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GreenGov Council & Penn State Sustainability Institute's Sustainability Webinar Series 3

The GreenGov Council and Penn State's Sustainability Institute are co-hosting our third webinar series on various sustainability topics. All who are interested in expanding their knowledge of sustainability initiatives are invited to participate! The series is intended to give participants opportunities to hear from subject matter experts and receive updates on each topic to enrich their knowledge while engaging in group conversations.
 
The webinars will consist of a 30-minute presentation followed by a 15-minute question & answer session. All presentations will be held via Microsoft Teams. Interested attendees are asked to complete this sign-up survey and indicate which presentations they plan to attend. The GreenGov Council will send out Microsoft Teams meeting calendar invitations to each interested participant for their selected webinars. 

Click here to view our series announcement and a detailed description of the webinars. For any additional questions or comments, please e-mail the GreenGov Council. 

Series Information:

Webinar Summaries:

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) Overview
Overview of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state program created for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the production of electricity. The webinar will cover specifics of the program such as participating states and models as well as markets, regulations and budget trading.

Carbon Reduction Commitments – State Agencies, Universities & Businesses
The webinar will cover consensus on what commitments are needed to reduce global carbon emissions and some of the current commitments entities both public and private have in place. Specific examples of initiatives, programs and successes will be shared with participants.

Pennsylvania Climate Leadership Academy Overview
Overview of the Pennsylvania Climate Leadership Academy (PCLA) program including mission summary and opportunities for future participants. Specifics will focus on the partnership with the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) including their initiatives, membership, training and credentialing as well as a summary of association successes to date.

PA Recycling Markets – Recyclables & Lowered Embodied Carbon in Facility Construction
This webinar will focus on exploring the recycled material markets within Pennsylvania and their increasing inclusion within construction projects as well as actions being taken to further grow the use of recyclables and recycling in facility construction. The presentation will also cover how to minimize the carbon footprint of building construction materials and why it's important.

Sustainability and Resilience in the Community, Part 1: Foodways & Healthcare
The webinar will focus on programs to develop more resilient foodways that improve community health as well as actions that help to build community engagement around local food and healthcare systems.

Household Carbon Reduction, Part 1: Energy Saving Utility Programs

Representatives from the PA Public Utility Commission will give an overview of utility energy-saving and rebate programs such as the PAPowerSwitch, PAGasSwitch and current Act 129 incentives and protections available for customers.

Pennsylvania Nationally Recognized for Excellence in Sustainable Electronics Purchasing For Second Consecutive Year

For the second consecutive year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been nationally recognized with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT, Purchaser Award for its commitment to preserving the environment through the purchase of nearly 67,400 units of sustainable electronics. Pennsylvania made more than $79 million in EPEAT-qualified purchases in the Computers & Displays and Digital Imaging categories in the Fiscal Year 2019-2020. The commonwealth was one of only eight states recognized with the 2021 EPEAT Purchaser Award.

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the commonwealth purchased nearly 67,400 eligible products that met either a "Gold", "Silver" or "Bronze" status in accordance with EPEAT criteria – a nearly 27,400 product increase from the year before. The criteria consider materials selection, design for product longevity, reuse and recycling, energy conservation, end-of-life management, and corporate performance. In total 43 percent of the commonwealth's Computers & Displays, Digital Imaging Equipment and Mobile Phones achieved an EPEAT Gold status rating, 56 percent Silver and 1 percent Bronze.

The energy savings of nearly $1.34 million associated with the green electronics purchases is enough electricity to power approximately 2,582 US households for a year, while the carbon footprint reduction is equivalent to annually removing approximately 1,423 passenger cars from the road. The amount of solid waste eliminated from the environment is the equivalent of the annual waste generation of 347 households.

EPEAT is a resource administered by the Green Electronics Council where organizations can find or promote electronic products that meet certain environmental performance criteria. The Green Electronics Council maintains the EPEAT website and product registry and recognizes organizations for their purchases of EPEAT-registered products.

Gov. Wolf Announces Largest Government Solar Energy Commitment in the U.S.

50 Percent of State Government Electricity Will Come from Largest Government Solar Commitment in U.S. to Date

Governor Tom Wolf announced Monday, March 22, 2021, a major clean energy initiative that will produce nearly 50 percent of state government's electricity through seven new solar energy arrays totaling 191-megawatts to be built around the state. Part of the governor's GreenGov initiative, Pennsylvania PULSE (Project to Utilize Light and Solar Energy) will go into operation on January 1, 2023. The project is the largest solar commitment by any government in the U.S. announced to date.  

"In issuing the GreenGov challenge, I charged state government with leading by example in demonstrating sustainable governance and lowering greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the risks of climate change in Pennsylvania," Governor Wolf said. "This included significantly reducing energy use and pursuing an ambitious goal of obtaining at least 40 percent of electricity from clean energy generated in state. I commend General Services for their GreenGov leadership in not only meeting this goal but exceeding it".

Solar arrays will be built in seven locations in six counties: Columbia, Juniata, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and York. When completed, the total 191-megawatt project is expected to deliver 361,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, supplying 100 percent of electricity for 434 accounts across 16 state agencies, or about half the electricity used by state government. The solar project will create 400-plus jobs and begin lowering carbon dioxide emissions statewide by 157,800 metric tons each year – the equivalent of the emissions from nearly 27,000 homes or taking 34,000 cars off the roads. 

General Services contracted with Constellation, a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission-licensed electric generation supplier, to secure a 15-year fixed-price supply agreement. Serving as a technical advisor on the purchase, the Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute coordinated an innovative retail approach.

Visit Governor Wolf's newsroom online newsroom for more details. The Pennsylvania PULSE solar project brochure is also available online.