HARTFORD, Conn. — The first executive order Gov. Ned Lamont signed after taking office set targets for state government operations to reduce energy use, waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Three years later, the work toward a greener Connecticut was celebrated Tuesday in Hartford, as Lamont released the 2022 GreenerGov CT Progress Report.
"You know, a long time ago, people thought it was all polar bears. Now climate change is right here at home and people know we have to act on it," Gov. Lamont told FOX61 News, citing recent wind storms and flooding from sea level rise.
"We have numbers. Three years ago we didn’t even know what our usage was across state agencies," DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said.
For example, in the last three years, emissions from executive branch building energy use have dropped 14 percent, accelerated in part by the change in workflows brought on by the pandemic.
According to the administration, utility costs related to the executive branch operations have dropped by 15 percent, by more than $15 million since the fiscal year 2019.
The state centralized collection of hundreds of thousands of utility bills from across the state’s operations and facilities to share expenditures and water, energy, fuel, and emissions impacts in a public-facing Data Dashboard.
Other highlights of the report include gasoline use in state vehicles has dropped 18 percent in the last three years. The administration credits both reduced miles traveled and telematics hardware installed in more than 90% of the state fleet. The data is used to help identify fuel savings, and which vehicles make the most sense to convert to electric first.
"I think you’re beginning to see how environment is one of the ways that we are brought together," Lamont told the group.
The 2022 GreenerGov CT award winners include:
- Agency ChangeMaker Award (Recognizes individuals striving to transform their state agency to generate significant and measurable improvements in environmental, energy, and water conservation, or waste management benefits.)
- Stephen McGirr, Department of Administrative Services: Leadership efforts on state fleet optimization and electrification
- Frederick Krauth, Department of Transportation: Leadership efforts on sustainability projects
- Innovation Award(Special distinction recognizing exceptional public sector sustainability innovation.)
- Rick Hanley, Department of Transportation, retiree: Spearheading electrification initiatives
- Suzanne Huminski and Heather Stearns, Southern Connecticut State University: Teaching innovation through sustainability internships
- Impactful Project Award(Recognizes state projects that generated significant and measurable improvements in environmental, energy, and water conservation, or waste management benefits.)
- Suzanne Huminski, Eric Lessne, Keith Epstein, Heather Stearns: For integrating sustainability for high impact at the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities and Southern Connecticut University
- Michael Barrera, Kirsten Rigney, Bob Snook, Jaime Hays, Joseph Suchecki, Gary Gerstenlauer, Steve Link: Paving the road for 25 MW of solar PV at state facilities
- Nicholas Ross: Leadership efforts on state facility energy auditing
- CT Green Bank, Andrew Norton, Stephen McGirr, Allan Peterson, Rick Hanley, John Getsie, Steven Hecimovich, Jen Loo, Paul Kritzler, Gerald Mallison, Rick Rosa, Suzanne Huminski, Robert Dollak, Paul Farrell, Patrick Caron, Kevin Boughan, Matt Macunas, Jennifer Reilly: Efforts on the Clean and Efficient Transportation Team
Ryan Breton is a meteorologist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at rbreton@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.