Feature image: Left to right: Julie Hendricks, Maren Mahoney, Blaise Caudill, Ashley Mulhall and Jeremi Van Wave. Image credit: USGBC.

Last month, the USGBC Arizona community spent an afternoon at the state Capitol advocating for sustainability and local green building policy. The group—which consisted of USGBC board members, volunteers, staff members and Arizona State University (ASU) students—met with representatives and legislators to discuss

The local impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
Initiatives to improve the efficiency of state buildings.
Opportunities to advance green, high-performance buildings across the state.

Speaking with the Governor's Office of Resiliency

Discussions began at the Governor’s Office of Resiliency, where board members Julie Hendricks, Ashley Mulhall and Jeremi Van Wave spoke with Blaise Caudill, energy policy advisor, and Maren Mahoney, director of the Office of Resiliency.

The board members learned that the Office of Resiliency is involved in several new initiatives, including applying for IRA funding, greening state buildings, workforce training and weatherization programs. The office is also coordinating a statewide resilience group to collect stakeholder input on its climate action and resilience plans.

Speaking with legislators

USGBC board members, volunteers and staff, as well as ASU students, also met with legislators to advocate for green building practices.

Rep. Jennifer Longdon

While USGBC Arizona board members engaged with staff at the Office of Resiliency, Hilari Varnadore, USGBC vice president for cities, and Anna Melis, architecture student at ASU, met with Rep. Jennifer Longdon (District 5). The group discussed the importance of integrating universal design, accessibility and inclusion when advancing sustainability and green building initiatives.

Longdon identified a key opportunity for the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) to lead by example and retrofit existing buildings for greater sustainability. She has personally advocated for water filling stations and family restrooms in the state Capitol complex and shared her thoughts on how there was much more that could be done across the state’s portfolio of buildings.

In addition, Longdon shared that she had personally implemented sustainable practices in her historic home.

Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez

Hendricks, Mulhall and Van Wave had an opportunity to meet with Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez (District 11, House minority whip) and introduce him to USGBC.

While discussing commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE), he mentioned that HB 2646 and SB 1651 could be successful, given they are cost-neutral and already have bipartisan support.

Sen. Priya Sundareshan

To wrap up the day, Varnadore, Melis and Lauren Rand had a productive conversation with Sen. Priya Sundareshan (District 18).

Sundareshan is an avid supporter of sustainability and has introduced many climate-related bills throughout her tenure. Like Longdon, she underscored the opportunity to work with the ADOA on a leading-by-example executive order to improve the efficiency and resilience of state-owned buildings and vehicle fleets.

Her passion is water conservation, so the group discussed turf grass reduction measures and conservation landscaping requirements tied to land use and growth across the state.

Green legislation

With the legislative and executive branches of Arizona's government holding different views on state issues, advancing new legislation for clean energy, green buildings and climate-related initiatives is going to be tough. One major takeaway of the day at the Capitol, however, was to focus on education, outreach and building a network of individuals, businesses and organizations committed to these issues across the state.

Get involved

With federal funding coming to Arizona through formula-based and competitive grants, there will be many opportunities to support the implementation of green building within the state. Members can get involved locally by reaching out to a city council member or county supervisor and asking about their plans. Helpful questions to consider include

How will they use their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant award from the Department of Energy?
Who are they working with on the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants?
Have they registered and/or certified in LEED for Cities and Communities?
Do they need assistance on their green building policies or programs?

To advance green building and sustainable development in Arizona, we must mobilize our community—from local cities and towns to the state Capitol and beyond.

Would you like to attend the next Advocacy Day, share your passion and move the needle on green building policy in Arizona? Start by filling out our form to volunteer with USGBC.

You can also learn more about the bills discussed with the legislators.

See USGBC Arizona's upcoming events

Recap: USGBC Arizona’s day at the Capitol