Legislative Efforts
In addition to working locally to reduce the carbon footprint of our water supply and operations, the Sonoma County Water Agency is working on a national level to leverage its existing pioneering efforts with those of other communities to develop legislation to empower local governments to achieve similar goals.
Winner! 2009 Sustainability Awards
The California Sustainability Alliance is designed to help meet California’s aggressive energy, climate, resource, and environmental goals. In 2008, the Sustainability Showcase was established to highlight the efforts of California government agencies and businesses who are paving the way towards a sustainable future through implementation of innovative policies, programs, practices and technologies. On November 18, 2009, the Agency submitted its nomination for the Water Agency category. It was announced in mid-January 2010 that the Agency won the Water Agency category. The Agency will be honored at a luncheon in February 2010. For more information, visit the California Sustainability Alliance website.
Applied Solutions
Applied Solutions is a group of counties and cities across the country who are working to develop replicable, integrated and sustainable community infrastructure projects. These communities are developing infrastructure that achieves four goals: 1) reduces water use; 2) reduces energy use; 3) reduces petroleum-based single-car transportation; and 4) reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Workshops are held yearly at member cities around the country to share ideas, best practices and “what works and what doesn’t.” Projects being developed are showcased at the Applied Solutions collaborative website. The Agency is one of the founding members and is very active in the development of the program. For more information, visit the Applied Solutions website.
Bay Area Green Business Certification
The Bay Area Green Business Program is a partnership of environmental agencies and utilities. This partnership recognizes and certifies the efforts of businesses that protect, preserve and sustain the environment. It also offers incentives and verifies that members conserve energy and water, minimize waste, prevent pollution, and shrink their carbon footprints. The Agency received its certification on April 22, 2008. For more information, visit the Bay Area Green Business website.
California Climate Action Registry
Since 2007, the Agency has registered its GHG emissions with the California Climate Action Registry which is a program of the Climate Action Reserve. This program serves as a voluntary greenhouse gas registry to protect and promote early actions to reduce GHG emissions by organizations. By registering its emissions annually, the Agency is able to track its performance in reducing its emissions. By establishing baseline data on its performance, the Agency will be able to take credit for the reductions in its GHG emissions when regulations on the water industry takes effect. In addition, performing a GHG inventory can illuminate areas where further reductions can take place. For more information, visit the California Climate Action Registry website.
Climate Communities
The Agency is a member of Climate Communities which is a national coalition of cities and counties dedicated in educating federal policymakers about the vital role local governments play in addressing climate change. This organization also promotes a robust local-federal partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Communities ensure that funding and incentives are provided to its members achieve local climate change progress. For more information, visit the Climate Communities website.
Climate Protection Campaign
The Agency is part of the Climate Protection Campaign which is a Sonoma County based organization that works with business, government, youth and the broader community to advance practical, science-based solutions for significant greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Climate Protection Campaign creates projects to mobilize partners for effective action; works on the local, regional and the state level policies; and assists in the implementation of energy efficiency projects for immediate emissions reductions. For more information, visit the Climate Protection Campaign website.
ISO 9001 and 14001 Certification
The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) is a framework to ensure that an organization is operating at the highest level of quality and efficiency. ISO 9001 defines a quality management system which trains an organization to work at a high level of efficiency, replicability and documentation. ISO 14001 defines an environmental management standard to ensure environmental aspects of an organization are defined and held to a high standard. ISO certified organizations are among the most well run in the world and rate-payers can be proud of the Agency’s efforts to achieve this certification. The Agency has implemented the ISO 9001 and 14001 standards into an integrated environmental and quality management system and continuously evaluates our success and improvements. Certification in ISO standards is a continuous process defined on the ISO website. For more information, visit the International Organization of Standardization website.
Renewable Energy Secure Communities (RESCO)
Renewable Energy Secure Communities (RESCO) is a partnership focusing on creating a renewable energy portfolio for Sonoma County. To make this happen, the Agency is partnering with the Los Alamos National Labs, Sonoma County Transportation Authority, and the Climate Protection Campaign, and Local Power Inc. So far, the partnership has received a $1 million grant from the California Energy Commission to study the local GHG emissions and renewable energy technolgies applicable in the area.