Government Conservation Practices
The State of Illinois has on-going efforts in preventing pollution and conserving natural resources in state government operations. WMRC's Jeri Knaus is a leader in promoting these sustainable practices in government. She says some of the highlights in the past year include:
- Setting 600 computers at the Natural Resources Department to "go to sleep" after 15 minutes of in-activity, saving $7,500 a year.
- As a contributing member of the Governor's Green Government Council, Knaus was instrumental in bringing the renewable power project to the Governor's Energy Cabinet, and helped negotiate the contract that made Illinois the first state government to join U.S. EPA's Green Power Partnership program.
- The lamps and ballasts were removed from all of the vending machines at the Department of Natural Resources headquarters in Springfield, saving hundreds of dollars a year.
- Knaus assisted local park districts in writing grants to successfully obtain funding for energy efficient lighting projects and recycling projects.
- Policy was established to eliminate the printing of names (i.e. governor, director, etc.) on state funded publications unless required by law or if a publication has a shelf life of 12 months or less. This reduces the need to reprint some state documents because they have the name of a person no longer in that office.
Jump to another section:
