A library of past Federal Green Challenge Webinars.

The Fall 2011 issue of Natural Selections, the DoD Natural Resources Program quarterly newsletter, is attached. With a focus on the operational benefits of natural resources management, the issue provides examples from the OSD, command, and installation level on efforts to sustain and enhance training and stewardship.

Technical report released March, 2011, by the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Installations, addressing direct measurement of sustainability through sustainability indicators. Presented by Dr. Chris Rewerts, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at the 2011 GreenGov Symposium.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., October 19, 2011) – The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today announced the keynote speakers and plenary session panelists who will kickoff the 2011 GreenGov Symposium, to be held October 31 – November 2, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Nancy Sutley, Chair of CEQ, will deliver welcoming remarks, and Jack Lew, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will deliver the first keynote address of GreenGov 2011. The first day plenary session will feature clean energy and green leaders, including award-winning journalist and associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Simran Sethi, and renowned explorer, social entrepreneur, and environmental advocate Philippe Cousteau Jr. among others to discuss how they see the Federal Government can lead by example in sustainability.

On September 21, 2011, the Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program released the DRAFT Annual GHG and Sustainability Data Report, Version 2.0 for FY 2011 reporting by Federal agencies. Version 2.1, to correct spreadsheet navigation issues, was subsequently released September 26, 2011.

On March 4, 2011, CEQ issued a set of implementing instructions for Federal Agency Adaptation Planning. The Instructions will inform agencies on how to integrate climate change adaptation into their planning, operations, policies, and programs, as recommended by the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force in its October 2010 Progress Report to the President. A Companion Support Document has also been issued.

A custom-designed training video explaining use of the FEMP Reporting Portal v.1.6 is now available. The Greenhouse Gas and Sustainability Data Report Demonstration provides a step-by-step guide on completing each tab of the Greenhouse Gas and Sustainability Data Report (Excel 2007 spreadsheet) for inventory and reporting Federal agency greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3. This video was recorded on November 15, 2010 and is presented by John Nangle of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Individual modules cover each element of the report spreadsheet and each can be accessed separately once the player is opened.

DOE's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) has released a survey tool for federal agencies to use to quantify scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated from employee commuter activities. This tool is a part of a larger set of information and tools developed by FEMP to help federal agencies comply with the GHG reporting requirements outlined in Executive Order 13514. For more information about GHG inventory reporting and FEMP reporting resources, go to http://www.fedcenter.gov/ghginventoryreporting.

WASHINGTON (October 25, 2010) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. This comprehensive national program is projected to reduce GHG emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program's first five years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today announced eight Federal winners of the 2010 GreenGov Presidential Awards for exceptional efforts to promote sustainable operations at their agencies. The winners are Federal agency teams or employees from across the country.

WASHINGTON – The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today released Guidance on Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting that establishes Governmentwide requirements for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with Federal agency operations. The Guidance serves as the Federal Government's official Greenhouse Gas Protocol and will be used by Federal agencies to develop their first GHG inventories. Federal agencies will submit GHG inventories annually beginning in January of 2011, as called for in the Executive Order on ederal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance (Executive Order 13514) signed by President Obama on October 5, 2009. The press release can be found here. The guidance can be found here.

WASHINGTON, DC (September 9, 2010) – Continuing a commitment to lead by example, the White House today announced the release of Federal Agency Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans, which work to achieve the environmental, economic and energy goals called for in the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance (Executive Order 13514) signed by President Obama on October 5, 2009. This announcement marks the first time agencies have developed and submitted Sustainability Plans, now available at www.whitehouse.gov/ceq. The full announcement is available here.

(Washington, DC – July 20, 2010) President Obama announced today that the Federal Government will reduce greenhouse gas pollution from indirect sources, such as employee travel and commuting, by 13% by 2020. This commitment expands beyond the Administration's greenhouse gas reduction target from direct sources set in January, 2010, such as Federal fleets and buildings, by 2020. Cumulatively, greenhouse gas pollution reductions from Federal government operations will total 101 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the emissions from 235 million barrels of oil.

Based on recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, and under the guidance of a National Ocean Council, this order, signed by President Obama on July 19, 2010, establishes a national policy to ensure the protection, maintenance, and restoration of the health of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and resources, enhance the sustainability of ocean and coastal economies, preserve our maritime heritage, support sustainable uses and access, provide for adaptive management to enhance our understanding of and capacity to respond to climate change and ocean acidification, and coordinate with our national security and foreign policy interests. This order also provides for the development of coastal and marine spatial plans that build upon and improve existing Federal, State, tribal, local, and regional decisionmaking and planning processes.

This document, dated 5 April 2010, provides recommendations meant to improve Federal agency sustainability performance by promoting more effectively balanced decisions on new facility locations and more effective space utilization in existing locations. This document fulfills the direction of Section 10 in EO 13514 to provide the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair with recommendations regarding sustainable location strategies for consideration in agency Sustainability Plans. The document was jointly developed by the following: DOT, HUD, EPA, GSA, DHS, and DOD. Information on submitting comments is included in the document.

The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) Awards. The 2010 FEC Awards will recognize 38 Federal facilities from ten different Federal Agencies for their leadership in Federal electronics stewardship during fiscal year 2009.

Details the status (FY09) and progress (Jul-Dec09) for each agency in the areas of energy, transportation, and environment.

On October 19, 2009, the White House launched the GreenGov Challenge to ask all Federal and military personnel to share ideas about how the federal community can lead by example, green the govern­ment, and meet the goals of President Obama's Executive Order on Federal Sustainability. The GreenGov Challenge generated more than 5,000 ideas and 165,000 votes from 14,000 federal employees. The top ideas are summarized in the GreenGov Final Report.

The GreenGov Collaborative, an online discussion group hosted by FedCenter.gov, is your opportunity to work with colleagues across the government to put these ideas into action. This private community offers various discussion forums for you to share your best ideas and strategies, ask questions, and recruit allies in your efforts to create a more sustainable Federal Government.

Participation in the forums is offered to all Federal employees.

Click here to view the President's GreenGov Collaborative message.

Go to Join GreenGov to learn more and sign up!

WASHINGTON (February 3, 2010)– President Barack Obama today announced a series of steps his Administration is taking as part of its comprehensive strategy to enhance American energy independence while building a foundation for a new clean energy economy, and its promise of new industries and millions of jobs. At a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors from around the country, the President laid out three measures that will work in concert to boost biofuels production and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.

WASHINGTON, DC (January 29, 2010) – President Barack Obama today announced that the Federal Government will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 28 percent by 2020. Reducing and reporting GHG pollution, as called for in Executive Order 13514 on Federal Sustainability, will ensure that the Federal Government leads by example in building the clean energy economy. Actions taken under this Executive Order will spur clean energy investments that create new private-sector jobs, drive long-term savings, build local market capacity, and foster innovation and entrepreneurship in clean energy industries.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued guidance to help federal agencies minimize the impact of federal development projects on nearby water bodies. The guidance is being issued in response to a change in law and Executive Order 13514, "Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance" signed by President Obama on October 5, 2009, which calls upon all federal agencies to lead by example to address a wide range of environmental issues, including stormwater runoff.

WASHINGTON (November 16, 2009) – Home owners, buyers and renters have a new resource for going green indoors and outdoors. EPA's new Green Homes Web site will help people make their homes greener with tips on reducing energy consumption, carbon footprints, waste generation and water usage, as well as improving indoor air quality.

FedCenter has added a new topic to its program area lineup - Greenhouse Gases. This area includes the latest guidance and information resources to aid Federal facilities in managing greenhouse gas emissions. This encompasses current guidance, policies, and trends related to climate change/global warming, calculation of carbon footprints, GHG inventories, and the application of offsets to reduce carbon footprints.

President Obama has issued the new Executive Order 13514 on "Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance", which sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy and economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce fleet petroleum consumption; conserve water; reduce waste; support sustainable communities; and leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.

This program enables Federal employees from across government to submit their ideas for efficiencies and savings as part of the annual budget process. Federal sustainability improvements often result in considerable savings and should be shared government-wide. By offering suggestions regarding environmental and energy improvements to operational elements of federal facilities, federal employees can help improve efficiency and save money.

The summer edition of the US Army Environmental Center's Environmental Update, a quarterly publication of Army environmental news, is now available at http://aec.army.mil/usaec/newsroom/update/sum09/sum09.html.

This year, 15 winners and 13 honorable mentions were selected from nearly 200 nominations in the areas of environmental management systems, pollution prevention, recycling, green product purchasing, alternative fuels, electronics stewardship and sustainable buildings. Recipients include representatives, teams, and programs from across the DoD and non-DoD agencies. The awards ceremony will be held on June 17, 2009, in the Natcher Auditorium of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, MD, to formally recognize the winners and their programs. See the attached press announcement for all the winners and honorable mentions.

On April 15, 2009, the Department of Defense announced the winners of the 2009 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards.