North Carolina Requires Energy and Water Conservation in State Buildings + More

Submitted by Julian Dautremont... on August 24, 2007 - 4:53am
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The lead story in this week's AASHE Bulletin is about an exciting piece of legislation from North Carolina requiring all new construction by public entities - including state colleges and universities - to meet high standards of energy and water efficiency. Sustainability is often described as going "beyond compliance" so it will be interesting to see what positions on campus are given responsibility for compliance with this type of law, which seems to be increasingly common. If higher ed is truly to play a leadership role in the move towards sustainability, it seems to me that sustainability officers will need to be given the support to continue pushing the envelope to go above and beyond even progressive legislation like this.  I'd be interested to hear about strategies that sustainability officers can take to ensure they can continue leading their institutions to go beyond compliance.  Any suggestions?

Comments

One thing I wouldn't overlook

Submitted by Anne on August 25, 2007 - 6:08pm.
One thing I wouldn't overlook is the role that sustainability coordinators do and can play in getting this kind of legislation passed in the first place. Many sustainability coordinators at state schools struggle against state budgeting procedures that penalize the schools for conserving energy. When sustainability officers agitate on campus and with legislators for energy efficiency policy change, their voices are often heard more loudly and clearly than those of environmental non-profits that usually champion such legislation.