User:SOSazgrad/Maricopa County Green Government Program

Maricopa County Green Government Program

The Maricopa County Green Government Program is a plan by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to enhance the environment of the county, save money, and reduce the carbon foot print of county operations. The ultimate goal of the program is to preserve the quality of life for citizens of the region by managing the challenges that are expected to result from continued high population growth rates.

Background
After recognizing the challenges that the county is likely to face the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors directed county departments to prepare and implement a long-term sustainability strategy. On June 4th of 2008 the Green Government Program was created to manage this project. The program used the Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development which states that development should not compromise future generations ability to meet their own needs.

Sustainability Target
The Maricopa County Green Government Program has Identified 7 target areas for their sustainability initiatives. The target areas and corresponding action statements are as follows:
 * Air- “Improve regional outdoor air quality and improve the air quality indoors within Maricopa County owned and/or managed spaces.”
 * Community- “Pursue efforts that strengthen internal and external community building.”
 * Energy- “Reduce energy consumption by 7.5% from 2009 baseline and increase clean, renewable energy production by 2 MW by 2015.”
 * Land Use- “Implement good land use strategies to decrease sprawl and increase walkable and connected communities.”
 * Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- “Substantially reduce Maricopa County’s waste stream through reduction, reuse, and recycling of all applicable materials.”
 * Transportation- “Create strategies to move people while improving quality of life, improving efficiency, and reducing vehicle miles traveled.”
 * Water- “Reduce water consumption in our operations and educate residents about water conservation.”

Oversight
The project is administered by the Maricopa County Sustainability Director, Jonce Walker. Walker, an Urban Planning graduate of New Mexico State University, also sits on the board of directors for Keep Arizona Beautiful, severs the best practices team for the Sustainable Cities Network, and is a former board member of the Phoenix Green Chamber of Commerce.

Participating county departments are represented by the Green Government Council, a body of department leaders which meets once a month to discuss and share information on progress, issues, and ideas.

Participating Departments

 * Adult Probation
 * Air Quality
 * Animal Care and Control
 * Environmental Services
 * Equipment Services
 * Facilities Management
 * Flood Control District
 * Human Resources
 * Library District
 * Medical Examiner’s Office
 * Parks and Recreation
 * Planning and Development
 * Public Health
 * Public Works Professional Support Services
 * Solid Waste
 * Stadium District
 * Superior Court
 * Transpiration Department

Measures
The Green Government Program has enacted 124 specific goals or measures. Measures are assigned to the related governmental departments and performance tracked. A few measures, such as measure AD4 addressing waste at internal events, are universal between all departments and are designated “AD” to reflect this. A metric and goal is described for each measure and a due date is assigned. Progress is tracked by the county sustainability manager and the Green Government Council. The status of each measure is reported as Accomplished, On Going, Launched, and Not Started. Each measure is designed to address at least one Sustainability Target however, most address more multiple targets.

Projects and Resources
In addition to the internal initiatives the Maricopa County Green Government Program as compiled a list of resources to aid business and individuals. These resources include guides on reducing office paper use, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, and purchasing local/organic foods. The program has produced its own education resources as well. These include informational YouTube videos, resources for educators, and interactive educational games for children.

To help facilitate individual measures the Program has undertaken several supporting projects. A Greenhouse Gas Inventory was completed for 2007 and 2009 to create a baseline for which to measure program goals. An environmental preferred purchasing policy was developed to guild department material purchases. In 2008 Arizona Public Services was commissioned to conduct an energy audit to guide energy saving strategies.

Successes
The first year of the program reported $2.7 million in energy savings. The recycling program has diverted over 360 tons of paper waste from landfills. The switch to bio diesel in the county fleet reduced green house gas emissions by 300 tons. To date 18 county departments are participating up from the original 10, and 23 of the initial 124 measures are listed as accomplished.

Other successes include
 * Half of the county fleet will be using alternative fuels by 2012
 * All Diesel vehicles have been switched to B20 or greater biodiesel
 * APD on-line forms have been implemented to replace many printed forms
 * Copy Paper reduced by 10% from 2008 baseline
 * Green Purchasing Policies adopted in participating departments