BlueMassGroup passes along a press release from the Massachusetts Governor’s office:
The new Executive Order requires that state agencies:
- Reduce their overall energy consumption 20 percent by 2012, from 2002 levels, 35 percent by 2020.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent over the next five years, 40 percent by 2020, and 80 percent by 2050.
In order to achieve these goals, state agencies are required to:
- Obtain 15 percent of their electricity from clean renewable sources by 2012, 30 percent by 2020
- Use biofuels for 3 percent of heating oil next winter, 5 percent in 2008-09
- Meet Massachusetts’s LEED-Plus green building standards for all new construction and major renovations, and consider energy performance in leasing decisions
- Reduce potable water use 10 over the next five years, 15 percent by 2020.
The press release also includes a couple of other mandatory measures, including swapping any incandescent bulbs in Massachusetts state properties with CFL’s.
I like the idea of a government leading by example when it comes to conservation and environmentalism.as long as the government really is practicing what it preaches. I just wish that the new policy included a requirement that new construction and major renovations include the incorporation of some renewable power generation (e.g. solar panels) when practical.