Alexandria, VA (June 9, 2010) -  The Center for Environmental Innovation and Leadership (CEIL) has launched a series of interviews with federal government officials responsible for greening the federal government. The first interview aired Tuesday, June 8, 2010 on Federal News Radio 1500AM at 11:30 a.m. EST and featured the Sustainability Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Director of Physical Planning for National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) to discuss the Sustainability Plans mandated by President Obama’s Executive Order 13514. The interview is available for listening on CEIL’s website, www.ceileadership.org.

Titled GOVgreen: Sustainability in the Federal Government, the interview highlights the challenges of creating and implementing agency-wide strategic Sustainability Plans. Under Executive Order 13514, federal agencies must create a comprehensive plan to conserve resources, operate more efficiently and green all programs and operations. The Executive Order mandates specific targets that must be met. These include reducing water, energy and fossil fuel consumption, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing recycling, waste diversion, sustainable building design and converting to BioPreferred products and sustainable procurement practices. Beginning this June, agencies must submit annual goals in these areas which will then be monitored by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the White House’s Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE).

According to Craig Hooks, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Administration and Resources Management, EPA’s Sustainability Plan focuses on collaborating with other federal agencies to most effectively comply with the Executive Order. “There is a lot of cross-fertilization of information right now,” he says. “We are being called for our best ideas and we’re also calling other agencies. I think the biggest challenge for us is changing behavior in the way we do our business.”

As a small agency, the National Capital Planning Commission has already taken big steps to reduce its carbon footprint, according to William Dowd. The National Capital Planning Commission is charged with reviewing and improving the design of federal buildings in the capital region. NCPC is focusing on the section of the Executive Order regarding strengthening the vitality and livability of the communities surrounding current federal facilities. One major project involves the 10th Street Corridor, in Washington, D.C. Home to many federal buildings, this area, located on the waterfront and close to the National Mall, is underserved by retail and housing and does not currently provide for easy pedestrian or waterfront access. Through the 10th Street Task Force, NCPC brought together multiple federal agencies to develop a framework plan for this area that will meet many of the targets of the Executive Order collectively across the many agencies involved.

“We are looking at a quarter of the city to try and plan for an eco-district,” explains Dowd. “We want to reduce our greenhouse gases and minimize our storm water run-off, water usage and energy usage as a group of buildings and not just as individual buildings.” The 10th Street Task Force plans to start a formal feasibility evaluation of the project this fall.

“Agencies ought to collaborate with each other and learn from what these other agencies are doing,” he says. “We should be learning from each other and not try to reinvent the wheel for each agency.”

“As long as there is constant information flow within the agency and the interagency workgroups, I think in the long run this will be wildly successful,” says Hooks. “Our biggest challenge is not to collect information but to digest and share that information across all the agencies involved.”

Listen to the interview: The interview aired on Federal News Radio at 11:30 AM on June 8, 2010. To hear the interview, find it on CEIL’s website, www.ceileadership.org.


ABOUT CEIL
Inform, Educate, Enable.
The Center for Environmental Innovation and Leadership (www.CEILeadership.org) is an independent organization that facilitates information and education exchange among government and military professionals charged with identifying, specifying and buying green goods and services, and with vendors, contractors and consultants that provide green goods and services. CEIL is the sponsor of GOVgreen Conference and Exposition, a nonpartisan event designed to bring government employees and green suppliers together face-to-face in one convenient place to discover optimal solutions to green the government. The event (www.GOVgreen.org) takes place November 9-10 in Washington, D.C. and is free to all credentialed government professionals and military personnel.

For more information:

To learn more about the Center for Environmental Innovation and Leadership (CEIL) contact Ann Seltz, President, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 703-706-8221 or visit www.CEILeadership.org.