June 17, 2009

Dear Colleague:

The Commonwealth is blessed with a state workforce that is both motivated and creative. That's why I'm pleased to present you with a friendly competition designed to tap into that energy and ingenuity. The Green Commonwealth Challenge, issued as part of my Executive Order 82 last week, is designed to encourage state agencies and employees to explore ways to reduce our collective impact on the environment. Details regarding the Challenge are available on the Secretary of Natural Resources' Web site.

I strongly urge all state agencies to participate in the Challenge - and hope you'll agree the following rewards are a good incentive:

• The agency with the highest score will be awarded one day of recognition leave for each full-time employee.
• The agency with the second-highest score will be awarded 4 hours of recognition leave for each full-time employee.
• The agency with the third-highest score will be awarded 2 hours of recognition leave for each full-time employee.

I also invite all state employees to submit suggestions to the Employee Suggestion Program (ESP) regarding ways our state government can reduce the environmental impacts of our operations. The employee who submits the best idea will receive one day of recognition leave. Ideas will be accepted beginning July 1 on the new ESP Web site.

As always, thank you for all that you do. Let's work together to make our state government as green as possible.

 

Sincerely,

Timothy M. Kaine

Governor