The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to hire a chief sustainability officer to coordinate and ramp up the county’s work on environmental and sustainability issues.
Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis recommended creating the post. The person hired for the job will coordinate with 37 department heads and the existing Sustainability Council.
In December, the council “made clear that it does not see its role as offering proactive policy recommendations,” according to the supervisors’ motion. The council also cannot hire staff or enforce targets.
The new officer will be tasked with setting new, more aggressive goals and creating incentives to reach them. That work could have impact beyond county offices, according to Kuehl.
“The county of Los Angeles, because of its sheer size, has enormous power to influence the incorporation of sustainability practices countywide,” Kuehl said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the move, which comes in the wake of the Porter Ranch gas leak and closure of the Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon.
“The county Board of Supervisors is taking a great step forward,” Garcetti said in a statement. “It is a critical position to not only help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat the effects of climate change, it can also improve housing, create green jobs, and support environmental justice.”
A UCLA vice chancellor agreed.
Creating the new post is “a critically important step to transform Los Angeles County into a sustainable region that protects the environment and enhances our economy while ensuring that all 10 million of our residents have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and swim in, and clean soil to plant gardens and for children to play on,” said Mark Gold, Associate Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.
The search for the chief sustainability officer will begin in the spring and a report including a job description, budget and related staffing is expected back in 60 days.
“We are not just talking the talk; we are walking the walk when it comes to our role in a sustainable environment,” Solis said.
— Wire reports