Minnesota Establishes New Office to Fight Climate Change

Minnesota Lt. Governor Tina Smith has announced the creation of the new Office of Enterprise Sustainability.

The new office will provide agencies assistance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water usage, increase energy efficiency and recycling, and better coordinate efforts across state government, according to a news release.

"The Office of Enterprise Sustainability will provide state agencies with additional tools to improve the efficiency of their operations."

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The new office will work with state agencies to track and report their greenhouse gas emissions, assist in directing and managing sustainability initiatives, and leverage the expertise of sustainable practices leaders.
The Dayton-Smith Administration has directed state agencies to reduce their carbon footprint and report on key sustainability outcome measurements include purchasing, vehicle fleets, energy use, water use, and solid waste/recycling. The Office of Enterprise Sustainability will build on that initial work and work with all state facilities to implement and track comprehensive sustainability initiatives.

To coordinate efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of state agencies, Administration Commissioner Massman appointed Larry Herke as the Director of the Office of Enterprise Sustainability.

"Larry Herke is a proven leader with the skills and abilities to accomplish big goals in challenging circumstances," said Administration Commissioner Matt Massman.

"Whether managing the logistics for more than 5,000 Minnesota soldiers in Iraq or reducing energy and waste consumption in state military facilities, Larry knows how to bring people together to get the job done."

Image: Michael Hicks via Flickr /Creative Commons