City Goes Greener, Earns State Honors

By WYDaily Staff Saturday, October 16, 2010

The City of Williamsburg has achieved platinum status in the 2010 Virginia Municipal League Green Government Challenge, making the city one of just five communities in the state to reach that level.

The Green Government Challenge is a friendly competition among local governments to encourage the implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce carbon emissions. It's part of VML’s larger Go Green Virginia environmental initiative.

The City’s certification and ongoing "green" efforts are led by the City’s “Green Team,” composed of employees from departments throughout the City and chaired by Assistant City Manager Jodi Miller.

“The Williamsburg City Council and staff are committed to reducing carbon emissions as part of its sustainability policy, and the Green Government Challenge is a useful framework to evaluate and manage our green activities and programs,” said City Manager Jack Tuttle. “To achieve platinum status is not only an honor, but also a testament to the determination of the Green Team, who work above and beyond their regular duties to achieve this important goal for the entire community.”

This is the challenge's third year, and Williamsburg has received recognition each year. In 2008, the inaugural year of the award, the City garnered first place among localities with populations less than 15,000. In 2009, VML made the competition more challenging, and the City attained a gold level of certification.

In the challenge, governments earn “green points” by implementing or adopting up to 30 policies and actions divided into 11 categories ranging from energy efficiency and green buildings to land-use and innovation. This year, VML created more stringent requirements, and even previous recipients had to start from the beginning to rebuild their points for certification. Thirty-one cities, towns and counties participated in the 2010 Green Government Challenge. Of those 31, 21 achieved the minimum score of 100 “green points” that was necessary for certification as a VML Green Government.

Local governments could also earn silver, gold and platinum levels of certification. The platinum award required a score between 175 and 200. Williamsburg had 185 points.

The other platinum recipients were: the cities of Alexandria and Roanoke, and the counties of Arlington and Loudoun. For more information about the Virginia Municipal League and the Green Challenge, click here.