Sustainability; and an honorable mention to 9 W. Broad St. Property LLC (Forstone) for its work with the C-PACE program.
The district is currently a joint program of Business Council of Fairfield County and the Connecticut Fund for the Environment in New Haven. It is described as “a not-for-profit run through The Connecticut Fund for the Environment, governed by a volunteer board and served by two professional staff members.”
“We launched this program in October last year and it”™s been amazing to see the commitment from the local community to start implementing changes,” 2030 Executive Director Megan Saunders said. “We went from zero to 34 members and have benchmarked 6 million square feet of their buildings.” Another 2 million square feet is committed, making a total 8 million square feet involved. “I”™m excited to see what we”™re able to collectively accomplish in the next year.”
Brian Geller will provide a deeper look into the national 2030 District movement. He was a 2030 District initiative founder at the national level and is currently senior vice president for corporate sustainability for Citi.
Registration is $75 to $100. To register, please contact The Business Council of Fairfield County at 203-359-3220 or visit businessfairfield.com.
