JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon offered an opportunity to reflect on changes made to make the state more environmentally friendly on Earth Day.
He said state agencies had saved have saved upwards of $44 million in energy reduction efforts since he became the governor.
Much of this can be attributed to an executive order signed by Nixon during his first Earth Day in office that required all state agencies whose buildings were part of the Office of Administration must implement policies that would reduce energy use by two percent each year for the next 10 years. Energy consumption by those agencies has dropped more than 27 percent since Nixon took office.
“State government is smaller and more energy efficient than it was seven years ago, which is saving taxpayers millions of dollars each year,” Nixon said in a statement. “Saving energy saves money, and I appreciate the outstanding work by state agencies, led by our Office of Administration, to lessen their physical and carbon footprint to the benefit of taxpayers everywhere.”
Some of the methods used to reduce energy consumption included switching to more efficient lighting, applying for incentives from energy companies, and implementing unoccupied scheduling to reduce utility consumption.
