CitiesGoGreen - January 2009 - (Page 10) FROM IN LINE TO ONLINE and under budget WEBSITE HELPS CITY GO GREEN WHILE SAVING GREEN When thinking of making an entire city “go green”, there is a tendency to think of costly technological improvements that have the green in your budget going right out the window. CivicPlus, an e-government website solutions provider, is providing cost-effective websites that are reducing carbon footprints for cities across the U.S.; in fact, they are even saving them money. Through the use of interactive functionality such as online job applications and forms, you can reduce your community’s carbon footprint by using your website to move citizens from in line, to online. SAVING TREES AND SAVING THE WORLD The City of Chino Hills, California, was able to reduce their environmental impact by using the CivicPlus online job applications web-based module. After placing their first online job postings, the City received 162 online job applications. First, let’s look at the data. If the City of Chino Hills posts four job openings every month, they would receive up to 7,776 applications a year. We know that the average car emits 1.1 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile.1 So, if the average roundtrip to city hall is six miles and 80% of the did you know applicants drive to submit their appliNumber of electronic applications, the results cations submitted yearly. are an astounding 41,052 lbs of new Weight in lbs of prevented CO2 in our atmoCO2 emissions. sphere a year, or the equivalent to the amount of Number of homes powered with electricity for electricity it takes to one month by preventing power 30 homes for 41,052 lbs of CO2 emissions. one month.2 If the online job applications were to come in as paper applications—and since their average application is five pages—the city automatically saves 810 sheets of paper per job posting. Multiply that by four job postings a month and the reduction skyrockets to 38,800 pieces of paper a year, or the equivalent of more than four trees.3 Considering that the average piece of paper is .004 inches thick, over a year’s time the city can save a stack of paper more than 12 feet tall. These are all incredible numbers considering that this reduction can be achieved through an e-government website that provides online job applications. TAKING ACTION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE In addition to helping cities move to a more paperless platform, CivicPlus has taken action to guarantee that the energy that powers every one of their websites is offset 100% by investing in clean, renewable energy. Their purchase of BEF Carbon Offsets from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation supports renewable energy generation efforts that offset the effects of burning fossil fuels. LEARN how an e-government website by CivicPlus can be a cost-effective solution to reducing your city’s carbon footprint by visiting our website at www.CivicPlus.com/GoGreen or calling 1-888-228-2233 ext 303. ATTEND the 2009 Website Management Conference to learn how other local governments are maximizing their IT budgets and going green by moving citizens from in line to online. Visit www.WebsiteManagementConference.com for more details. 1 2 3 7,776 41,052 30 www.carbonify.com www.conservatree.com www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/index.html CivicPlus Next Generation Government Websites 317 Houston Street Ste. E, Manhattan, KS 66502 http://www.CivicPlus.com/GoGreen http://www.WebsiteManagementConference.com http://www.carbonify.com http://www.conservatree.com http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/index.html http://www.CivicPlus.com/GoGreen
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