2024 Save the Date

Visionary Dinner 2023 - All That Glimmers Is Green

Southface’s 25th Visionary Dinner brought together Atlanta’s sustainability community as we honored Dawn Brown and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Green Team with the Argon Award of Excellence. 

Serving as Southface’s keystone fundraising event, Visionary Dinner invites sustainability leaders, innovators, and our community of dedicated advocates to join us for an evening of celebration and purpose.  Total funds raised during the event will save a projected 1,752 metric tons of CO2e emissions from the atmosphere over the next 15 years by advancing Southface’s mission. That’s 32,195 pounds in projected carbon savings per attendee – the equivalent of what 241 tree seedlings can naturally remove in 10 years!

We hope you enjoy exploring the event and save the date for October 24, 2024, to join us in impact at next year’s event.  Tickets and sponsorship opportunities available in early 2024. 

 

The Argon Award of Excellence in Sustainability

During the event, we will be presenting Southface’s Argon Award of Excellence to Dawn Brown and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Green Team. From educating guests about the importance of recycling to teaching students what it means to be sustainable, the Mercedes-Benz Green Team has become a global inspiration for creating a world where sustainable and inclusive communities thrive.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been dedicated to being a Zero Waste Stadium since opening day in 2017. In June of 2022, MBS achieved TRUE precertification signifying the successful implementation of foundational programs and policies to divert at least 90 percent of waste from landfill, incineration (waste-to-energy) and the environment, operations needed to effectively pursue zero waste. And in 2023, became the first professional sports stadium worldwide to achieve TRUE Platinum certification for Zero Waste. 

The Event

Proceeds from Visionary Dinner support Southface’s annual programs, enabling us to serve our communities with sustainable and resilient solutions that create healthy happy buildings, clean energy, water, and transportation for everyone.

Argon Award

Presented annually by Southface to recognize leadership in advancing sustainability, each Argon Award winner is selected by a knowledgeable panel of sustainability experts whose goal is to identify individuals and organizations who seek innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The award itself is named for the gas “argon” which is the non-toxic, non-reactive, clear and odorless gas that fills the space between the glass panes in high-performance windows.

Our Host

2023’s event was hosted by Maria Saporta, editor of The Saporta Report, a decade long Southface Member, and longtime Atlanta business, civic and urban affairs journalist with a deep knowledge of our city, our region and state. Since 2008, she has written a weekly column and news stories for the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Prior to that, she spent 27 years with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, becoming its business columnist in 1991. Maria received her Master’s degree in urban studies from Georgia State and her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston.

The Location

Agnes Scott has reduced its carbon emissions by 40% since 2007 and the college is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2037. Southface has proudly partnered with Agnes Scott since 2009. In fact, our recent GoodUse project will help solarize the historic 1891 Main Hall, DeKalb’s first building with electric lights.

To learn more, please contact Stephanie Brown at sbrown@southface.org.