Government's Sustainability Moment - CGI Initiative for Collaborative ...

any other sector of the U.S. economy. 1 And GSA’sportion of that energy use is significant: The agencymanages more than 370 million square feet of officespace; it operates a third of Uncle Sam’s morethan 600,000 vehicles; and, through its governmentwidecontracts, credit cards and travel services,GSA touches about $66 billion of the federal government’s$500 billion in annual purchases of goods andservices.So taking on an outsized role in steering federal purchasing,building construction, operation and maintenance,and use of the federal vehicle fleet towardenergy efficiency and sustainability is a “must do” inJohnson’s book. “What we [GSA] do about the environmentalfootprint has a huge leverage on howthe entire government functions,” Johnson told theAmerican Council for Technology-Industry AdvisoryCouncil in Philadelphia last May. “Zero environmentalfootprint is this generation’s moon shot. It’s a seriousbusiness. It’s serious in terms of the economy; it’s seriousin terms of the environment; and GSA is in themiddle of that.”Before Johnson walked through the door, GSA hadnot had a confirmed leader in three years and hadweathered five acting administrators. “Just being confirmedwas useful,” Johnson told Government Executivemagazine in a November 2010 cover story. Turmoilat the top, she said, “was really confusing to the organization.”Restoring confidence is high on Johnson’sto-do list.But just as significant is making GSA a leader inthe nation’s move toward a sustainable future. She isamong the handful of people President Obama hascharged with delivering on his promise of a green governmentand evaluating renewable technologies thathe believes can transform the country’s infrastructurein the next decade. “The administration has madeGSA part of ‘the green team,’” Johnson says, alongwith the Council on Environmental Quality and the EnergyDepartment. “We have such a lever with GSA,and this lever was largely unrecognized. Obama set itup, and we took the bait.”Obama’s October 2009 Executive Order 13514,“Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, andEconomic Performance,” 2 gave GSA the added responsibilityof designing all new federal buildings touse net-zero energy by 2030. In addition, 95 percent ofnew contracts are to be awarded for environmentallyfriendly goods and services. The agency is doublingthe number of hybrid vehicles in its fleet and developinga way to give competitive advantage to companiesthat voluntarily measure, reduce and report theirgreenhouse gas emissions.These sustainability goals have infused the agencywith a much-needed commitment to purpose. “Mysense is we unleashed the [sustainability] goal by takinga lot of the senior GSA staff to a company wherethey are striving to be a zero-footprint company, InterfaceFLOR”she says.InterfaceFLOR, the world’s leading producer ofmodular floor coverings, has set a company-widegoal of eliminating all negative impact on the environment—attaininga zero footprint—by 2020. GSA seniorstaff traveled to the company’s headquarters inLaGrange, Ga., for two days to pick managers’ brainsabout the company’s “Mission Zero.” “It galvanized1 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-sets-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reduction-target -federal-operations2 http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/2009fedleader_eo_rel.pdf12 Leadership | CGI INITIATIVE FOR COLLABORATIVE GOVERNMENT | S P R I N G 2 0 11