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

The percentage of federal employees whotelework is growing, due in large part to telework’snon-green benefits.Transforming Government OperationsSignificant change often comes during challengingtimes. Today, our nation is buffeted by severe challenges:a struggling economy; two wars and expandingunrest in the Middle East; rising concerns aboutenergy independence and the environment; andmounting budget deficits that imperil government’sessential functions. And so agencies are starting touse green mandates as an impetus for transforminggovernment in ways that address these problems.One prime example is the General Services Administration’sapproach to Green Buildings. New federalbuildings must meet the U.S. Green Building Council’sLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design(leeD) standard. New buildings will follow sustainabledesign principles, such as minimizing non-renewableenergy consumption; using environmentally preferableproducts and services; protecting and conservingwater; enhancing indoor environmental quality; andoptimizing operational and maintenance practices.GSA leaders have proclaimed that they intend to usefederal buildings as proving grounds for green technologiesand techniques.These activities are dramatically transforming notjust the construction of government facilities; theyalso are strengthening the government’s role in supportingsustainable practices and technologies inboth the public and the private sectors. Not only isGSA “greening” its new and old buildings, but theagency is also using this to attract a new workforce.It is reconfiguring work spaces based on the needsof today’s workers—for example, by creating collaborativework environments. These activities help builda modern work environment that will attract enthusiastic,capable and creative employees to the federalworkforce.Another important initiative for shrinking government’sfootprint is data center consolidation. Theconsolidation effort was initially driven by a desire toreduce energy usage and costs. A more streamlinedinfrastructure also aids in security. But once underway,consolidation helped spur the government’scloud computing strategy. How did this occur? Asagencies reduced their IT footprint through virtualization,government leaders saw that they could procureIT services more efficiently in the cloud environment.Instead of buying servers, applications and the associatedmaintenance, agencies could purchase ITservices as if they were utilities. And it supports theshift toward teleworking, another major sustainabilityinitiative.Telework’s green benefits are well known: reducedgas usage and pollution by commuters; and a reducedfootprint for government office space. And thepercentage of teleworking employees is growing, duein large part to its non-green benefits. For example,when icy roads prevented federal workers from gettingto their offices following a recent Washingtonsnowstorm, large numbers of employees workedfrom home using government-issued laptops andlogging into virtual private networks. As the federalgovernment accelerates data center consolidationand implementation of virtualized cloud computing,the shift to telework will accelerate as well. The barriersfor telework will go down. Together, teleworkand cloud computing will change how governmentemployees perform the business of government, enablingthem to work securely anytime, anywhere andfrom any device.Transforming How We Share DataWhen disaster strikes, people want information—andtoday, they know where to get it. During the 2010 Gulfoil spill, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-S P R I N G 2 0 11 | COLL ABOR ATIVEGOV.ORG/LE AD | Leadership 7