The greening of Dallas

Although some North Texas communities have made environmental issues a high priority for years, Dallas was slower to react to this emerging issue. However, the City of Dallas has now taken a very aggressive approach to greening the city and is making up for lost time.

Mayor Tom Leppert has chosen to lead by example, requiring significant green efforts from city departments to illustrate the importance of this initiative to residents and local businesses. The city has focused green efforts around recycling, energy conservation, water conservation, emission reduction, sustainable agriculture, sustainable landscaping, and stormwater mitigation and management.

The city also has set green construction standards for commercial, residential and municipal buildings in Dallas. An example of the mayor’s strategy is Fire Station No. 42, which opened in 1957 near Dallas Love Field. The old building had high levels of asbestos, was a fire hazard and inadequate for the needs of this area of town. A new building was constructed that is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified, incorporates energy-efficient lighting, and water efficiency inside and out. In addition, more than 85 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill.

Many Dallas residents have a heightened awareness of green efforts due to the attention that businesses have placed on communicating information on their green activities to consumers. For example, Wal-Mart attaches eco-labels on hundreds of items — the first initiative of its kind and the greatest effort to date to define “green” products more clearly for consumers.

But beyond information that we receive directly from corporate America, most people do not thoroughly investigate other greening activities or their local community’s efforts. To foster interest in environmental issues among Dallas residents and businesses, Mayor Leppert has taken a series of steps. This past spring, the 2nd Annual Mayor’s Environmental Excellence Awards were presented to residents and businesses who’ve made a significant contribution to green efforts. In addition, the city has a website — www.greendallas.net — dedicated to providing information on how citizens can go green.

Read the full story in the Dallas Business Journal.