EcoDistricts Member Spotlight: Southface

Southface Energy Institute is a champion of sustainable building design and a close parter of EcoDistricts thanks to our close alignment of values and missions. As valued members of each others organizations, we are able to maximize our collaboration and utilize resources we each provide to our members. Southface is also involved with our Summit Advisory Committee which is helping design our 2017 Atlanta Summit by providing local expertise, insight, and ideas.  


How many employees work at Southface?

There are currently 40 staff positions at Southface. There are seven associate fellows and fellows participating in our Dennis Creech emerging leaders program.

How many states/countries do you have offices?

Our campus is located in Atlanta, Georgia and consists of three buildings, the Resource Center, Eco Office, and Southeast Weatherization and Energy Efficiency Training (SWEET) Center.

Why did you become an EcoDistricts Member?

EcoDistricts’ mission is very complementary to Southface’s mission to promote sustainable homes, workplaces, and communities. By combining efforts and resources, both organizations may realize more substantial impact on mission priorities.

How are our resources and connections influencing your work?

They allow Southface’s work to include areas beyond our traditional scopes of work. For example, issues of equity beyond healthy built environments can now be included in more holistic conversations about the developed environment.

What makes you and Southface most excited about EcoDistricts?

Southface is excited to follow the progress that EcoDistricts will make within the next few years. It is important to develop sustainable neighborhoods and communities that are inclusive and have great economic opportunity for all who live there. We fully support the EcoDistricts mission to advance community development, so Southface was honored to have Rob Bennett as the keynote speaker at this year’s Greenprints conference. Southface views environmental innovation as a necessity, and we believe that EcoDistricts is stepping in the right direction.

How are you planning on utilizing the Member benefits in the coming year?

Southface looks forward to incorporating many EcoDistricts strategies into district scale work across the Southeast.

Why is equity, sustainability, and resilience important to you and Southface?

Each day, our staff and board continue to strive for a more sustainable future by educating the population and the market on resilient, resource conscious lifestyles. We research cutting-edge technologies and advocate for clean forms of energy while working directly on projects to improve building efficiency and reduce overall carbon footprint of the built environment. Equity, sustainability and resilience are all important because they are necessary for a thriving planet in which people can live healthy and happy lives.

What emerging priorities do you see as most important in your work?

Resilient communities and equity through healthy built environments for all.

What do you see as the most important innovation in your field of the past decade?

Sustainability, as an industry discipline, has evolved to include issues of well-being and equity as fundamental elements of sustainability.

What have you found to be the greatest obstacle to district-scale work?

Consistently persistent implementation of solution strategies.

 

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