 | US Local governments introduce a new employee: the sustainability director 04-04-2008 In her article 'Mr. Sustainability' for Governing.com, Ellen Perlman
describes how American cities are creating a new type of job. Now that global
warming has become an increasingly important topic on the urban agenda, many
local governments have started to employ 'sustainability directors' or even
entire staffs dealing with sustainability. But what does it really mean for
these professionals to reduce a city's carbon footprint?
The article gives an overview of the different measures that 'sustainability
professionals' in local governments take to improve their urban environment.
Some especially focus on small-scale solutions such as reducing office supplies,
free parking for environmentally friendly cars and turning off the light at the
office. Others focus on more dramatic energy savings by targeting a handful of
the city's largest energy users such as water works departments.
However, the biggest challenge for all sustainability professionals in US
city councils is to get commercial managers to feel as passionately about
sutainability as they do themselves.
Source:
Governing.com
back |
