Recognizing Raleigh!

In the last few weeks, our City has received two awards that I wanted to share with you all! The first I would like to share with you came from the United States Chamber of Commerce. Raleigh has been recognized as the 2011 Siemens Sustainable Mid-Size Community of the Year! The award recognizes a commitment to cultivating a green economy. US Chamber Executive Vice President, David Chavern was on hand, along with Alison Taylor, Vice President of Sustainability to present the award to Mayor Meeker, and Harvey Schmitt of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. This award is a great honor to our community!

From left to right: Julian Prosser, assistant City manager, Mayor Meeker, Harvey Schmitt, Paula Thomas, the City's sustainability manager

Raleigh has also been recognized for our Petro Reduction Policy. The award was presented as part of the fifth annual North Carolina Mobile Clean Air Renewable Energy (CARE) Awards. The CARE Awards recognize transportation emission reduction efforts that are advancing alternative fuel and transportation technology activities in our state. In 2008, Raleigh passed a resolution mandating a reduction in consumption and put into place a fuel consumption budget. The City has also done a great job of encouraging and facilitating the use of electric vehicles.

I am happy to be a part of a community with such a focus on sustainable initiatives, within our local economy and energy consumption policies!