FROM: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
GSA Meets Top Energy and Sustainability Goals
Agency receives top marks on all measured sustainability goals
June 15, 2012
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. General Services Administration released its sustainability and energy performance scorecard for Fiscal Year 2011 showing the agency continues to cut costs through energy efficiency and reducing pollution. Using the scorecard as a benchmark, GSA will continue to identify and track the best opportunities to make further progress toward meeting its sustainability and energy performance goals. Under Executive Order 13514, President Barack Obama directed federal agencies to lead by example in clean energy and to meet a range of energy, water, pollution, and waste reduction targets.
“Making buildings more efficient, saving energy, and creating a more fuel efficient fleet is helping government to improve its environmental performance and saves taxpayer dollars,” said Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini. “GSA is on track to meet its own sustainability goals under the Executive Order, and we are uniquely positioned to help other federal agencies meet their goals as well.”
GSA, which owns and leases over 9,600 federal buildings nationwide, has partnered with industry to make federal buildings more energy-efficient through the use of innovative technologies such as solar panels, advanced lighting systems, geothermal technology, wind power, and low-flow plumbing systems. As a result in FY 2011, GSA reduced greenhouse gas emissions from federal buildings that it directly pays utilities for by 20.3 percent relative to its FY 2008 baseline, well ahead of its targeted reduction of 10 percent and well on its way to meeting its FY 2020 target of 28.7 percent. GSA now derives 15.8 percent of the electricity used in these facilities from renewable electricity sources, including 2.5 percent from new sources. Additionally, GSA has reduced water intensity by nearly 13.7 percent against a target of 6 percent, and reduced energy intensity by 19.2 percent against an 18 percent target.
By purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, GSA has reduced its agency’s fleet petroleum use by 25.6 percent against a 12 percent target.
GSA also recently released a set of key skills that federal building managers and contractors need to operate federal facilities at peak efficiency. These core competencies ensure that GSA goes beyond buildings themselves to the people that operate them, working with key industry associations and other federal agencies to create a next generation facilities management workforce. Green buildings and their efficient operation are key to achieving GSA’s goal to reduce the operating costs and footprint of the federal government. Federal buildings operations personnel will be required to demonstrate these core competencies by June of 2013.
In addition to being on track to meet its own sustainability goals, GSA procures sustainable products and services to help other federal agencies meet their sustainability goals. GSA assists agencies with incorporating sustainable building practices and procuring fuel-efficient vehicles for agency-owned fleets.
