By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
October 3, 2011

Public agencies across the country are looking for “greener” ways to do business, but few take this as seriously as the city of McKinney (TX). McKinney, with the motto “Unique by Nature,” has adopted green policies and practices in many aspects of its operations to preserve and improve the quality of life for all of McKinney's citizens. In the heart of Collin County just north of Dallas, McKinney focuses on renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste minimization, recycling, and green building,

By supporting such a comprehensive array of green initiatives, McKinney is attracting forward thinking businesses to pilot the city's green initiatives. McKinney is home to the first LEED certified car dealership – Pat Lobb Toyota – and one of two Wal-Mart's in the country built to reduce the amount of energy and natural resources it takes to run the store.

City departments have taken green commitment into virtually every aspect of business. For the fire department, this meant taking a look at alternatives to the chemicals and cleaning supplies. Working with Zep Sales and Service Inc., Neil Howard, Division Chief of Administration for the department was able to replace all of their supplies with green alternatives.

Chief Howard was particularly impressed with the time that the local Zep sales representatives committed to training department employees how to properly use the supplies.

“We have six stations that each have three shifts, and Zep spent time with every shift making sure that we knew the proper way to use the new materials,” Howard said. He estimated that there was little if any increase in cost to make the shift to green.

Zep Sales & Service, Inc. offers public agencies a program to review the cost and effectiveness of green programs through their Total Cost of Ownership Review and Report Process. This process has helped public agencies throughout the country review, develop and implement green programs that have actually save money and are more effective than there current practices. Hard dollar savings in the 15 percent to 18 percent range are typical and the soft dollar savings have been in the ten percent to 15 percent range.

Zep products are available through the U.S. Communities Program offering even greater savings and convenience. U.S. Communities provides a national purchasing forum for local and state government agencies, school districts (K-12), higher education and non-profits nationwide by pooling the purchasing power of over 87,000 public agencies. More information is available online at www.uscommunities.org. You can also contact Kathryn Kretschmer Weyland with the Conference of Mayors at 301-460-5251 or send email to kweyland@usmayors.org, or contact Jeannie Fanning at 240-393-9672 or send email to jfanning@usmayors.org.

For more information on McKinney's green programs, go to the website www.mckinneyinfo.com/green.