Contributed by Dan Geiger, Executive Director, USGBC-NCC
On April 25th, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced an important new executive order that calls for new or renovated state buildings larger than 10,000 square feet to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED “Silver” certification or higher and to incorporate clean, on-site power generation, such as solar photovoltaic, solar thermal and wind power generation and clean back-up power supplies.
The order also sets a target of zero net energy consumption for 50% of the square footage of existing state-owned buildings by 2025 and zero net energy consumption from all new or renovated state buildings beginning design after 2025.
“Doing something real about the growing threat of global warming requires more than just new laws. We must lead by example,” said Governor Brown. “Greening the state’s buildings will shrink our environmental footprint and save taxpayers millions of dollars.”
The full press release and executive order can be found at http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17506
“USGBC applauds Governor Brown’s executive order. Once again, he has raised the bar on leadership in sustainability," said Dan Geiger, Executive Director of USGBC-Northern California Chapter. "This order will have a tremendous impact – it sets aggressive new goals, and significantly expands the scale and scope of the state's programs to green its facilities."
The Governor made the announcement during a USGBC California reception where he, along with Senator Fran Pavley and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner were recognized by USGBC for their outstanding sustainability leadership, as part of USGBC California Advocacy Day and celebration of California’s Top Ten State and Local Green Building Policies.
Click for more on USGBC California Advocacy Day
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