University of Massachusetts Amherst
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The Leading by Example Program (LBE) was established in April 2007 by Governor Deval Patrick’s Executive Order No. 484, "Leading by Example - Clean Energy and Efficient Buildings". The program is overseen by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (A&F). Within these two offices, various divisions and departments manage specific aspects of the program, including the Department of Energy Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Capital Asset Management, and the Operational Services Division. The LBE Program encompasses all of Massachusetts’ executive agencies and public institutions of higher education. These agencies and institutions own 70 million square feet of buildings and 8,000 vehicles, employ over 65,000 people, and include 29 college campuses. Through various initiatives, LBE works to reduce the overall environmental impacts of state government operations, particularly climate and energy impacts. Executive Order 484 establishes higher energy efficiency standards in the operation of state buildings, setting short- and long-term targets and goals to advance clean energy and efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. In addition, the LBE Program promotes sustainability activities within state government including waste reduction, water conservation, green buildings, alternative fuels, efficient transportation, and recycling. Special Note relating to student engagement with local community: Sage Sluter, a graduate student in landscape architecture and regional planning, has submitted a proposal to create an eco-industrial park at a former factory site in Greenfield. Her 67-page plan, which calls for rain gardens, small buildings with solar panels and open space, drew praise from Greenfield Mayor William Martin.

UMass is involved in organizing and hosting the Western MA Branch of the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Massachusetts Chapter and forging relationships between the university's Green Building Sub-Committee (GBC) of the Chancellors Sustainability Committee, the USGBC MA Chapter, Western MA AIA, North East Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), and Western MA Green Consortium. Green Building practitioners from across the Pioneer Valley use UMass Amherst as a meeting place and resource for addressing green building and sustainable development on campus and in the surrounding areas. UMass staff in Campus Planning, Design & Construction Management as well as many faculty in Landscape Design & Regional Planning, Green Building, Architecture, and Environmental Conservation all serve on these committees alongside community members. Link: http://www.umass.edu/sustainability/get-involved/usgbc-ma

UMass Amherst is also involved with the Pioneer Valley Planning Association (PVPC). Together they have created a dialogue for sustainable change in the area, and the Campus Sustainability Manager serves on multiple PVPC committees working to advance specific initiatives to transform the Pioneer Valley into a more climate resilient and sustainable region, including the Clean Energy Working Group, and more currently, the Regional Bike Share Committee, which just finished the first ever feasibility study for a regional bike share program in the Pioneer Valley. Link: http://www.pvpc.org/regionalbikeshare