Miami-Dade County selected to join the U.S. Green Building Council's 2020 LEED for Cities and Communities grant program

Miami-Dade County has been selected by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to participate in the organization's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Cities and Communities grant program. The program helps local governments committed to accelerating process on climate change and resilience to measure and track performance using LEED.

Through the program, the County will receive access to education resources and technical support as they pursue LEED certification. Miami-Dade County is joining the program to advance the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 from the 2008 baseline and to increase sustainability and resilience of county operations. In addition to environmental factors, the rating system considers social and economic indicators, such as health, equity, education and prosperity.

"It is truly an honor, and a validation of Miami-Dade County‘s commitment to resilience and sustainability, to be selected for the LEED for Cities and Communities program." said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “This will be a community effort, achieved by having a vision of combating climate change and promoting energy efficiency on a local level, and continuing to put in place innovative policies and practices to achieve it."

"Miami-Dade County understands the value of lead for Cities and Communities and its ability to help set goals and deploy strategies that can improve the quality of life for residents across the community," said James Murley, Chief Resilience Officer of Miami-Dade County. “Miami-Dade's participation in the LEED for Cities and Communities program demonstrates a commitment to improving performance and creating a more resilient and sustainable future."

USGBC and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation launched the LEED for Cities and Communities grant program in 2018 and yesterday expanded the program to 20 new communities, including Miami-Dade County. Importantly, resilience and sustainability have already been integrated throughout Miami-Dade County’s strategic plans with implementation of the Resilient305 Strategy, and the integration of resilience principles into the County budget, County Infrastructure Investment Program (CIIP), and Comprehensive Development Master Plan. The County's participation in the LEED for Cities and Communities program will now help the County integrate data-driven performance measures to focus countywide efforts towards realizing the resilience and sustainability goals and objectives set forth in these existing plans.