Green Information Technology Strategic Plan - Departmental ...

8.4 Green Buildings
Background
USDA’s building facilities and offices house and service over
120,000 employees, making it the second largest Department
in the U.S. Government. Based on the numbers alone, the daily
consumption of resources will inevitability get out-of-hand.
In support of Executive Order (E.O.) 13423 whereby “Federal
Agencies conduct their environmental, transportation, and
energy-related activities under the law in support of their
respective missions in an environmentally, economically, and
fiscally sound, integrated, continuously improving, efficient,
and sustainable manner,” 6 the Secretary of the Department
of Agriculture issued Memorandum 5500-002. The USDA
“will Implement sustainable practices for: energy efficiency
and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; renewable energy,
including bio-energy; water conservation; acquisition of
green products and services; waste prevention and recycling;
reduced use of toxic and hazardous chemicals and materials;
high performance/sustainable design buildings; vehicle fleet
management including use of alternative vehicles and fuels
and reductions in petroleum consumption; and electronics
stewardship 7 .”
fig. 9
Based on case studies conducted in 2003 and 2007, 67% of New York City’s
non-residential CO 2 emissions were created by office buildings. 9
Non Residential CO 2 Output – New York City
Lighting
Cooking
Ventilation and Pumps
Heating
Motive Power
Equipment
Elevators
1%
6%
4%
14%
Supporting Environmentally Responsible Technology at USDA
Creating greener facilities will allow USDA to successfully
reduce environmental risks and operating costs. Working
toward these steps will allow us to achieve the goals to
become environmentally conscious.
Based on case studies conducted in 2003 and 2007, 67% of
New York City’s non-residential CO 2 emissions were created
by office buildings 8 (Fig. 9).
These statistics stress the importance of making a
more contentious effort towards energy efficiency and
conservation.
25% 2% 26%
55
2%
20%