City of Florence Takes Green to a New Level

FLORENCE-The City of Florence] has been designated as a Valley Sustainable Platinum Community in Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) economic development program.  The City of Florence recently completed the program sponsored by TVA and developed and administered by consultant Boyette Strategic Advisors (Boyette). “This takes Florence’s economic development appeal to prospective and existing sustainably-focused companies to a whole new level,” said Mayor Steve Holt.

The Valley Sustainable Communities Program was initiated in 2013 by TVA Economic Development as part of its community preparedness offerings to assist communities in evaluating existing sustainable programs, cataloging their sustainable assets, and increasing future commitments to sustainability. The goal of the program is to document a community’s assets and increase the likelihood that they will be viewed as progressive and competitive by companies looking to invest in new or expanded locations.

“We are proud that City of Florence has successfully completed the Valley Sustainable Communities Program,” said Del Boyette, President/CEO of Boyette Strategic Advisors. “The Platinum level designation recognizes that a community has community-wide sustainability initiatives in place, with programs available to support the existing business community and promote economic development.

Sustainability has become a key issue for economic development organizations and communities as more corporations have demonstrated an increasing commitment to sustainability. More than 90 percent of corporate real estate executives who responded to a CoreNet Global survey on sustainability said that it is a consideration in their company location decisions. The typical reasons for this corporate commitment are reduced operating costs for increased profitability and greater employee satisfaction.

“This program is the first of its kind to connect the dots between Corporate America’s commitment to sustainability and its impact on economic development, which ultimately will ensure that our communities are more prepared to compete in global markets,” added John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of Economic Development. “We are seeing that more and more companies have an increasing business emphasis on sustainable operations, and are adding this component to their RFIs as they search for a community where they can locate, grow, and enhance their company and employee sustainability commitments.”

At the conclusion of this year’s cycle, a total of 31 communities across the Valley will have been recognized in the program. In addition to completing the inventory of sustainable assets and utilizing the Valley Sustainable Communities designation in their marketing materials, communities that complete the program also receive marketing support from TVA Economic Development.

“The City of Florence has already made a significant commitment to sustainability,” said Rachel Mansell Koonce. “This Valley Sustainable Platinum Community designation provides us with the opportunity to document, further develop and be recognized for our ongoing sustainable initiatives, and attract new investment and jobs.”

The TVA Sustainable Community Committee includes:  The University of North Alabama, Florence City Schools, Schönox, Shoals Economic Development Authority, North Alabama Medical Center, Southwire, and various City of Florence Departments.

Over the past 3 years, the City of Florence has accomplished the following:

• Completed a carbon foot print
• Updated the community sustainability inventory
• Created a Sustainability Plan
• Designated a Media & Sustainability Specialist
• Purchased 22 acres of green space around the water intake on Cypress Creek by the Gas & Water Department
• Upgraded the Florence Recycle Center with a new sorting system
• Expanded the Florence Forward Program

Completing a carbon foot print was a lengthy process. Florence is grateful to John Batson, a Florence Forward Intern, for his help in sorting through tremendous amounts of data, importing information into the software, and successfully completing our carbon foot print.

Mayor Steve Holt commented, “These baseline numbers will allow us to measure our future progress. The City of Florence is committed to achieving goals which aid in the reduction of our energy consumption, increase our economic development as a sustainable city, maintain high air quality, and reduce waste,”

Interesting Facts

• A total of 527,038 gallons of fuel (diesel & gasoline) was used over the year in vehicles, mowers, weed eaters, large equipment, and trucks.
• Florence has 95 traffic signals and 3,822 street lights
• Our employees travel approximately 3900 miles to and from work annually.
• We recycled 7 million pounds of materials
• Florence served as a Tree City USA for 31 years.
• Florence provides curbside recycling citywide to residents and recycling is available to all Florence businesses.
• Florence traffic lights have been updated to LED lights.
• The Florence Forward Sustainability Partnership has 62 partners.
• Florence has more than 1,000 acres of green space.

                                       Florence Forward Sustainability Partners

Visit FlorenceForward.org for more information and to join the Florence Forward Sustainability Partnership!

Media Release/City of Florence