Government Agencies Told to Go Green. But What About Schools?

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

The Obama administration is starting to require every federal agency to measure its greenhouse-gas emissions and set targets to reduce them by 2020. According to The Washington Post, Obama explained the decision this way:

As the biggest landlord in the nation, we need to show leadership by reducing fuel use, cutting costs, and improving the operations of our agencies' fleets and buildings.

Chicago Public Schools, the third largest school district in the US, has taken a great effort to implement an environmental action plan to address its greenhouse-gas emissions. The state of Illinois has begun a program to encourage environmental improvements in schools that they hope to begin using to quantify emission reductions.

But we do need something more consistent, and at a larger level. School are huge consumers, schools touch every point of our society and as I said before, where schools go, others follow.