President Obama Orders GHG Measurement Targets across All Federal Agencies to Curb Carbon Emissions

In a move to show that the US government is taking climate change very seriously, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order yesterday that will require federal agencies to set reduction targets of greenhouse gas emissions within 90 days. The targets will include things such as the electricity federal buildings consume and the carbon output of federal workers' commutes.

"In order to create a clean energy economy that will increase our nation's prosperity, promote energy security, protect the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the health of our environment, the federal government must lead by example," Obama wrote in the Executive Order.

Because you can’t manage what you can’t measure, the Executive Order suggests that agencies will be required to embrace technology solutions to help them track greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Army has already demonstrated its leadership in carbon accounting and reporting with the help of Enviance.

The Federal government occupies nearly 500,000 buildings, operates more than 600,000 vehicles, employs more than 1.8 million civilians, and purchases more than $500 billion per year in goods and services, so the reduction of carbon emissions will be quite substantial.

The Executive Order requires agencies to meet a number of energy, water, and waste reduction targets, including:

• 30 percent reduction in vehicle fleet petroleum use by 2020
• 26 percent improvement in water efficiency by 2020
• 50 percent recycling and waste diversion by 2015
• 95 percent of all applicable contracts will meet sustainability requirements
• Implementation of a 2030 net-zero-energy building requirement
• Implementation of the stormwater provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, section 438
  
• Development of guidance for sustainable Federal building locations in alignment with the Livability Principles put forward by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency