Today, the Obama Administration released the 2012 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans from 47 Federal agencies and renewed its commitment to leading by example in driving environmental, energy, and economic performance. GSA is among the agencies achieving remarkable milestones through new strategies for saving taxpayer dollars, creating clean energy jobs, reducing pollution, cutting waste, and saving energy.
Our plan released today represents a challenge and a strong commitment to continue to pursue ambitious targets towards sustainability. It contains climate change adaptation planning and our targets to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It includes our plans to design net zero buildings that produce as much energy as they consume and reduce dependence on the grid. We will also reduce the carbon emissions generated in the production and delivery of the products and services GSA acquires—making the government’s supply chain more resilient against resource shortages or supply disruptions. These measures are driving the development of innovative practices and technologies that will accelerate the nation’s transition to a clean energy economy.
When GSA released its first Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan last year, we pushed the envelope by setting the goal of achieving a zero environmental footprint. In doing so, we positioned the agency to be a leader in not just achieving new performance for ourselves, but as a model and a guide for the Federal Government as a whole. This drives good stewardship of our environment and natural resources, as well as good use of taxpayer dollars by eliminating waste in all agency operations.
The annual sustainability plans are released in response to President Obama’s groundbreaking Executive Order 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, signed October 5, 2009. Each year, agencies prioritize ways to meet energy, water, and waste reduction goals to make government more efficient.
GSA remains a leader in reducing use of energy, water, and petroleum. We aim to eliminate our impact on the natural environment and use our government-wide influence to the environmental impact of the Federal Government.
To find out more about GSA’s commitment to sustainability, please visit www.gsa.gov/sustainability.
Editor’s Note: Stephen Leeds is GSA’s Senior Counselor to the Administrator and Senior Sustainability officer.
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