Cities and their mayors are starting to be more environmentally conscious; amongst this trend is The City of Philadelphia with the support of Mayor Jim Kenney. This commitment to renewable energy sources is especially notable as it emerges in the midst of the White House’s action to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.

The City of Philadelphia has announced, with the guidance of Mayor Kenney, a pledge to convert to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Philadelphia joins major cities such as New York, Chicago, & Los Angeles in moving forward to fight climate change. A majority share of the carbon pollution in the city comes from buildings and industry. This would be a great opportunity for businesses to show their corporate social responsibility, by looking into ways that their office spaces could reduce the amount of energy used or transition over to a clean energy source.

The opportunity is now for buildings to buy into the clean energy movement. Renewable Energy has normally been seen as expensive to install and not cost effective to operate. The script has flipped, prices of renewable energy technologies is falling rapidly, making the transition actually less expensive and more attractive. Solar, wind, and hydro power has surfaced as a cost-competitive and viable alternative. At this point in time it would make sense for building owners to look into the transition in order not to be left behind in the new wave of energy use.

Romero, M. (2017, June 21). Philly commits to 100 percent renewable energy plan. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from https://philly.curbed.com/2017/6/21/15846138/paris-agreement-philadelphia-climate-change-renewable-energy-clean-power