Last week the L.A. city council unanimously passed a “Green Building Retrofit Ordinance” that will retrofit all city owned buildings larger than 7,500 square feet or built before 1978 with a target of hitting LEED silver level certification.
The ordinance also outlines:
• Establish a pipeline to green careers by recruiting disadvantaged workers into the city training programs that can train and connect unemployed and underemployed workers from under-served communities to construction apprenticeship positions on green retrofits and to job placement elsewhere in the public and private sector;
• Foster inner city economic development by supporting local minority and women-owned green business development;
• To ensure quality green products are being used & purchased locally, encourage local green manufacturing, purchase locally produced green goods that prevent waste and prohibits toxic chemicals that are unhealthy for workers for retrofitting;
• Foster public sector career development within the city by hiring city workers from city training programs, and upgrade part time workers to full time.
The good news about an ordinance like this one is that it really brings a focus to the importance of green building. When a city takes a stand and wants to improve their community by making buildings greener and making the environment as a whole healthier, it speaks volumes to what individuals can do as well.
Posted by Kirsten Saladow
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