Local Action Plan to Reduce Emissions of Greenhouse Gases

Sustainability steps of the Budget Office

Existing Reduction Measures in Winston-Salem Government Operations

• Operating and Capital Budgeting: Review requests and recommends funds for energy upgrades and facilities renewal projects which extend the life of existing facilities, reduce energy use such as more efficient streetlights, and vehicles.
• Budget Reporting: Work with Fleet Services to track and report monthly fuel use by department compared to department fuel targets and communicate results; Monitor capital project status, including the purchase and installation of energy-related equipment and construction materials.
• Audits: Identify obsolete equipment; Prevent assets/inventory loss through fraud investigations and tagging of equipment valued more than $5,000; identify inefficient and wasteful processes.
• Daily Energy Use: Turn off lights when not in use and turn off computer equipment when not in use; print on both sides of paper; reduce number of copies of documents.

Future Reduction Measures for Winston-Salem Government Operations

• Reduce weekend commuting costs by working from home office (install programs to allow access to shared folders and FMS budget system).
• Use only half of the installed light switches in individual offices (except those with no windows or natural lighting).
• Reduce use of paper for documents/increase electronic document publication.
• Employ formal methods for favoring and/or increasing the funding priority for sustainability efforts in budget processes.
• For public meetings coordinated by Budget, Audit and Performance Reporting, schedule no meetings after 5 p.m.

Read the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Local Action Plan to Reduce Emissions Report July 2008 [pdf/1mb/43p] 

Sustainability pages