Periodically, Ponderings will feature “Ponderings Picks”. This feature will highlight interesting people, programs and projects that we deem worthy of sharing.
Houston has been very lucky to recruit Laura Spanjian to our fine city. She is the new “Green Guru” (my nickname) for the City of Houston. She is the innovator of the City Hall/Downtown Farmers Market which kicks off again today!
Laura joined us from San Francisco where she worked the regional Public Utility Commission that managed water, power and conservation. As you may know, San Francisco is a leading community in conservation.
When she came to Houston, she was impressed with our progress. She has a vision to put Houston on the map as a leader. As the base of energy, renewables are already a focus for many Houston businesses. She envisions that the next great innovation will generate by businesses leading change and creating new technologies.
Through a combined approach of local government, private sector and non-profit agencies, she believes that Houston will create solutions that change and better our environment.
Laura states, “The City of Houston is a leader in sustainability, and consistently strives to implement initiatives that reduce emissions and save money. Under Mayor Annise Parker’s leadership, the City of Houston has led by example.”
A few achievements that Laura shared with us include these little known facts:
• On August 4th, 2010, the City of Houston was recognized by the EPA as the number one municipal purchaser of green power and the fourth largest overall purchaser in the nation. The City currently purchases 50 megawatts, or 33% of the total electricity load, from wind farms, the equivalent to taking 60,000 cars off the road.
• A total of 297 City facilities are expected to achieve guaranteed energy use reductions of 30%, saving over 22 million kWh of electricity every year, with paybacks of, on average, less than ten years.
• The City has almost completed replacing the incandescent bulbs at all of its 2,450 signalized intersections with LEDs, which are 75% more energy efficient. In addition, the City is now realizing over $3.6 million a year in savings.
• Currently Houston is #8 in the nation in the number of LEED certified buildings (97 total) and has five LEED Platinum office buildings.
• The Houston area ranks sixth on the EPA’s list of cities with the most Energy Star rated buildings (133 total) and second in the nation in square footage: 64 million square feet of space and savings of $74 million.
• Mayor Parker has launched the Houston Green Office Challenge to encourage building owners to join in increasing their environmental and economic performance. Learn more at www.houstongoc.org
On a personal note, Laura loves living in Houston and is so committed to her cause that she drives a Smart Car.
I have had the privilege to work with Laura on several occasions. She is a delightful individual, pushes hard for innovation and works with everyone to find solutions.