Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero has been recognized for her efforts as a leader in sustainability and has been named the 2012 Green Leader by the East Tennessee Chapter of the United States Green Building Council.

USGBC-ET recognizes leaders in the green building community of East Tennessee. The group held its second annual Green Light Awards event Tuesday night at The Emporium in downtown Knoxville.

"Living green and working green is not just a motto for me and my staff," said Mayor Rogero. "We really believe sustainability is a key to keeping Knoxville a livable city, and I am grateful to the USGBC-ET for this honor."

The nominating committee recognized Mayor Rogero as a proponent of sustainability and environmentally-friendly efforts.

Some of the City initiatives that were cited include:

Securing the Office of Sustainability within the City budget.

Becoming a Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge Partner and publicly pledging to reduce Knoxville's energy consumption 20% by 2020.

Issuing a Mayor's Energy Challenge with Pathway Lending to announce $10 million for businesses to do energy-efficiency projects.

Winning an IBM Smart Cities grant for a proposal to study connecting emergency utility bills to weatherization and energy education services.

Receiving a TDEC Infrastructure grant for new stormwater permitting best practices. The grant will cover a stormwater infrastructure retrofit, separating the stormwater program from the city's sanitary sewer system; the creation of a rain garden/bio-infiltration planter; the installation of pollution control catch basins; and incorporating a system storage effort that allows infiltration into ground water.

Championing the adoption of 2012 International Building Codes, including the International Green Construction Code, which establishes safe and sustainable standards for construction.

Budgeting for a tree management plan, greenway maintenance and improvements, and the residential single-stream curbside recycling program.

The Green Light Awards are an annual event to celebrate the accomplishments of the green building community and to show appreciation to USGBC-ET chapter members and volunteers.

Susanna Sutherland, Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of Knoxville, was recognized with the Advocacy Award.

For more information about USGBC-ET, visit the group's website at: http://etnusgbc.org.