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(Thanks for covering this, Peebles! - promoted by Eileen)
At 2:00p.m. today, Governor Tim Kaine held a press conference in the Capitol complex's Patrick Henry Building. Kaine used the meeting to announce the newest initiative underneath his Renew Virginia campaign: executive order #82, "Greening of State Government." His announcement detailed a new (and mildly exciting) plan for encouraging gains in efficiency and conservation in state-owned buildings and by state employees. Applying primarily to state-level buildings, fleet vehicles and personnel, Kaine hopes that the initiative will show, "leadership that will inspire local governments," to do the same. Serving as an extension of previous Renew Virginia order #48, the initiative hopes to encourage improvements in energy usage, fuel consumption, and recycling through new regulations and incentives:
• Government offices and satellite offices will now be 100% paperless
• All new fleet vehicles will meet modern efficiency standards and will use B20 biodiesel when available.
• All state buildings will now be required establish and submit reports on an environmental management system that will audit each building's usage individually.
• All newly constructed state buildings will be required to meet LEED silver standards or the equivalent in Green Globes (2).
• Finally, the state will encourage more telecommuting and carpooling, reducing the amount of fossil fuels spent to and from the workplace. August 3, 2009, will be Virginia's "telecommute to work" day, during which employers will encourage their personnel to stay home or use a nearby telecommuting center in lieu of a drive downtown.
Overall, the Governor called for expanded work into reducing energy use by the state, increasing fuel efficiency and smart management of HVAC and other systems. Most interestingly, Kaine announced a competition, entitled "The Green Commonwealth Challenge," with the goal of promoting competition among state agencies to take the lead in efficiency gains and conservation. Kaine's office will devise criteria and a scoring system that will help to determine which office is "greenest." The Governor hopes that this competitive spirit will spill into the private sector, encouraging businesses to follow the state's lead in cleaning up their act. The competition will run from June 15 until November 15, so if you're a state employee, get ready!
Sure, all in all I walked out of this conference knowing that it was no more than the typical political greenwashing, but there is a silver lining. The power of example-setting cannot be overstated, and Virginia business isn't likely to take the lead on sustainability while the state simply sits on its laurels. The benefits from order #82 are marginal in scale but have the potential to start the ball rolling on more significant change. In particular, engaging agencies in competition with one another not only boosts morale and makes things fun, it also serves to subtly affect the way people behave in the workplace and at home. Habit forces habit, and hopefully an inter-agency competition could have larger impact than Kaine expects.
We remain a long way off, but today marked a baby step in Virginia's desire to become a leader in sustainability and green technology. A small step forward, however, may have larger implications than it seems on the surface. With a new governor right around the corner, precedents set by Kaine will significantly affect how the Commonwealth steps into a cleaner future.
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At 2:00p.m. today, Governor Tim Kaine held a press conference in the Capitol complex's Patrick Henry Building. Kaine used the meeting to announce the newest initiative underneath his Renew Virginia campaign: executive order #82, "Greening of State Government." His announcement detailed a new (and mildly exciting) plan for encouraging gains in efficiency and conservation in state-owned buildings and by state employees. Applying primarily to state-level buildings, fleet vehicles and personnel, Kaine hopes that the initiative will show, "leadership that will inspire local governments," to do the same. Serving as an extension of previous Renew Virginia order #48, the initiative hopes to encourage improvements in energy usage, fuel consumption, and recycling through new regulations and incentives:
Sure, all in all I walked out of this conference knowing that it was no more than the typical political greenwashing, but there is a silver lining. The power of example-setting cannot be overstated, and Virginia business isn't likely to take the lead on sustainability while the state simply sits on its laurels. The benefits from order #82 are marginal in scale but have the potential to start the ball rolling on more significant change. In particular, engaging agencies in competition with one another not only boosts morale and makes things fun, it also serves to subtly affect the way people behave in the workplace and at home. Habit forces habit, and hopefully an inter-agency competition could have larger impact than Kaine expects.
