• Does your town have an Office or Director of Environmental Affairs? GreenPoint: The OEA should have both the responsibility and authority to coordinate local governmental efforts, and to develop and maintain effective communications between residents and local decision makers, as well as with surrounding municipalities.
•Does your town require the use of green printing techniques (chlorine-free recycled paper, printed both sides using soy-based inks) for all documents? GreenPoint: "Green printing" refers to new trends in printing and print design which reduce waste, reduce toxins, reduce use of trees, and use recycled materials.
•Does your town provide a practical mechanism for communication of its environmental policies to town employees? GreenPoint: Establishing an environmental task force made up of representatives from various departments can facilitate communications and provide a venue for necessary feedback.
Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
•Does your town have an effective method of communicating its environmental policies to residents? GreenPoint: The challenge for local governments is not necessarily how to get citizens involved but how to accomplish multiple environmental goals on limited budgets and manage public expectations at the same time.
•Does your town maintain a town website or web pages with all environmental information, regulations, etc? GreenPoint: We recommend the creation of a distinct site or section dedicated to environmental issues where local governments, businesses, educators, students and citizens can easily access information and become active participants in local programs.
Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
• “How Green Is My Town?” was conceived and developed by Grassroots Environmental Education, a non-profit organization. To learn more about innovative projects and programs, please visit www.GrassrootsInfo.org.
Together, we will make a difference.
"The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all."
Leo Rosten
