Our foundational programs provide enriching opportunities to give back to our local community. We also help create sustainable places to live and work through education, volunteering and networking opportunities. Finally, he called for a strategic energy action plan to determine how Charlotte would achieve both objectives. Therefore, assuming these objectives has been a big challenge and we have achieved a lot over the past year and a half, especially in the last few months, as you can see.
We would be happy to continue talking with you so that you can make a wise decision about how best to proceed with a sustainable construction plan. Sustainability staff developed the SEAP in partnership with stakeholders from the community and municipal departments, who participated in sessions on scenarios for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in ongoing participation in the specific areas of the SEAP. Thanks to researchers, new technologies and a team of people who believe that change is possible, the development of sustainable buildings in North Carolina is becoming something that will make a difference. This totaled 17.2 million square feet and made North Carolina the seventh most sustainability-friendly state.
The growth and development of sustainable buildings in North Carolina, with the help of NPI Connect, have had an impact on the surrounding environment as well as on the global ecosystem. Therefore, this reality in which we live right now requires us to redouble the objectives we have set for ourselves so that our city addresses climate change and becomes a city with low carbon emissions. So much so that new laws have been passed requiring developers to consider implementing several “green elements” in the construction of a building. It also sets a community goal for Charlotte to become a low-carbon city by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to less than 2 tons of CO2 equivalent per person per year.
But when we start looking at our community and residential buildings in particular, one thing that becomes very clear is that we have residents, as in many cities, who are burdened by costs or what we call burdened by energy. I think it's a testament to the type of teamwork and individual municipal staff of the city of Charlotte, who have taken a step forward and, quite frankly, taken Charlotte to another level.
