Supporting Environmental Sustainability in our Cities

In 2004, UTC launched its Sustainable Cities initiative to support the development and use of green building practices in urban centers, create new programs to educate the public about the need for more healthful environments, and protect natural resources.   Some of our more recent grants include:

• The National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Since 2005, UTC has donated $1 million as well as expertise to help apply green building principles to historic preservation at the President Lincoln and Soldier’s Home in Washington, DC.  The LEED Gold site, reopened in 2007, includes Otis Gen2 elevators and Carrier high efficiency heating and air handling units.  This equipment is important for energy efficiency but also for creating indoor air-quality required to maintain the historic documents housed in the visitor center.    Lessons learned from the greening activities at Lincoln’s Cottage are being published for use by other National Trust sites in 2009. 
• US Green Building Council (USGBC).   In 2007, UTC announced a $1 million grant to fund the development of Greenbuild365, a learning portal devoted to green building education. The site was launched in May 2008 and is receiving approximately 20,000 site visits and 275,000 pageviews each month.  UTC/Carrier is a founding member of the US Green Building Council and has provided leadership and technical expertise to help USGBC expand its organization to Beijing in 2007 and Moscow in 2008.     Since 2005, UTC has funded the Sustainable Cities Lecture series for the New York City Chapter of USGBC.
• Habitat for Humanity.    UTC and its business divisions have donated over $3 million to Habitat chapters around the US since 1998.  Through an annual grant to the New York City Chapter, UTC has been helping to fund green building practices and the use of energy efficient products at sites around the 5 boroughs.  Atlantic Avenue Homes, a 41-unit, multi-family project is scheduled to open in September 2009 and to receive both LEED Silver and Energy Star certifications.   In 2007, UTC was honored as Corporate Partner of the Year by Habitat-NYC. 
• American Architectural Foundation.    In 2009, UTC and the American Architectural Foundation launched the Sustainable Cities Design Academy (SCDA).  This new initiative provides leadership development and technical assistance to local community leaders engaged in shaping policy and making design decisions in their communities.   In January 2009, SCDA brought together four sustainable design project teams from four Northeast corridor cities and ten top sustainable design leaders to conduct a two and a half day interactive institute. Project teams and designers presented their work and engaged in discussions and charrettes to help participants analyze their designs, identify issues, and discover best practices and emerging trends that are applicable to their projects.  The next SCDA is scheduled for late September 2009.