Environmental momentum rolls
This is the first in a series of columns celebrating sustainable initiatives in Memphis and Shelby County during April. Subsequent columns will appear every Thursday throughout April on the My Life Going Green page.
There isn’t something in the water that makes people in Silicon Valley more technologically savvy just like there isn’t something in the air making Memphians’ blues better or barbecue tastier. Each city develops its own characteristics and aptitudes because of what ideas take hold and what people support.
Local momentum makes a city what it is and will be. Today, Memphis has the momentum to become a more energy-efficient, greener, cleaner and competitive city.
It is a movement that is picking up steam thanks to local leaders such as Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce’s Team Green Zone, businesses like Belz Enterprises and countless others who see the value of investing in Memphis.
Last year the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability gathered groups like the Tennessee Energy Office, MLGW and TVA to launch the Mayors’ Energy Challenge. The challenge supports businesses and residents in Shelby County in becoming more energy efficient, which saves money, puts local contractors to work and lowers emissions.
The Bartlett Chamber of Commerce’s Team Green Zone is also adding to the environmental culture developing in the area.
Team Green Zone provides businesses step-bystep help to reduce their carbon footprint.
They started with “walking the talk” by retrofitting their own building with a reflective roof and high- efficiency lighting and controls. These energy improvements save the chamber more than $4,000 a year.
Taking the lead in the business world is Belz Enterprises, which recently replaced a heating and cooling system in one of its office buildings with high-efficiency units. The 280-ton HVAC system is estimated to save the com- pany $62,000 a year. This money can now be invested back into its people and business, strengthening the local economy.
These are examples of the forward-thinking approaches that exist in this community, which is what can forever change a city. Pathway Lending has supported each effort and looks for ways to build on the energy-saving momentum in Shelby County.
Pathway Lending reduced the interest rate on the Tennessee Energy Efficiency Loan Program by 33 percent in hopes of increasing the momentum for more energy-efficiency implementations.
Working together, these groups and others across Shelby County are making a huge difference in the area. In addition to the financial and environmental results, they provide the rest of Memphis the support and direction that other cities don’t have.
A decade from now, high energy efficiency could join blues and barbecue in Memphis’ list of standout characteristics — in which case there actually won’t be anything in the air here.