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Stamford Launches 2030 District In Bid For Downtown To Go Green

STAMFORD, Conn. — Stamford is joining the ranks of leading-edge cities as it launches the Stamford 2030 District, an initiative of 23 property owners and community and professional partners working together toward the goal of cleaner and greener commercial and other large-scale buildings. 

Megan Saunder, executive director of Stamford 2030, second from left, is joined by Don Strait, president of CFE, third from left,  and other founding partners at the launch in Stamford.

Megan Saunder, executive director of Stamford 2030, second from left, is joined by Don Strait, president of CFE, third from left, and other founding partners at the launch in Stamford.

Photo Credit: Laura McMillan/Connecticut Fund for the Environment

“Stamford is already a business leader in Connecticut. The Stamford 2030 District will make the city a sustainability leader nationwide,” said Megan Saunders, executive director of the Stamford 2030 District. “As just the sixth 2030 District in the nation, we're in the vanguard of a movement of private sector pioneers coming together to reduce energy use, water use, and transportation emissions. And we're going to take it a step further: The Stamford 2030 District and our partners will work to increase our community's and local economy's resilience to storms and sea-level rise.”

Commercial and municipal office buildings as well as multi-family housing are large consumers of natural resources and generators of emissions.

“This initiative will further strengthen Stamford’s commitment to combat the effects of climate change,” said Stamford Mayor David Martin.

The 2030 Districts, initiated by the nonprofit research organization Architecture 2030, are unique private/public partnerships bringing property owners and managers to meet the energy and resource reduction targets of the 2030 Challenge for Planning, while providing a business model for urban sustainability. 

Currently, Seattle, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Denver and Los Angeles have established 2030 Districts. Stamford is the first city in New England to establish a 2030 District.

The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and The Business Council of Fairfield County began working with key corporate leaders and experts in energy efficient architectural design in early 2013, to explore the potential of a 2030 District in Stamford.

“CFE has known for a long time that our environment and our economy are inextricably entwined,” said Don Strait, president of Connecticut Fund for the Environment. “Our cities are most vibrant and our quality of life is highest when we have healthy air, clean water, low-emissions transportation options, and business leaders who are invested in the well-being of the community.”

The founding members are led by the following: 

  • A network of 12 property owners and managers: The Ashforth Company, Aquarion Water Company, CBRE, Charter Oak Communities, City of Stamford, Ferguson Library System, First County Bank, JLL, New Neighborhoods Inc., Reckson - a Division of SL Green, Jonathan Rose Companies and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation;
  • Eight community partners: The Business Council of Fairfield County, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Connecticut’s Green Bank/CEFIA, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Downtown Special Services District, the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut, SoundWaters, Inc. and Sustainable America); and
  • Three professional partners: Connecticut Light & Power, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Steven Winter Associates Inc.

The Stamford 2030 District, with the support of our founding members, will be able to apply the national standards of the 2030 Districts, utilize the most up-to-date technology, and work with our utilities to meet measurable standards of decreasing the effects of climate change.

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