Schmitt Helps Atlanta Rise Again — This Time, Green

by Erica Rowell

Mandy Schmitt, MEM ’05, has her work cut out for her.

She is the sustainability director for the City of Atlanta, the poster child for runaway sprawl. Just how does someone go about greening a city that has grown outward and into one of the country’s smoggiest cities with the worst commutes? In short, by starting small, aiming big and focusing on the center of government.

“A lot of things that the city does impacts how people get around—transportation, housing,” says Schmitt. “But my focus is not that. My focus is about building the foundation so the city gets its house in order first. Then we can go out and support initiatives in the community.”

The first item on Schmitt’s greening agenda frequently tops any sustainability to-do list: grabbing the low-hanging fruit of efficiency. Schmitt says Atlanta’s best opportunities to tackle inefficiencies lie in the city’s 300 buildings.

“Many of those buildings are quite old,” says Schmitt. “So we’re looking at projects to improve the insulation in the buildings, to make sure all the systems are working properly and are upgraded, to replace the windows, to ensure that all of our lighting is as efficient as it can possibly be … to retrofit plumbing and piping to decrease energy use.”

The list goes on. The idea is to implement projects that cross all departments and address key issues of water, energy, and air. This foundation will enable the city to go after cooler, more innovative projects that cities like Portland, Boston and New York are already implementing.

“But until we get our buildings to be efficient, it makes no sense to put a solar panel on our roof,” says Schmitt.

Schmitt’s Sustainability
Roots Trace Back to Duke Efficiency and innovation were two hallmarks of Schmitt’s time at Duke. Shewas a force in creating both the Master of Environmental Management Energy and Environment concentration and the Duke University Greening Initiative (DUGI).

DUGI, the brainchild of Michael Vitarelli, Justin Siegel, and Schmitt, launched with a doozie of an idea: persuading the university to ensure all new buildings would be “green.” Spurred by the mentorship of former Nicholas School Board of Visitors’ Chairman Simon Rich, the students took their brainstorm to Duke’s Executive Vice President Tallman Trask. “He said yes without blinking an eye,” says Schmitt. “And he challenged us to take a more aggressive look.”

A quick survey of the Duke campus shows DUGI’s enduring influence: recycling, bike racks, low-flow showerheads and LEED-certified buildings, to name just a few. In fact, the university’s commitment to sustainability earned it the #5 spot on Sierra Club’s November 2007 rankings of the “greenest schools.”

Another lasting effect of DUGI’s founders is a sustainability coordinator. The group suggested the university add the position. In 2004 Duke hired its first coordinator to helm its efforts, much like Schmitt does today for Atlanta.