by Brianna Crandall — September 22, 2010—On September 9, agencies across the federal government released sustainability performance plans required by Executive Order 13514, specifying the steps they will take to lower their agency’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. General Services Administration, a lead agency in two major initiatives under the executive order, declared its long-term goal of reaching a zero environmental footprint and released aggressive greenhouse gas reduction measures, laying out how the agency will reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020.
To reach the agency’s 30 percent reduction goal, GSA’s sustainability plan commits to reducing energy consumption in federal buildings by one-third, increasing renewable energy generation and reducing fleet petroleum consumption by 30 percent, reducing emissions from employee commuting and business travel by 25 percent, and diverting at least half of GSA’s nonhazardous waste from landfills.
The plan also lays out GSA’s targets and programs to achieve other environmental performance goals under EO 13514 including development of a greenhouse gas inventory for tracking, local ecosystem consideration in local and regional planning, water conservation and management, and electronics and data center stewardship.
Further, the plan highlights GSA’s initiative under Section 13 of EO 13514 to green the federal government’s supply chain. Over the next two years, GSA is looking to find ways to incentivize—not require—companies to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions and initiate a process by which contracting advantages could be given to companies that conduct greenhouse gas inventories.
