Sustainability
Climate Change and Sustainability Initiative
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ARRA
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant |
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| Skagit County opened the Sustainability Office to institutionalize energy efficiency and renewable energy as a priority, and to coordinate energy efforts throughout the local government and the community. more | ||
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The office is staffed by a part-time Sustainability Administrator and full-time Sustainability Coordinator. The key responsibilities
of the Sustainability Office include, but are not limited to:
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| Skagit County will use grant funds to implement energy, fuel, and natural resource conservation measures. more | ||
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Skagit County signed a contract with the State of Washington Energy Savings Performance Contracting program to hire an ESCO to propose capital improvements that reduce energy at a net-zero or net-negative cost. Skagit County will use grant funds to implement energy, fuel, and natural resource conservation measures. Examples include the purchase and installation of print reduction software, rain barrel stands, and bike racks. The County will also purchase scanners and software to implement an electronic discovery project with the Sheriff, Prosecutor, and Public Defender offices. Currently, the Sheriff's Office, after writing a police report, makes copies for the Prosecutor's Office. They then courier the documents to the Prosecutor's Office, who makes additional copies for the deputy prosecutor, the public defender, and the court. This project would enable the Sheriff and Prosecutor to scan and transmit documents electronically. The project will save 750,000 pages of paper per year and result in additional savings in transportation and printing costs. |
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| The Zero-Waste Events program encourages and reduces barriers to recycling at public events by encouraging material conservation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and conserving energy. more | ||
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Recycling and waste reduction reduces the energy required for transportation to landfills and landfill management, while using recycled materials for new products also consumes significantly less energy than using virgin materials. Organics captured with composting additionally reduces the methane produced by organic decay in a landfill. The County purchased
recycling/composting bins, bin transporters, signs, and a cargo trailer
to move the equipment to events. Skagit County offers the use of recycling,
composting, and garbage bins, free of charge, to both public and private
events. Skagit County also provide appropriate signage for each waste
station, and training for volunteers on how to transport, setup, and
manage the waste stations, and how to educate the public about composting
and recycling. |
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| Skagit County has purchased recycling and waste bins for its office buildings and for facilities that are open to the public, including the courthouse and administration buildings, and its parks. more | ||
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| Skagit County has partnered with eight other jurisdictions through the Skagit Council of Governments to hire a Resource Conservation Manager to analyze electricity and fuel consumption. more | ||
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The RCM and assistant studied electricity consumption among the county buildings and developed Facility Action Plans for each. The RCM continually reviews energy use and provides recommendations for energy saving conservation measures. |
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Skagit County hired a consultant to recommend new, more fuel-efficient vehicles to replace existing vehicles, new practices and management techniques to use existing vehicles more efficiently, and other ways to reduce fuel and energy consumption . more |
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The County also purchased an electric car and applied signage to the car (and existing electric truck) to promote its electric nature and the energy-conservation associated with electric vehicles.
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The Skagit Clean Energy Challenge is a holistic approach to assessing and reducing the environmental footprint of single-family homes in Skagit County. more |
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The program will focus on reducing GHG emissions by reducing energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste production, reducing water use, and increasing wildlife use of backyards. In cooperation with
the Whatcom
Community Energy Challenge , The program will partially fund the
assessment of homes based on the four focus areas of the home's environmental
impact (energy use, waste production, water use, and backyard wildlife
habitat), a technical assistance program to provide homeowners with
the necessary information to make the recommended improvements to their
home (including rebate and incentive programs), and a recognition process
to reward homeowners that take actions to reduce their home's environmental
impact.
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To increase outreach efforts by the Sustainability Office and improve the coordination with local community organizations, the County funded the Padilla Bay Foundation to administer the Climate Stewards program. more |
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Skagit Climate Stewards
is a community organization that offers participants professional training
on climate change, impacts of global warming, actions to reduce personal
and residential GHG emissions, and tools for communicating this information
to other community members. Participants work on community projects
to promote energy conservation and reductions in GHG emissions, such
as holding public seminars, creating educational material, organizing
regional conferences for students and local grassroots outreach organizations,
presenting to high school students and community organizations, recruiting
people to take pledges to reduce their carbon footprint, creating a
solar demonstration project, and building a community garden.
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