Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Contact: Jeanne Saddler 202-962-3250 (voice) (TTY)
Jay Fisette Tapped to Lead Regional Environmental Policy Committee
Arlington, VA --- Jay Fisette, vice chair of the Arlington County Board, has been named chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s (COG) new Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee. His appointment was announced at the COG Board’s May meeting by Chair Penny Gross.
The COG Board created the new panel last month as the 
culmination of two years of work by its Climate Change Steering Committee, which produced a comprehensive regional Climate Change Report, one of the first of its kind for a region.
"The Washington metropolitan region is showing tremendous leadership on environmental and sustainability issues, but there is much more to do" said Mr. Fisette. "I look forward to working with my colleagues across the region to promote and implement policies and practices that will advance our shared environmental goals."
COG’s Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee
The Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee will provide the leadership and support to reach the goals outlined in the report. The committee also will be responsible for all climate change, energy, green building, alternate fuels, solid waste and recycling policy issues as well as other environmental issues.
Mr. Fisette joined the COG Board in 1998 and served as chair of its Metropolitan Development Policy Committee in 2001. In 2006, when he was chair of the Board, COG sponsored a conference on green building policies for the region, which later led to COG’s Green Building Policy.
Mr. Fisette currently serves as a vice chair of the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC).
Green initiatives
As Vice Chair of the Arlington County Board, Mr. Fisette has championed the Fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissons) program -- Arlington’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Fresh AIRE’s goal is to reduce Arlington County government’s greenhouse gas emissions 10% from 2000 to 2012.
Mr. Fisette is the immediate past-president of the Virginia Municipal League (VML). While he was president, Mr. Fisette led an effort through VML to create the Go Green Virginia Initiative which, among other things, established an annual friendly competition among local governments across the Commonwealth to encourage them to promote sustainability and reduce their carbon footprint
Jay Fisette has been a resident of Arlington since 1983. He has been a member of the Arlington County Board since January 1998, serving as chairman in 2001 and 2005.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world - including the Pentagon - Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.