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Lawn maintenance at Pasadena City College just got a lot quieter. And cleaner.
The school was recently awarded a Green Zone Certification from the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) for transitioning to using solely low-noise, zero-emission battery electric equipment for all of its landscaping and ground operations. According to a South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) official, the transition will save the campus up to 38 tons of toxic emissions each year.
“This was no easy feat,” said PCC Superintendent President José Gómez at the official presentation ceremony Tuesday, surrounded by a range of new electric lawn care vehicles from various manufacturers.
“It is the culmination of the hard work, dedication and leadership of many people here at PCC,” Gomez said. “I think it’s truly remarkable that we are the first organization in the city to achieve this certification. The American Green Zone Alliance is an important organization that really highlights sustainable landscaping and maintenance efforts across the entire nation.”
According to the AGZA website, the Green Zone Certification “establishes municipalities, academic institutions, school districts, and private industry as models of low impact land care for their communities. Certification also strengthens environmental leadership and sets examples for clean, quiet, and sustainable landscape maintenance practices in their region and beyond.”
Richard Laret, director of facilities for PCC, also noted that “A lot of the grounds crew have been doing things and using a certain type of equipment for a long time, and though it might not seem like a big change, there was a lot of work that we had to do behind the scenes to get everybody on board, and I appreciate the buy-in that we got from the crew.
“So today,” Laret added, “we are celebrating a step in the right direction, but I want to emphasize that we’re just getting started. There’s a lot more that we can do to reduce our carbon footprint and find new ways to make PCC as sustainable as possible.”
Michael Cacciotti, vice-chair of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), told the assembled board members and guests that the new equipment will eliminate 38 tons of toxic emissions each year.
The PCC Board of Trustees were also honored at the presentation by representatives of State Assembly members Chris Holden and Mike Fong, as well as representatives from US Congresswoman Judy Chu.
AGZA CEO and Founder Dan Mabe made the formal presentation of the school’s certification.
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