California Leads Nationally in Environmentalism
Published Jul 09, 2008
Christine Tien, Stockton’s deputy city manager, outlines the Green Team San Joaquin initiative at the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce in February 2008. The project is a collaborative effort involving private businesses and public entities.
While it’s not always easy being green, California business and government leaders have come together to tackle environmental problems previously considered intractable.
The state’s landmark Assembly Bill 32 establishes targets for hefty reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and the California Air Resources Board, which has been charged with the law’s implementation, has given business a place at the table by creating a Market Advisory Committee. This group will assist in designing market-based solutions for attaining the state’s goals.
The California Chamber of Commerce is also on board, encouraging regulatory compliance through innovation.
And the state itself, long a national leader in environmentalism, is setting the tone with its progressive building code. Recently established regulations direct that design and construction of large state buildings and renovation projects meet the standards outlined in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.
Businesses that are going green are looking to a company called California Green Solutions for useful news and information. Aside from its online archive of resources at www.californiagreenssolutions.com and its printed newsletter reaching 5,000 firms, the company partners with local economic development groups to hold seminars on green business issues.
Founder Carolyn Allen, who has experience on the business end of environmental compliance, believes the new rules will be advantageous – for instance, in selling products to Europe.
She also sees opportunities in the business of facilitating greener practices. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, she says, is “working on setting up state industries so they will have a good green infrastructure that can be marketed globally.”
Allen cites General Electric Co.’s Ecomagination program as a watershed in corporate attitude. “They’re in the process of making all their products more energy efficient. They even have a hybrid locomotive.”
Early adopters of this mindset can only gain, she says, noting, “It’s a fact this is the way the whole world’s going.”
Some places in the state, such as Stockton and the San Joaquin Valley, already have established green initiatives that mobilize private and public entities on behalf of a cleaner environment.
Story by Jon Brooks
Photo by Jeff Adkins
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