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Text overlay: Going the Extra Mile: Why green business is good business. Photo: animation of peopel working in an office.

Whether you’re an established green business, or just getting started, the Austin Green Business Leaders program can help you protect what is great about our city. Since the program launched in 2012, it has grown to over 200 participating businesses, representing almost 40,000 employees and over 15 million square feet of “green” office space. When you join the prog…

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Texas Women in Agriculture, background is photo of woman holding a small bird.

Oftentimes women are unsung heroes in the world of farming. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, nearly one million women are working America’s lands. Together, these women are generating $12.9 billion in annual agricultural sales. In Texas, we have over 120,000 female farmers working 43 million acres, making up 33% of Texas farmers, with an $818 million economic impact.

Women have deep roots…

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Text: Green Cup Challenge over collage of small images of people doing "green" things.

As football playoff season prepares to kick-off, let’s recap another hard fought competition – this year’s Austin Green Business Leaders Green Cup Challenge. Although the rivalry was fierce, the custom web designers of SeaLab were able to defend their title and were crowned Green Cup Champ…

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Text: Heidi Tse, Net-Zero Hero. Photo: Heidi with plants and rain garden in the background.

I'm helping to make Austin Net-Zero by: designing a library for the future

 

Headshot of Heidi Tse

Austin is green and we all want to keep it that way! As a community, we’re committed to reach…

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Photo of Leanne Valenti in front of green vines, text reads: "Leanne Valenti Net-Zero Hero"

I’m helping to make Austin Net-Zero by: reducing food waste at my business, Bento Picnic!

Leanne Valenti holding a bento lunch in front of a grey wall

Meet Leanne Valenti, owner of…

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In the heart of downtown sits a former power plant that once served as the sole power source for the City of Austin. In its heyday, the Seaholm Power Plant could produce up to 120 megawatts of power. But as Austin's population continued to grow, other plants were built to keep up with the rising power demand, decreasing the city's reliance on Seaholm. The plant was eventually decommissioned in 1989, and it lay derelict for many years.

Around 2004, a major effort to transform this area from a contaminated brownfield to an ecologically resilient neighborhood dis…

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Photo of 4 people with headline Congregation Beth Israel: Net-Zero Heroes

We're helping to make Austin Net-Zero by: powering our synagogue with solar energy

Austin is green and we all want to keep it that way! As a community, we’re committed to reaching the target of Net-Zero…

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Creating a Sustainable Space for Reflection and Learning

Located in South Austin, the Whole Life Learning Center is a beautiful and sustainable school campus that serves about 100 children. The campus’ grounds feature vibrant wildlife habitat areas, food gardens, a serene pond, and farm animals like chickens and goats. But it wasn’t always this way. What is now greenery, wildlife gardens, and a peaceful pond took lots of hard work, dedicated volunteers, and help from the…

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A garden that grows more than food

Most people think gardens are good for one thing – growing fresh fruits and vegetables. But the community garden designed and constructed by the Green STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) Academy students at Mendez Middle School is doing so much more. Their Bright Green Future Grant project has big plans to feed surrounding residents, teach students about how to run a small business, reduce waste, and improve the health and well-being of the Dove Spr…

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Austin's New Central Library goes solar

As Austin’s new Central Library enters its completion stage, Austin Energy Solar Inspectors David Burgos and Rorey Voigt inspected the solar arrays at the downtown library. As with any solar project within Austin Energy’s area, inspections are needed to ensure that the solar installation is compliant with the National Electric Code and the utility’s interconnection guidelines.