State eco-program in decline.
***image1***
Years before Gov. Bill Richardson declared New Mexico the "clean energy state," the foundation for such claims was being laid through the state's Green Zia Environmental Excellence Program.
The program, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and administered by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), was created in 1999 to assist organizations in adopting eco-friendly business practices and publicly recognize those efforts.
But, like Richardson's environmental declarations [Cover story, June 27: "Hot Air?"], the current reality of Green Zia is far more brittle than its projected image.
Participation in Green Zia by both applicants and volunteers has steadily dwindled-along with its funding.
"It's sad because we, the volunteers, have dedicated so much of our time to see the program grow and succeed," Lena Hakim, a Santa Fe environmental scientist and a volunteer examiner and judge in the program, says. "Green Zia is stagnant and, as a result, corporations are not applying and volunteers are leaving."
Many have already left, including two of the program's founders-Patricia Gallagher (now working for Los Alamos National Laboratory) and Jeff Weinrach, director of the New Mexico Quality Awards, after which Green Zia was modeled.
"For a number of years Green Zia was viewed nationally as a model program," Weinrach, who left in 2005, says. "It had a very high reputation. From what I can tell, the decline didn't begin until the administration began discussing making changes."
The most significant alteration to the program was zeroing in on small businesses rather than large facilities such as Intel, LANL and Sandia National Laboratories.
"Larger facilities benefit from Green Zia, however, the New Mexico Environment Department has focused a great deal of energy on recognizing smaller businesses around the state," NMED Secretary Ron Curry tells SFR in a prepared statement. "It's the mom-and-pop shops we believe need more assistance because of their limited resources."
A new accompanying project, the Pollution Prevention Partnership (or
"P-3") Program, will target small businesses with a less arduous process for reducing waste and conserving energy.
Michelle Vattano, coordinator of the NMED pollution prevention program that includes Green Zia, acknowledges the program's decline but insists it's still viable.
"I think if we can package Green Zia and the P-3 program together, we'll have programs to assist and recognize businesses of all sizes," Vattano says.
But Green Zia's decline is apparent. More than 100 organizations have participated in the program since its inceptionbut the number of applicants (and volunteers) has wilted in recent years. In 2006, only four companies received official recognition and none at the highest ("excellence") level. Raytheon Missile Systems (Farmington), St. Vincent Regional Medical Center (Santa Fe) and Hall Environmental Analysis Laboratory (Albuquerque) were among them.
"This last year was not good," Hakim says. "I had to double-up as both an examiner and a judge because of the lack of volunteers."
The program still has its supporters, including John Shaw, the technical manager for the Durango-McKinley Paper Company facility in Prewitt, NM, which earned a Green Zia "excellence" recognition in 2002.
"We're very happy with what the program offered us and we're glad we participated," Shaw says. "I certainly hope that the program continues."
Vattano insists it will, in one form or another. But early supporters question the program's future.
"I think NMED needs to either optimize the program or let it go and get onto something that is effective," Hakim says. "It's clear to many people and companies that Green Zia is no longer worth it."
