Best Practices for Emissions Reduction
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Around the world, cities are gaining ground in the fight to slow and reduce their GHG emissions. This section contains a collection of case studies that detail real-life success stories and provide useful insights and practical information which will aid your city in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. See Best Practices.

Green Building

Category: Buildings City: Austin USA
Austin's green building program facilitates the construction of sustainable buildings.

Building Standards

Category: Buildings City: Berkeley USA
Berkeley's building standards mandate increases efficiency and pays back householders in two years.

Energy Efficiency Program

Category: Buildings City: Berlin, Germany
An innovative energy efficiency program that costs building owners zero, drives down C02, and generates immediate savings.

Carbon Neutral City

Category: Buildings City: Dongtan City, China
The world's first carbon neutral sustainable city.

Home Energy Consumption

Category: Buildings City: Freiburg, Germany
Cutting home energy consumption by 80%.

Building Energy Efficiency

Category: Buildings City: Heidelberg, Germany
Energy efficiency in Heidelberg buildings reduces emissions.

Eco Friendly Building

Category: Buildings City: Melbourne, Australia
Council House 2 (CH2) new municipal office building: eco-buildings cuts C02 87%, electricity 82%, gas 87% and water 72%.

Solar Power

Category: Buildings City: San Francisco, USA
Largest city-owned solar power system in the United States.

Green Buildings

Category: Buildings City: Seattle, USA
Seattle sets the standards for green buildings.

Seattle Central Library

Category: Buildings City: Seattle, USA
Case study for the new Seattle Central Library.

Seattle Justice Center

Category: Buildings City: Seattle, USA
Sustainable building regulates temperature with an innovative exterior and green roof.

Innovative Air Conditioning

Category: Energy City: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lake water air conditioning cuts CO2 emissions by 70% compared to conventional cooling.

Energy Efficiency Fund

Category: Energy City: Ann Arbor, USA
An energy efficiency fund costing $500,000 over five years that is reducing CO2 emissions by 980+ tons annually.

Improving Efficiency of Boilers

Category: Energy City: Chicago, USA
Chicago City boiler "tune-up" cuts gas bill and CO2 emissions.

Innovative Heating Solutions

Category: Energy City: Copenhagen, Denmark
97% of Copenhagen city heating supplied by waste heat.

Eco-friendly City

Category: Energy City: Freiburg, Germany
Freiburg - an inspirational city powered by solar, where a third of all journeys are by bike.

Innovative Heating Solutions

Category: Energy City: The Hague, Netherlands
The Hague uses seawater to heat homes.

Efficient Heating and Cooling

Category: Energy City: Helsinki, Finland
Eco-efficient heating and cooling in Helsinki saves 2.7 Mt CO2 every year

Energy Retrofits

Category: Energy City: Houston, USA
Free energy retrofits saving poorer homes $335 and slashing 1,100 tons CO2 per year.

District Heating and Power with Renewables

Category: Energy City: Kotka, Finland
District heating and combined heat and power save 390,000 tons CO2 in Finland.

Energy Audits

Category: Energy City: Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne has reduced CO2 emissions by 1.1 million tons by making energy audits mandatory.

Renewable Energy Initiative

Category: Energy City: Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is moving energy companies to supply 20% renewable energy by 2020.

Innovative Air Conditioning

Category: Energy City: Toronto, Canada
Lake water air conditioning reduces energy use by 90%.

Sustainability Fund

Category: Energy City: Toronto, Canada
Toronto’s Atmospheric Fund makes sustainability affordable.

Decentralization of Energy Generation

Category: Energy City: Woking, UK
De-centralizing energy generation in Woking, U.K. slashed the city's C02 emissions by 82%.

LED Street Lighting

Category: Lighting City: Ann Arbor, USA
LED street lighting pilot project reduces energy use by 80%.

LED Traffic Lights

Category: Lighting City: Chicago, USA
LED traffic lights reduce energy use in Chicago by 85%.

Intelligent Streetlights

Category: Lighting City: Oslo, Norway
10,000 Intelligent streetlights save 1440 tCO2 and reduce energy consumption by 70%.

LED Traffic Lights

Category: Lighting City: Portland OR, USA
Portland replaces 1,000 traffic intersection signals with LED lights, saving millions of kilowatt-hours per year.

Street Light Retrofit

Category: Lighting City: Växjö, Sweden
Växjö’s street light retrofit.

Lighting Retrofit Program

Category: Lighting City: Vietnam
One of the biggest lighting retrofit programs benefiting an entire country.

Cutting Port-side Emissions

Category: Ports City: Göteborg, Sweden
Ships cut port-side emissions by up to 97% in Göteborg.

Cutting Port-side Emissions

Category: Ports City: Seattle, USA
Port of Seattle cuts vessel emissions by 29% annually and saves 26% on energy costs per call.

Renewable Energy Program

Category: Renewables City: Austin, USA
Austin's renewable energy program reduces C02 emissions by 370,257 tons a year.

Solar Heating Ordinance

Category: Renewables City: Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona's solar hot water ordinance.

Off-Shore Wind Farm

Category: Renewables City: Copenhagen, Denmark
One of the largest off-shore wind farms in the world powers 150,000 Danish households.

Renewable Energy

Category: Renewables City: Los Angeles, USA
Green energy for a green Los Angeles provides a renewable energy option for consumers.

Solar Energy

Category: Renewables City: Melbourne, Australia
Queen Victoria market solar energy - south hemisphere's largest solar project.

Solar Thermal Plant

Category: Renewables City: Nevada, USA
Nevada's solar thermal plant powers 14,000 homes cutting 100,000 tons of CO2 annually.

Geothermal Heating

Category: Renewables City: Reykjavik, Iceland
The world's largest geothermal heating system saves up to 4m tons CO2 annually.

Solar Program

Category: Renewables City: Rizhao, China
An extensive solar program in China.

Solar Power

Category: Renewables City: Serpa, Portugal
The world's largest PV solar power plant.

Freedom From Fossil Fuels

Category: Renewables City: Växjö, Sweden
Växjö is halfway to becoming fossil fuel free.

Public Bicycle Hire Network

Category: Transport City: Barcelona, Spain
Bicing – changing transport modes in Barcelona.

Bus Rapid Transit System

Category: Transport City: Bogotá, Columbia
BRT system reduced traveling time 32%, reduced gas emissions 40% and reduced accidents 90%.

Comprehensive Cycling System

Category: Transport City: Bogotá, Columbia
Bogotá’s CicloRuta is one of the most comprehensive cycling systems in the world.

Cycling to Reduce GHG Emissions

Category: Transport City: Copenhagen, Denmark
City of cyclists reduces approximately 90,000 tons of C02 emissions per year and has over 36% of the city's population cycling to work everyday.

Eco-friendly City

Category: Energy City: Freiburg, Germany
Freiburg - an inspirational city powered by solar, where a third of all journeys are by bike.

Bus Rapid Transit System

Category: Transport City: Jakarta, Indonesia
A 12.9 km Bus Rapid Transport system built in just 9 months at a cost of $2million/km.

Congestion Pricing

Category: Transport City: London, UK
London's congestion charge cuts CO2 emissions by 16%.

Fuel Efficient Taxis

Category: Transport City: Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City replaced 3,000 taxis with more fuel efficient models.

Public Bicycle Hire Network

Category: Transport City: Paris, France
Vélib – a new Paris love affair with cycling.

Incentives for Alternate Transportation

Category: Transport City: Portland OR, USA
SmartTrips informs and incentivizes Portland residents about alternative forms of transportation.

Optimizing Traffic Signal Timing

Category: Transport City: Portland OR, USA
Optimizing traffic signal timing significantly reduces the consumption of fuel.

Cycling Incentives

Category: Transport City: Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Car insurance firm encourages citizens to avoid using cars and get on their bikes!

ZEV Transportation System

Category: Transport City: San Francisco, USA
A world-leading low emissions transport system with zero-emission vehicles.

Car-free Days

Category: Transport City: Seoul, South Korea
Seoul car-free days have reduced CO2 emissions by 10% annually.

Congestion Pricing

Category: Transport City: Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm to introduce congestion charge - trial cut CO2 by 14%, traffic by 25%.

Clean Vehicles

Category: Transport City: Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm's clean vehicles are slashing 200,000 tons C02 annually.

Comprehensive Waste Management

Category: Waste City: Cairo, Egypt
15-May facility delivers comprehensive waste management, compost and 75000 tons of CO2 reductions.

Comprehensive Waste Management

Category: Waste City: Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen's waste plan 2008: Copenhagen puts only 3% of waste into landfill

Composting Organic Waste into Fertilizer

Category: Waste City: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Organic waste is composted and sold as bio-rich fertilizer - reducing emissions, generating jobs and cleaning up the city.

Landfill Gas to Energy

Category: Waste City: Durban, South Africa
First Landfill-Gas-To-Energy Project in Africa in Partnership with the World Bank.

Landfill Gas to Energy

Category: Waste City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Waste to energy cuts 200,000t CO2 annually in Gothenburg.

Fuel Cell Demonstration Project

Category: Waste City: King County WA, USA
The world's largest digester gas fuel cell demonstration project.

Integrated Waste Management System

Category: Waste City: Oslo, Norway
Oslo reaps the benefits of building an integrated waste management system.

Benefits of Recycling

Category: Waste City: Sydney, Australia
Sydney waste recycling cuts 210,000t CO2 and generates $11.6M USD annually.

Converting Methane Into Electricity

Category: Waste City: Toronto, Canada
Trash to cash - methane capture generates $3- 4 million annually.

Water Conservation and Reclamation

Category: Water City: Austin, USA
Innovative water conservation and reclamation efforts.

Reducing Water Leakage

Category: Water City: Emfuleni, South Africa
A water efficiency system known as advanced pressure management reduces pressure in the city's water network, thus reducing the amount of water leaking through small undetected holes.

Reducing Water Leakage

Category: Water City: Fortaleza, Brazil
New monitoring and control system halted large scale water leakage and now generates $2.5 million a year in savings.

Using Biogas for Heat and Power Generation

Category: Water City: Hong Kong, China
Installation of combined heat and power generation system to recover energy in biogas.

Water Conservation

Category: Water City: Tokyo, Japan
World leader in stopping water leakage.
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