• Top Issues
• News
• Reports
• Programs
• About
• Submit An Event

DowntownDC ecoDistrict

An ecoDistrict is “a neighborhood or district with a broad commitment to accelerate neighborhood-scale sustainability.  EcoDistricts commit to achieving ambitious sustainability performance goals, guiding district investments and community action, and tracking the results over time." *

In April 2011, the DowntownDC BID launched the DowntownDC ecoDistrict in order to organize major property owners within our area and take collective action to reduce the BID area’s carbon footprint and consumption of resources. Over time, the Eco-District will benefit our businesses by increasing market share and profitability.

The DowntownDC ecoDistrict encompasses the entire DowntownDC BID area.   MORE
 

ecoDistrict Origins and Future

Building upon best practices gleaned from our July 2008 Greening Downtown DC Leadership Paper and our 2010 ecoDistrict Summit, we made a commitment to aid the city's Better Buildings Challenge in their efforts to collectively reduce DC's energy consumption by 20% by the year 2020.

The DowntownDC ecoDistrict is comprised of the 68 million square feet of office space, more than a dozen major civic and cultural institutions and some 6,000 residences that make up the DowntownDC BID. This area represents a significant market for energy and water consumption; and transportation and solid waste services.

Downtown DC's revitalization over the past decade has made our area a more desirable place to live and work. A decline in the number of crimes, vacancies, and empty lots resulted in a rise in the number of office buildings, entertainment and retail venues and living spaces. Much of this revitalization was facilitated by the BID and our relationship with Federal and city agencies, our stakeholders and other partners.

Now through the DowntownDC ecoDistrict framework, we are poised to realize our goal of a sustainable, interconnected, energy-efficient neighborhood. This BID-led effort tocoordinate and cooperate will accelerate the achievement of city and national sustainability goals. By engaging more stakeholders, providing better measurements for success and boosting marketing efforts we will aid the city's Sustainable DC initiatives.

“What could be better than improving sustainability through operational practices and supporting the city’s efforts?  Job growth and continued improvement in economic development are just some of the benefits to be realized with the DowntownDC ecoDistrict. It makes perfect business and “green” sense.”  Richard Bradley

* Portland Sustainability Institute

top

For presentation materials from the 2010 Downtown Eco-District Summit >>click here <<        Contact:      Scott Pomeroy      Environmental Programs Manager      Downtown BID      summit@downtowndc.org      202-661-7580

Public Recycling Program

Thanks to a DowntownDC BID-PepsiCo partnership 363 new recycling bins began appearing on Downtown streets in March of 2011. DC is the nation’s first city to partner with PepsiCo’s nationwide Dream Machine recycling initiative a program that places kiosks and bins in high traffic public spaces in an effort to increase the US beverage container recycling rate from 34% to 50% by 2018.    

The BID’s Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) are responsible for maintaining the bins and serve as on-the-street liaisons to educate people about public recycling and the Dream Machine program. For all the bottles and cans recycled through the Dream Machine program, PepsiCo will make a contribution to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national program offering free training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.

The History of Downtown Public Recycling
In July 2008, the Downtown BID, the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) and the American Beverage Association (ABA) launched a comprehensive public space recycling pilot, placing 25-lidded recycling cans in high pedestrian areas next to existing trash receptacles throughout the Downtown BID area. The pilot program is part of the Downtown BID’s Greening Downtown DC initiative and seeks to divert glass and plastic bottles, aluminum cans and clean paper products from collected waste to help conserve natural resources by making it easy for workers, residents and visitors to do the right thing.

Phase I of the program was highly successful—with nearly 50 tons of recyclables collected—and demonstrates that people, when offered the opportunity, will recycle if the process can be performed with minimum inconvenience.

To begin the process, the Downtown BID analyzed several national programs in New York City, Pittsburgh and Baltimore and trash can contents throughout Downtown, finding that recyclables ranged from as little as 15% in some locations to as much as 90% in others – newspaper or plastic bottles dominated the recyclable pool, depending on the location. That data helped the Downtown BID determine location (subway entrances, tourist attractions, public parks and food courts) where the pilot could achieve the highest recycling rates.

Under the partnership arrangement, DPW purchased and installed 25 recycling cans. It continues to dispose of the recycled materials that the Downtown BID’s SAM maintenance team collects and delivers to a central location. ABA coordinates marketing and public educational materials. 

The recycling program expanded to 38 new recycling receptacles in 2010, with funds from the $5.5 million in federal stimulus money to implement Downtown’s comprehensive streetscape and streetlight project. The additional and highly visible trash cans were placed  in strategic locations around Downtown. The BID also will distributed recycling educational materials to buildings and businesses in the area.

The Downtown BID is committed to developing partnerships and programs that support the city’s commitment to sustainability and help property owners, businesses, residents and visitors become more effective environmental stewards of the Downtown and the planet.

Being Green

top

The BID is the first organization to undergo an Sustainable Business Network of Washington (SB NOW) audit for eco-friendly practice in its daily operations. In 2008, the BID partnered with the non-profit membership organization to test the pilot program, which audits building tenants’ operations, identifies where improvements can be made and then offers certification at four levels. Although focused on internal operations, the certification also helps the public determine whether businesses are truly green and sustainable, and to what extent.

The BID uses soy-based inks and recycled paper, in addition to power-saving servers and computer monitors. It also has demonstrated leadership in six areas: water conservation and quality; energy efficiency and climate action; environmentally friendly procurement; waste reduction and recycling; pollution prevention; training and education; and benefits.

top