Improving efficiency in federal buildings is critical to reducing energy costs, saving taxpayer dollars, and easing government’s impact on the environment. GSA is meeting top energy performance standards for 325 of our owned buildings through the EPA’s Energy Star program, and we are measuring energy use in our inventory with the program’s free online tool, Portfolio Manager. The Energy Star program is assisting GSA in managing energy use and furthering our efforts to use energy more efficiently in all federal buildings.

GSA is using EPA's Energy Star program to improve building performance.

Energy Star labeled buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy and are responsible for 35 percent less carbon dioxide emissions than average buildings. GSA has 149 buildings that have achieved an Energy Star label, and we have an additional 176 buildings that are eligible. More buildings will be submitted to receive the Energy Star label as our efforts to make our entire portfolio more sustainable continue.

Through the program, information on a building’s energy use and water consumption is entered into EPA’s Portfolio Manager. Based on the information provided, Portfolio Manager generates a national performance rating based on a percentile scale of 1-100. Buildings that are rated at a score of 75 or higher are eligible to achieve the Energy Star label. The rating system allows insight into a building’s performance and ways that it can be improved.  Knowing the Energy Star rating of a property and how it compares with other properties on a percentile basis is fundamental to the development of an energy management plan. It enables our building managers to monitor progress and gauge the impact of new equipment and operational changes aimed at reducing energy use.

In 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13514 for federal agencies to lead by example in their environmental, energy, and economic performance. GSA has been working to make our portfolio of federal buildings more energy efficient to meet the goals of this Executive Order, which will save on energy costs. We’re making existing federal buildings more sustainable through various ways, including the Energy Star program, USGBC’s LEED Volume for Operations and Maintenance program, Energy Savings Performance Contracts, advanced metering, and our own Green Proving Ground.

So far in 2012, GSA has had 24 buildings that have earned the Energy Star Label.

Filed in Energy, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability

Filed in Open Government, Videos

GSA’s Green Proving Ground (GPG) Program is using our real estate portfolio as a test bed to evaluate the viability of emerging sustainable building technologies. The first set of results assessing the use of wireless sensor technology in data centers showed significant energy savings. This GPG study shows a potential to save $61 million annually if the technology were to be applied across our portfolio by tenant agencies, which could reduce carbon emissions by 532,000 metric tons; this is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from approximately 104,000 passenger vehicles.

GSA's Green Proving Ground is using technology to make existing buildings more sustainable.

We collaborated on the GPG study with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to evaluate the technology in a U.S. Department of Agriculture data center located within a GSA facility.  The findings showed that by using low-cost, easily installed sensors, data center operators could baseline performance, make quick and precise changes to improve energy efficiency and achieve significant cost savings.   The test location was selected because, in its baseline condition, it represented what the industry would already characterize as an efficient data center, operated by a very engaged facilities staff.

With the installation of nearly 600 wireless sensors, the data center’s facilities staff was able to reduce cooling loads by 48 percent, thereby decreasing overall data center energy use by 17 percent.  The payback period at the demonstration site was calculated at just under three and a half years.

Results for five other technologies currently being evaluated under our GPG Program are expected to come out this summer — and that’s not all.  In response to our 2012 GPG Request for Information we received more than 160 submissions.  These technologies also may have the potential to help federal agencies meet the ambitious sustainability targets before them, while saving taxpayer dollars in this tight budget climate.  We will announce the technologies selected for evaluation this summer.

By testing these technologies in the real world, in our buildings, we can provide not only the federal government, but also the larger corporate real estate and building products industry insight into what works and where.  It’s all about fostering innovation and leveraging our purchasing power to make markets for tomorrow’s building technologies.

Filed in Energy, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability, Technology

Last week, GSA announced the Deep Retrofit Challenge, which challenges the private sector to bring innovative, energy saving retrofits to Federal buildings and to take performance-based contracts to the next level. These retrofit projects create jobs, and performance-based contracts provide government with decades of lower utility bills and long term cost savings without an up front investment from the taxpayers.

The Deep Retrofit Challenge is offering 30 buildings across the country, totaling nearly 17 million square feet, that will use Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to make existing buildings more energy efficient. ESPCs retrofit buildings for guaranteed greater energy performance at no net cost to taxpayers. The retrofit projects are paid for through energy savings over time.

Last December, President Obama announced nearly $4 billion in commitments to perform energy efficiency upgrades to buildings over the next two years. Two billion dollars of this effort will come from the private sector through upgrading manufacturing facilities, retail stores, universities, and other buildings. Up to $2 billion more will come from Federal buildings through the use of ESPCs, which the President directed in a Presidential Memorandum to all government agencies. GSA’s Deep Retrofit Challenge will contribute to the President’s performance contracting goals for the Federal government.

As the President said, performance-based contracts are a “triple win”– they create jobs, offer guaranteed energy savings, and they come at no cost to taxpayers. Through an ESPC, building owners leverage private funds to perform energy efficiency upgrades. When the work is done, money will be saved on energy costs. Federal buildings are built to last, and these contracts span a maximum of 25 years; therefore, the Federal government stands to reap the benefits of energy and cost savings for decades without making an initial investment.

GSA already has extensive experience with performance contracting. Since 1998, GSA has contracted over $460 million in ESPCs through the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program. GSA owns roughly 182 million square feet of space in over 1,500 buildings nationwide, and we are eagerly reviewing our owned building portfolio to determine where we can best use ESPCs to increase energy efficiency.

In addition to the Presidential Memorandum on Implementation of Energy Savings Projects and Performance-Based Contracting issued in December 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13514 on Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance in 2009, which requires agencies to meet a number of energy, water, and waste reduction targets in existing Federal buildings. Performance based contracts help Federal agencies to meet these benchmarks and to become more sustainable.

Filed in Energy, Jobs, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability

Last week at GSA’s Operation Home2Work: Veterans Employment and Business Expo private companies, federal agencies, state and local government, and universities came together to provide veterans and veteran-owned businesses information about employment and business opportunities. Several veterans walked away with a job offer in hand.

Veterans are highly trained and skilled workers, and veteran-owned businesses bring valuable solutions to government.

As President Barack Obama has said, “we have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America.” We were honored to help those who have served our country connect with employers and identify business opportunities. For the agencies and business who participated in this event, it was a way to say thanks for the sacrifices our servicemen and women have made for all of us.

Operation Home2Work Expo was more than a just a job fair. Take a look at the video from the event.

Filed in Federal Acquisition Service, Jobs, Office of Small Business Utilization, Open Government, Public Engagement, Veterans, Videos

On Friday, March 16th, the White House Office of Public Engagement and the General Services Administration brought together over 300 regional community leaders and 13 federal agencies in Columbus, Ohio at the third White House Community Partnership Summit. Joined by Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, attendees shared their thoughts and ideas with Administration officials. The conversations reached more than just the people in the room; participants made their voices heard far and wide by using social media.

The White House Community Partnership Summits are dynamic meetings that empower participants to set the agenda through a process called Open Space. Open Space builds on the principles found in social media interactions: you can start a conversation, participate at will, observe and listen or move on to a new discussion. Attendees pitched 45 Open Space discussions on various topics. Through these conversations, concerned citizens connected with government representatives and each other to discuss important issues and solutions for problems affecting their communities.

Participants engaged on Twitter using #WHSummit. You can read some of the day’s tweets below or on Storify.

Social media platforms allow participants to keep their Open Space conversations going long after the summit has ended. The Community Partnership Summits are making their way to more regions across the nation, and I urge you to join these events by telling us exactly what matters to your community. You can join the conversation on Twitter by using the #WHSummit hashtag. We’ll be watching the conversation, engaging, and answering questions.

Martha Johnson is Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration, and you can follow her on Twitter @MarthaGSA.

The storify is embeddable: http://storify.com/JonCarson44/whsummit-community-partnership-summit-in-columbus-1

Filed in Social Media, Technology

In the end, there could be only one champion.

After dominating victories in the first three rounds, the U.S. Custom House in Philadelphia found itself neck-and-neck with the U.S. Custom House in New Orleans. As the clock ticked down, the two buildings were dead even, but a late push in the final minutes gave Philly the slim 199-191 victory in the inaugural Federal Building Bracket Challenge.

2012 Champion: U.S. Custom House, Philadelphia, PA

“We’re honored to have such a national treasure under our care,” said Mid-Atlantic Acting Regional Administrator Rob Hewell.  “We’re glad the Federal Building Bracket Challenge allowed us to share our excitement about the U.S. Custom House in Philadelphia with so many.”

Tom Rufo, Philadelphia Custom House Property Manager encouraged his staff to participate in the competition, adding, ”It is such an honor to manage and work in one of Philadelphia’s most historic buildings.  The Custom House has been a symbol in Philadelphia’s Old City district for almost 80 years.  As we approach the completion of the ARRA building envelope restoration, I look forward to seeing the building restored to its original grandeur for many more years to come.”

The effort from the runner-up, the U.S. Custom House in New Orleans, was no less impressive, as it had knocked off a pair of modern edifices along the way, and won a one-vote squeaker over San Diego’s Weinberger U.S. Courthouse in the second round. JD Salinas, Regional Administrator, Greater Southwest Region was proud of what New Orleans accomplished, saying ”It is an honor to have made it to the finals, and we congratulate the Philly team on a fine competition.”

From the Moakley Courthouse in Boston to the Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon, sixteen buildings from every one of GSA’s 11 regions were represented, and fans responded.

GSA’s Mid-Atlantic Region (3) placed two buildings in the Final Four, the Custom Houses in Baltimore and Philadelphia, while on the other side of the bracket, Kansas City’s Whittaker U.S. Courthouse and the New Orleans Custom House filled the final slots.

For more on all the buildings, please visit http://GSA.gov, and be sure to check out this photo gallery of all the competitors. More details on the winner can be found here - INFO

U.S. Custom House, Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia’s path to the championship:

• Round 1: Defeated Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, New York, NY 60-20
• Round 2: Defeated Robert C. McEwen U.S. Custom House, Ogdensburg, NY 18-10
• Final Four: Defeated U.S. Custom House, Baltimore, MD 50-36
• Championship: Defeated U.S. Custom House, New Orleans, LA 199-191

Filed in Public Buildings Service, Social Media

The 21st century workplace is becoming more about how we work, not where we work. The workplace used to be based around hierarchical and controlled assembly lines; it is now characterized as collaborative, flexible, and mobile. Managers used to be foremen with consolidated power, but they are now facilitators, resources, guides, and coaches. Technology now lets us be more mobile, and the work we do has changed; it relies less on being watched and more on being connected and getting the work done.

Telework allows employees to work from home, shared workspaces, and alternate offices.

GSA participated in Telework Week last week, and we had over 6,400 employees — about 50 percent of our workforce — pledge to mobilework. We encouraged employees to work from home, shared workplaces, and different offices than their own. Currently, about half of GSA’s workforce teleworks at least occasionally. Just a few months ago we announced a new policy that will extend our telework efforts even further by enabling nearly all employees to telework. Our telework policy continues to be praised as a model that other federal agencies can use to accelerate their own telework initiatives.

Telework provides many benefits for federal agencies, employees, and the environment. Through telework, we are a more flexible workforce that is able to work through natural disasters and severe weather from wherever we are. Employees find greater balance between work and personal responsibilities when working from home. Telework also reduces our carbon footprint by reducing employee commutes and our need for additional real estate. Overall, telework allows for a more agile workforce that can stay connected to colleagues and customers regardless of where they happen to be.

Telework is helping GSA to reduce our need for real estate in the National Capital Region, and it’s playing an important role in the renovation of our headquarters in downtown Washington. When finished, the building will feature collaborative and shared workspaces. Before the renovation, 2,600 employees worked out of the 1800 F Street building. When we move back to the building next year, we’ll have 4,500 employees that will call the modernized building home. When our employees need to work from the building they will always be able to find a space to work at, but we’re taking steps to ensure our workforce is more mobile so we can be productive from anywhere.

GSA has been recognized for our leadership in expanding telework, and last month we received yet another acknowledgment of our efforts; we were awarded the Excellence in Telework and Workforce Modernization award from the Government Technology Research Alliance.

In response to the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, GSA established the Telework Program Management Office dedicated to pursuing telework as a means to create a more agile and efficient government. The Telework Program Management Office is sharing its knowledge and best practices with all federal agencies because government’s ability to work anywhere, anytime is critical to how we serve the American people. Telework is allowing government to meet its mission in new and innovative ways.

Filed in Technology, Telework

Last week, GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy released a bulletin outlining new guidelines banning all federal agencies from disposing of electronic waste in landfills. This is an important step for the federal government as we move to incorporate the responsible use and disposal of electronics that were outlined last summer in the National Strategy for Electronic Stewardship.

Bulk metal taken from electronic waste

Under the new policy, reusing electronics remains the priority. Asset managers will first offer these products for reuse by other agencies. Then they will seek to donate them to schools, non-profits, and local governments or offer them for sale. For non-functioning items that must be disposed of, federal agencies agencies are now banned from sending these materials to landfills or incinerators; instead, they will recycle them with third-party certified e-waste recyclers. The policy also encourages recipients of used government electronics to follow the same reuse and recycling standards as the federal government.

The policy incorporates the use of recyclers certified under R2 and e-Stewards because these third-party standards have already been adopted by the electronics recycling industry as environmentally sound. A recycler must be certified to at least one of the two standards. Certified recyclers are regularly audited by these certification entities to ensure that electronics are processed in a manner that protects public health and the environment.

Transparency and accountability are a crucial part of the policy, and GSA is asking federal agencies to track the final destination of their discarded electronics. Starting this fiscal year, we’ll start to more effectively account for every device leaving the government, including where each one goes, then we’ll report that information to the public on Data.gov.

The electronics included in the policy are everyday office electronics such as mobile phones, computers, monitors, televisions, copy machines, fax machines, and small metering devices. These products are made with rare and precious metals, plastic, and glass. Electronics also contain toxic materials, and they must be disposed of properly.

In October of 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13514 that set sustainability goals for federal agencies to improve their environmental, energy and economic performance. This executive order called for GSA, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the Environmental Protection Agency to create the National Strategy on Electronic Stewardship. The National Strategy, released last summer, tasked GSA to develop policies for federal agencies to responsibly purchase, manage, and recycle electronics. Last week’s bulletin outlines the first policy that brings these goals across the federal government, and it previews a series of regulatory changes we’ll publish for public comment in the coming weeks.

The federal government as a whole is the nation’s largest consumer of electronics. The policy gives us the opportunity to lead by example and become a more responsible user of electronics while supporting jobs in the growing e-waste industry.

Filed in Data.gov, E-Waste, Jobs, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Sustainability, Technology

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama announced a blueprint for an America built to last. The blueprint sets the stage for future growth, global competitiveness, and broad prosperity. It builds on the growing momentum we’re seeing in our economy, and keeps our eyes focused on the horizon. Yet to turn his blueprint into reality requires more than just government. It demands shared national effort at every level, block by block, town by town, community by community. That’s why the White House is hosting open-agenda, inclusive Community Partnership Summits in cities across the nation.

Administrator Johnson at the White House Community Partnership Summit in Philadelphia

Last Friday, I was privileged to join Mayor Michael Nutter, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Congressman Chaka Fattah, White House officials, and hundreds of local leaders and community members to discuss some of the greater Philadelphia community’s most pressing challenges and find partnership opportunities between the public and the government. Modeled on the idea of an open agenda meeting, the format of the Community Partnership Summits is neither top-down nor scripted. Instead, it empowers participants to take the agenda into their own hands. They choose the scope and topics of conversations based on the issues that most directly impact their neighborhoods. The conversations aren’t about what matters to Washington; they’re about what matters to the people in the community.

The summit was an example of how government can be transparent, responsive, inclusive, and accountable. We heard from business owners, teachers, faith leaders, community activists, and many more. From the federal side, we were joined by representatives and policy experts from the White House Office of Public Engagement, the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Health and Human Services, Labor, Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the General Services Administration. Topics ranged from unemployment, recidivism, energy security, health care, affordable housing, and small business contracting with government. There was no limit to what was discussed, or by whom, or for how long.

The summit was defined by limitless possibilities, and as I watched it unfold I was impressed by the breadth of issues discussed and the passion and expertise that the participants brought to the table. The energy in the room was infectious, and it was clear that when given an opportunity the City of Brotherly Love turns out. I was delighted to see new connections made between participants and new ideas and solutions emerge. The day lent credence to the wisdom of a crowd and bolstered my faith in the power of community to tackle issues and solve problems with clear-eyed pragmatism.

Government transparency and accountability are cornerstones of the Obama Administration. Over the last three years, the federal government has flung wide the doors of transparency, opened up unprecedented amounts of data to the public, and invited the public to actively participate in the great work of our nation. Friday’s Community Partnership Summit was yet one more step towards an inclusive government and an engaged citizenry. It succeeded regardless of partisan politics or religious beliefs, and the conversations transcended neighborhood, class, and background. The summit reinforced for all of us the simple truth that our American system is not only for the people and by the people; to attain our highest goals, it must be of the people too.

Filed in Energy, Jobs, Open Government, Public Engagement, Small Business