The 2011 Plan - Presidential Climate Action Project

If there is any question about full congressional support for EO 13514, the President can argue it is theultimate market-based strategy for energy security. Green procurement can help create sufficiently largeand sustained markets for businesses to invest in the plant and equipment to make green products. The goalis to achieve economies of manufacturing scale – in other words, to bring the price of products down asmore of them are made. Economies of scale would bring the price of green products down for governmentand consumers.2. COLLABORATE WITH STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PURCHASING.The power of the government’s purse can be expanded if local, state and federal agencies find ways tocollaborate, for example by bundling their orders for green goods and services. According to the Consortiumfor Energy Efficiency (CEE), the 50 state governments and approximately 3,043 county, 19,279 city, and16,656 town governments in the United States spend $12 billion per year on energy bills and another $50-70 billion per year on energy-related products. Aggregated purchases by government at all levels couldbe a significant force in establishing large and sustained markets for green industries.GSA operates a Cooperative Purchasing Program (CPP) approved by Congress, principally for informationtechnology products. The program allows state and local government agencies to purchase productsfrom the Federal Supply Schedule, especially when products aren’t available locally. We encourage theAdministration to review the performance of the CPP and, if warranted, seek congressional approvalto expand it to other goods and services. In addition, GSA should consider streamlining the process forqualified small and medium businesses that manufacture, sell or service green products to get on theFederal Supply Schedule.3. CODIFY KEY ELEMENTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.While executive orders, directives and policies are important tools for presidents, they are impermanent.They can be amended or rescinded by future presidents with the stroke of a pen. We encourage theAdministration to codify the key requirements of EO 13514 and other progressive administrative policiesin regulation and legislation.4. HELP STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ADOPT THE KEY FEATURES OF EO 13514.In the past, several states adopted policies similar to those created by the Federal Energy ManagementProgram (FEMP). We encourage the Administration’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities and theDepartment of Energy’s State Energy Program to help state and local governments use EO 13514 as a modelfor their own policies on resource efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions by government agencies,including transparency, full-cost accounting, goal-setting, and performance measurement.5. MAKE DOD’S SUSTAINABLE ENERGY GOALS A HIGH BUDGET PRIORITY.The Administration should make clear to Congress and the American public that DOD’s efforts to developand deploy energy efficiency and low-carbon energy resources is a national security priority that deservesfull funding, even as the President and Congress look for ways to reduce federal spending.16