April 2013
| Business World Magazine | 249
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines was
among those who pledged support of the
agreement. In the years that have followed
since his commitment to this environmental
initiative, numerous changes have occurred
in Winston-Salem, in degrees both visible
and not-so-visible, but in either case, there
can be no disputing that air and water quality
has improved, understanding of sustainabil-
ity practices have increased, greener spaces
have been grown along with jobs involving
greening, and all those efforts have addition-
ally led to more green in terms of cost sav-
ings. For his part, Mayor Joines is quick to
credit City Council, City Staff as well as the
community of residents and professional en-
terprises which have adopted green practices
in their respective departments, homes and
operational bases. “The City has set the tone
for the community by saying, ‘Look, we care
about our environment,’ and we’ve looked
to them to be part of it and they have,” says
Mayor Joines.
To put that in proper context, upon his
signing of the Climate Protection Agree-
ment, Mayor Joines, with approval of the city
council, established an advisory committee
comprised by a broad-based collective of city
