Sustainable Development and Society - GSA

Sustainable Development and Society
Executive Summary
The concept of sustainability has broader applicability than the environmental arena. In
fact, like good governance, sustainability is fast becoming a cornerstone of public
sector management. 1 J. W. Cameron, Auditor-General, State of Victoria, Australia 1
There are economic, environmental,
and social issues associated with
every business decision we make.
Getting the best value for the American
people means doing more than just the
lowest first cost. It means understanding,
acknowledging, and even celebrating the
choices that the Government makes across
the broad spectrum of its programs and
responsibilities.
Achieving the Government’s business goals,
like those of GSA, includes the commitment
to “carry out social, environmental, and
other responsibilities as a federal agency.” 2
Meeting this goal depends on making
appropriate decisions. But, how can we be
certain that we are making the right
investments and getting credit for the right
choices we make? We need to understand
evolving models and business approaches
and recognize the complexity of the task at
hand. This publication discusses some of
the challenges and explains some basic
concepts that can help us make the right
business choices and create a more
healthful built environment.
The basic framework for decision-making
exists in the form of life cycle cost analysis.
Through its Circular No. A-94, the US Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) applies
benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness
analyses to evaluate Federal programs and
determine whether agencies have
considered and properly dealt with all the
elements. OMB’s goal is to promote
efficient resource allocation through wellinformed
decision-making by the Federal
Government. The cost-effectiveness
analysis helps us to make the right
decisions by identifying the lowest costs, in
present value terms, based on life cycle cost
analyses (LCC) of competing alternatives.
What we build provides visual
testimony of our aspirations to future
generations...
But, how we build them tells them
who we are.
But, is the current application of LCC
getting us to the right investment decisions?
Traditionally, LCC has used the benefits and
costs over the life of the material, asset, or
program (including decommissioning or
disposal) to evaluate investment decisions.
However, we are learning that ignoring the
“upstream” costs, leading up to our
acquisition and “downstream” impacts
after disposal of a product or service can
omit major costs and impacts. We need to
look at new ways of applying the traditional
life cycle cost model if we are to make the
right investment decisions.
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