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This report is divided into five sustainable practice categories including purchasing, transportation, landscape management, building practices, and waste reduction. Each topic will appeal to local government managers, though some topics will have a more specialized audience including: purchasing and office managers, fleet managers, public works directors, buildings and groundskeepers, parks and recreation directors, contract managers, or other specialists. In the case where a government may have a sustainability coordinator, all topics may be useful to this individual.

Each topic is organized into objectives, goals, implementation tools, training, evaluation, and additional resources. When available, local examples are provided.

Goals and objectives establish support for implementing sustainable practices, which save costs, reduce environmental impacts, and provide health benefits. Objectives are broad, while goals are applied to meet objectives through measurable or quantifiable means. Both may be short-term or long-term in nature. Benchmarking should be used whenever possible. Incorporating performance measurement practices, program evaluation measures, or other tracking into existing systems can help build support for sustainable programs. Incorporating sustainable goals and objectives into the budgeting process will also build support for such measures.

Implementation tools are policies, programs, or other measures that help communities meet goals and objectives. All implementation tools included in this report are existing examples of successful programs. Components of many programs can be combined for a diversified approach to sustainable government operations. Tools and processes can include one or a combination of approaches, such as ordinances, contracts, financial incentives, employee benefits, training exercises and education.

In addition to the information outlined herein, the Environmental Finance Center and other School of Government resources can serve as a guide or reference when developing sustainable initiatives. These include:

Training, education, and communication are factors crucial to the success of sustainable change. Important stakeholder groups are identified for each project category. For each project, this step should be ongoing. All stakeholders, including staff persons, businesses, and citizens should be made aware of the benefits of sustainable practices.

The evaluation component of this report is limited because measures must be customized to each individual organization or program. Specific examples of evaluation measures are included in many of the documents listed under the ‘additional resources’ section of this report.

The following information, therefore, serves as a starting point for understanding sustainable approaches to governmental management and implementing changes at the local level. All websites are current as of May 2006.

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Other Resources

Energy Efficiency Best Practices Workbook for Local Governments, created by California Local Energy Efficiency Program