Kennesaw Goes Green

Wednesday, Kennesaw was certified as a bronze level Green Community by the Atlanta Regional Commission Board in recognition of the city's environmentally-conscious policies and practices.

Kennesaw was commended for a number of steps toward sustainability, such as requiring new city-owned buildings to be LEED certified, purchasing Energy Star certified equipment and appliances, renovating a vacant building for use by the Parks & Recreation Department, providing a location and publicity for the , and collecting electronics to be recycled, according to a release from the city.

The Green Communities Program is a voluntary certification program that encourages local governments to become more sustainable.

Points toward certification are earned in 10 categories: green building, energy efficiency, green power, water use reduction and efficiency, trees and green space, transportation, recycling and waste reduction, land use, education, and innovation.

“We have worked hard for this recognition which validates our emphasis on living greener,” said Mayor Mark Mathews. “Our citizens are responding positively to the city’s efforts to conserve energy, water and fuel, reduce waste and protect our natural resources. Green Communities certification can only be earned through a partnership between government and the community.”

Kennesaw is the 10th city in the 10-county Atlanta region to be certified. The city's green efforts were also for a pilot recycling program that resulted in a 15 percent increase in recycling.