PROFILE: Nick Deffley, Sustainability Officer, Savannah, GA

Nick Deffley, Sustainability Officer, Savannah, GA

Despite growing up and going to school in the Midwest at the University of Minnesota, Savannah has always felt like a home away from home for Nick Deffley. Much of Nick’s family relocated to Savannah over the years and Nick even lived in Savannah for short period of time in the late 1990s.

Read More

Better Buildings Challenge

The better buildings challenge in Atlanta, Georgia, and SSDN

In 2012, the President challenged all sectors to commit to an energy savings pledge, a showcase building, and sharing progress. Two communities in the Southeast signed on.

Read More

Renewable Energy Planning

Solar panels are renewable energy sources SSDN

Generating electricity from Renewable Energy (RE) sources can play a significant role in advancing cities sustainability goals and reducing carbon outputs.

Read More

Public-Private Partnerships 101

Public private partnerships 101 SSDN

The term “public private partnership” is elusive, because it can take many contractual forms, address any number of local initiatives, and be subject to local guidelines like procurement, zoning, and tax increment finance arrangements.

Read More

Partnership for Resilience and Planning (PREP)

This project launched the Partnerships for Resilience and Empowered Planning (PREP) program to provide education on community resilience planning, promote network collaboration and to developed an online Community Resilience Planning Handbook for communities across the Southeast.

Read More

Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure in Tennesee and Georgia

Green Infrastructure (GI) is more than just the laundry list of sustainable applications, like green roofs, bigger tree planters, and frequent curb cuts.

Read More

Building a Sustainability Team

Building a sustainability team expertise and partners

Boiled down, building buy-in in any situation is about showing value. Managing those political and interpersonal relationships to show how important sustainability is in a thriving, competitive city is intense. Sustainability Directors, it’s time to borrow skills from salesmen, politicians, and marketers.

Read More