Elizabeth Crenshaw Hammitt, who headed up the LEED effort, gave EPB Downtown Headquarters reports to a gathering that included Chattanooga mayors Andy Berke and Jim Coppinger and city council chairman Yusuf Hakeem as well as dozens of EPB employees looking down into the atrium area.

EPB's downtown building in Chattanooga, Tenn. is the city's first existing building to be awarded LEED Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

EPB officials said the milestone is the result of dozens of people representing 26 organizations working together for the common goal of a workplace that is more energy efficient, less polluting and compliant with environmental standards.

"LEED Certification goes beyond earning a plaque," EPB president and CEO Harold DePriest said. "It demonstrates how people can work together toward a common goal, improving quality of life while creating efficient, sustainable work places."

The community's Green Team worked more than 4,000 hours to research, plan and take action. Their accomplishments include: reducing electricity usage by 5.7 million kWh, saving $420,640; saving 336,374 gallons of water; reducing CO2 emissions by 4,054 metric tons; recycling more than 80 percent of the building's waste stream, so far saving 59 dump truck loads of waste from landfill; realizing $163,383 in recurring annual savings; creating a healthier work environment by reducing pesticides and using green cleaning chemicals.