Aaron LandeSustainable Cities Specialist
U.S. Green Building Council
With the release yesterday of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) sustainability scorecards for federal agencies and departments, the public got its first progress report on federal agency efforts to cut emissions. Specifically, the scorecards gave insight to federal progress on President Obama’s government-wide goal of cutting direct GHG emissions by 28 percent and indirect GHG emissions by 13 percent over the next decade.
Though federal agencies and departments were early adopters and key leaders of green building, demonstrated by their early and continuing use of LEED, a review of the scores made one thing quickly apparent: There is more work to be done. The agencies have a long way to go to meet the Executive Order that 15 percent of all federal agencies' building stock must meet high performance green building standards by 2015. What better forum to commune and strategize on greening governmental buildings than USGBC’s upcoming Government Summit?
Coming up May 10 and 11 in Washington, D.C., USGBC’s annual Government Summit (formerly Federal Summit) is a gathering place for leaders in government sustainability, offering many tools and resources for agencies to improve their sustainability scores. The event will include education sessions sharing best practices and implementable strategies related to green building from practitioners who have had success within the federal framework. The Summit will also feature opening plenary speaker Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, who will discuss the results of this year’s sustainability assessments and the steps that must be taken to improve upon them for next year.
The green building accomplishments of the federal government have been vast, but efforts must be increased in order to meet national goals. As it has done in year’s past, USGBC’s Government Summit will facilitate those necessary conversations, and spur real progress in the realm of governmental green building.
Registration for this year’s Government Summit is open now and Early Bird pricing is available through Tuesday, April 26.
Related articles:
Tapping the Business Opportunities in Green Government Buildings
Government Sector Leads the Green Building Movement from the Front
Featured Speakers: USGBC Government Summit 2011
Nancy Sutley, Chair
White House Council on Environmental Quality
Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant & Secretary of Energy Efficiency
Department of Energy/The ENERGY STAR Program
Governor Martin O'Malley, Governor
State of Maryland
Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chairman
U.S. Green Building Council
Access the full Government Summit speakers list and education program »
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