Agenda - 12-2 - Information Item - Orange County Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility Goal Update

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 Our ambulances have some of the lowest miles per gallon figures of any vehicle in our fleet and over this period our ambulance fleet has doubled. These ambulances have also been responding to significant increases in the volume of emergency calls. Utilities Reduction Scorecard Summary – After 7 years of tracking the impact of the County’s efficiency efforts, there is evidence of overall success even though only one of three main resources exceeded its reduction goal. The cumulative impact of the reductions that were achieved in energy and water use intensity have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided cost and have greatly reduced the negative impacts of our operations on the local environment. Moving forward we also see room to make further gains as the County employs new tracking tools, makes and implements plans to reach its ambitious climate and energy goals, and makes further investments in efficiency, renewable energy and clean transportation. Key County Sustainability Activities and Indicators by Department Asset Management Services (AMS, highlights by division): • Administration - Paperless Work Order System: In collaboration with the Information Technologies Department and TMA Systems, AMS administrative staff has established a paperless work order system to increase efficiency, limit storage space needed, facilitate transparency, and reduce paper waste. • Capital Projects – Commissioning and Green Building Standards Update: In partnership with the Sustainability Program, the Capital Projects Manager is in the process of reviewing and updating the BOCC-adopted “High Performance Building Guidelines” to reflect updates to technology and practices, including a focus on building commissioning. Commissioning has been shown by the NC Department of Environmental Quality to reduce annual energy costs for a building by 15- 30%1. Staff is also planning to incorporate advanced energy systems into upcoming initiatives such as: solar photovoltaics/battery storage, geothermal, cool roofs, and performance contracting. • Custodial Services – Green Cleaning Solutions in Bulk: The County’s cleaning products have been carefully selected to protect human health and the environment without decreasing effectiveness or increasing costs. These products are delivered in bulk quantities to reduce packaging waste and bulk dispensers are used to measure out exact quantities. • Facilities Maintenance – Emphasizing accessibility in preventive maintenance activities: Since the final Comprehensive Facilities Accessibility Self-Assessment report was delivered in May of 2017, AMS Facilities Maintenance staff has been working to address the action items identified in maintain a high level of accessibility for County facilities. To date, 22 items have been addressed (e.g.- ADA parking signs, sidewalk expansion joints, etc), including all of the highest priority items identified. In addition, 8 further areas of concern (e.g. - entrance mats, stall door closers, etc) have been investigated and adjusted across all facilities when necessary. • Fleet Maintenance – Grant Supported Labor Expansion: Enabled by a grant written by Orange County Public Transportation, the Fleet Maintenance Team will be adding a new technician to focus on the upkeep of the County’s growing transit fleet. This in turn will free up other technicians to focus on repair and maintenance of the County’s first response and administrative vehicles. 1 NC DEQ, Utility Savings Initiative, “Existing Building Commissioning” December 7, 2015. https://files.nc.gov/ncdeq/Environmental%20Assistance%20and%20Customer%20Service/Utility%20Savings%20Initiative/ RetroCx%20LowTech%20Dec%207-2015.pdf 3