Green California Summit Conference Reviews Are In

California City News Contributor On Environmental Issues Bryan Colbert from Siemens Building Technologies attended the Green California Summit and pens this exclusive review of the conference. Bryan Colbert can be reached at Bryan.Colbert@siemens.com or for more information visit the Siemens website.

Green California Summit 2008 was a resounding success. Attendance was more than double that of the 2007 Summit, with many attendees from the commercial sector as well as from state, county and municipal government. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi both toured the exhibit hall, meeting exhibitors and learning about the latest products and services that can help California reach its green goals.

States throughout the country are following California’s lead in implementing controls on environmental contamination and innovative incentives for green building, energy efficiency and recycling. Guided by an advisory board composed of senior state officials, the Summit was designed to forward state and local programs to build clean and sustainable communities.

The event began, with a series of pre-conference training sessions and an executive summit designed to look ahead toward the critical issues of the coming year. By Tuesday, the floor of the Convention Center had been transformed into a captivating showcase for products and services that can help to transform California communities.

Tuesday evening, The Green California Leadership Awards were presented by Secretary, State and Consumer Services Agency, Rosario Marin, and Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency, Linda Adams along with various Green California Summit sponsors. This year’s awards were for projects completed during 2007 in areas of activity that are shaping the future of California.

The Green California Leadership Awards were presented to:

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, CLIMATE CHANGE AWARD, for their low income refrigerator exchange program
• City of Irvine, ENERGY INNOVATION AWARD, the grassroots energy conservation project, “A Brighter Future” savings nearly 1,340,000 kWh
• Department of General Services, GREEN BUILDING AWARD, for sustainable design and construction of the East End Complex,
• California Department of Health Services Department of Pesticide Regulation, GREEN CULTURE AWARD, for the California school integrated pest management program
• City of San Jose, PURCHASING AWARD, recognized for using its buying power to move the market towards environmentally superior products and demonstrate leadership to residents through their Environmentally Preferable Procurement Program
• California Department of Transportation, TRANSPORTATION AWARD, for the statewide storm water management program implementation
• California Department of Transportation, WASTE MANAGEMENT AWARD, implementing the Project Recycle – Over the Shoulder Adopt-A-Highway Recycling Bag
• The City of Long Beach, WATER MANAGEMENT AWARD, recognized for preserving water resources through it’s program, “Extraordinary Water Conservation”

Congratulations to our Cities and City Departments on these significant accomplishments! Over the past few years, Governor Schwarzenegger has attracted international attention for his environmental policy efforts. His goal is to make California government, at all levels, a model of ingenuity and innovation that will inspire and encourage the private sector and all of California ’s 30 million citizens to pursue sustainability. State agencies, cities and communities throughout California have taken up the gauntlet, forming a web of innovative environmental partnerships that include utilities, universities, non-profit organizations, corporations and consultants.

Many cities, from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Lynwood and El Centro are vying to be the “greenest” communities in the state, the country - even the world. The greening of California government has meant that each one of its hundreds of thousands of employees and the contractors and suppliers who work with the state must become aware of the challenges and participate in meeting those challenges. That could mean anything, from setting up an office recycling program or implementing two-sided printing systems, to designing an entire community that is energy efficient, healthy and self-sustaining.

Achieving these goals means training people to run the programs and manage the building projects; and learning what’s available in green purchasing, green maintenance, green fleets, and green design. Your large Energy Service Providers throughout the state can provide you with expert assistance for master planning, development, implementation, and sustainability.