2010

USDA Strategic Sustainability 

Performance Plan (SSPP)

A‐1

USDA

Departmental Management

September, 2010
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 2 of 61 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Section I: Agency Policy and Strategy ....................................................................................... 3

1. Agency Policy Statement .............................................................................................. 3 

2. Sustainability and the USDA’s Mission ......................................................................... 3 

3. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals ............................................................................... 4 

4. Plan Implementation ...................................................................................................... 4 

A. Leadership and Accountability ........................................................................... 6 

B. Coordination and Communication ..................................................................... 7 

C. Budget and Planning Integration ....................................................................... 7 

D. Methods of Evaluation ....................................................................................... 9 

5. Evaluating Return on Investment .................................................................................. 9 

6. Transparency ................................................................................................................ 10 

Section II: Performance Review and Annual Update ................................................................. 11 

1. Summary of Accomplishments ...................................................................................... 11 

2. Goal Performance Review ............................................................................................ 13

GOAL 1 - Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction ............................................ 13

GOAL 2 - Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Reduction...................................................... 23 

GOAL 3 – Develop/Maintain Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Inventory ............. 26 

GOAL 4 - High-Performance Sustainable Design/Green Buildings ......................... 27 

GOAL 5 - Regional and Local Planning .................................................................. 32

GOAL 6 - Water Use Efficiency and Management .................................................. 35 

GOAL 7 - Pollution Prevention and Waste Elimination ............................................ 40 

GOAL 8 - Sustainable Acquisition ........................................................................... 44 

GOAL 9 - Electronic Stewardship and Data Centers ............................................... 49 

GOAL 10 - Agency Innovation ................................................................................. 55 

Section III: Self Evaluation ........................................................................................................... 57 

Appendix A: Acronyms ................................................................................................................ A-1 

Appendix B: Agency Sustainable Building Policies .................................................................. B-1 

Appendix C: Agency Specific Sustainable Building Achievements and Future Plans .......... C-1 

Appendix D: Agricultural Research Service Draft SSPP ........................................................... D-1
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 3 of 61 

Section 1: Agency Policy and Strategy

I.1 Agency Policy Statement 

This policy statement sets forth USDA’s commitment to operating in a sustainable manner in 

compliance with applicable statutes, regulations, and Executive Orders. 

USDA is committed to fostering a clean energy economy and to improving the environment by 

conducting operations in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner, complying with 

environmental laws and regulations, and leading by example. USDA’s sustainable operations 

program includes the following areas of emphasis: 

• Reducing our reliance on nonrenewable energy by improving energy conservation, 

increasing efficiency, and promoting renewable energy projects and programs 

• Promoting water conservation through identification of water inefficiencies and 

implementation of water conservation projects 

• Implementing sustainable acquisition practices for recycled content, energy efficient, biobased, and environmentally preferable products, and services 

• Pursuing waste management strategies that include reducing, reusing, or recycling 

• Promoting sound environmental practices for the three life-cycle phases of electronic 

products: acquisition, operations and maintenance, and end-of-life management 

• Supporting green transportation and travel practices that reduce harmful emissions, 

increasing operational and fuel efficiency, and reducing nonrenewable fuel use 

• Planning, designing, constructing, and operating facilities that address “whole site” 

sustainable practices 

• Engaging employees, stakeholders, and the public in our environmental commitment 

USDA has achieved some early successes consistent with our commitment to lead by example. 

The Department exceeded Executive Order 13514 energy conservation goals by using 

employee green teams, energy savings contracts, green power purchase agreements, and 

environmental management systems. These actions led to USDA receiving the Presidential 

Leadership in Federal Energy Management Award in October 2009. 

Although USDA has achieved significant successes, we nevertheless face significant 

challenges in moving forward to improve the sustainability of our operations. One of the biggest 

challenges involves USDA’s geographic diversity–offices in hundreds of locations in all 50 

states. Many of these offices are near our customers or stakeholders in rural, remote locations. 

This diversity presents challenges for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and may limit our 

alternatives for implementing sustainable practices and technologies. However, these same 

challenges can foster other opportunities and successes as we work with local communities to 

reach common goals of sustainability–both in USDA operations and American agriculture. 

I.2 Sustainability and USDA’s Mission 

USDA’s programs touch almost every American every day. In response to the growing 

concerns about climate change, greenhouse gases, and depleting natural resources, USDA’s 

mission is designed to create opportunities for farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, public land 

managers, and families in rural communities to prosper in new, innovative, sustainable ways 

while conserving the Nation’s natural resources and preventing pollution. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 4 of 61 

A diverse portfolio and wide range of activities in remote locations presents challenges to 

agency-directed efforts to monitor sustainable operations goals such as the reduction of energy 

and water consumption and waste production. At the same time, this diversity offers synergies 

needed to meet future challenges. Specifically, as global climate change increases, natural 

resource conservation provides the land with the resilience necessary to maintain productive 

agriculture, which supports rural communities in a global market. Rural communities, in turn, 

provide the personal connection to natural resources needed to encourage conservation. 

In order to fulfill its mission of providing leadership for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural 

development, nutrition, and related issues, USDA focuses on the future, recognizing the 

significance of global climate change and utilizing this knowledge to create and maintain 

conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony. 

I.3 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals 

In accordance with Executive Order (EO) 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, 

and Economic Performance,” USDA established a Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) 

reduction target of 21% for 2020, compared to the 2008 base year. To help achieve our 

reduction target, the Department will focus on reducing energy consumption and increasing 

renewable energy use in USDA facilities, and on reducing fossil fuel use and increasing 

alternative fuels use in USDA fleet vehicles. 

USDA also established a Scope 3 GHG reduction target of 7% for 2020, compared to the 2008 

base year. To help achieve our reduction target, we will focus on reducing GHG emissions from 

USDA primarily on employee travel, and secondarily on transmission and distribution losses 

from purchased electricity and contracted waste disposal. 

As a follow-up to establishing GHG reduction targets, USDA’s goal is to develop and maintain a 

Department-wide comprehensive GHG inventory. The comprehensive inventory will be 

developed in accordance with EO 13514 and the Federal GHG Accounting and Reporting 

Guidance. The target date for USDA to complete its initial GHG inventory is December 2010, 

prior to its submission to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) in January 2011.

I.4 Plan Implementation 

The Department formed a Sustainable Operations 

Council (SOC) to implement this Plan. USDA’s 

Senior Sustainability Officer chairs the SOC and 

senior executives from each of USDA’s seven 

mission areas comprise core SOC membership. 

The SOC reviewed and approved this Plan prior to 

its submission to CEQ and OMB. The SOC will 

implement the Plan in an organized “management 

system” manner, incorporating the steps shown in 

Figure 1 to the right. The SOC will provide 

leadership involvement while creating 

opportunities for employee and USDA agency 

participation with an overall goal of continual 

improvement. The steps of the implementation 

process are described below.

Assessment

Communicate 

Progress

Define Goals 

and Targets

Develop Action 

and Monitoring 

Plans

Monitor 

Performance

Implement 

Initiatives

Figure 1

Sustainability Management System
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 5 of 61 

Assessment 

The first critical step in the sustainability plan is to identify and inventory our activities, 

operations, processes, products, and services, and to determine the associated environmental 

impacts. Our GHG inventory, scheduled to be completed on December 31, 2010, will play a 

major role in determining potential impacts and where to focus efforts. In some areas, as 

described in Section II, the Department has already established baselines, which are used as 

the foundation to measure progress as we move toward sustainability. In other areas, we are 

still working on the assessment to create our baseline. Under SOC leadership, USDA will 

review the effectiveness of this Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) annually at 

the Department level to determine what changes are necessary to ensure we meet our existing 

goals and look for opportunities for continual improvement. 

Define Goals and Targets 

For those actions that have a potential to cause significant impacts to the environment, the SOC 

works with respective USDA agencies through membership in SOC Workgroups to develop 

goals and targets for the reduction or elimination of the associated environmental impacts. 

USDA strives to maintain balance between the life-cycle return on investment to the agency 

while taking into account economic, environmental, social, and mission-related costs and 

benefits. 

Action Plans and Monitoring Plans 

The SOC Workgroups will develop action and monitoring plans at the Departmental level; 

however such plans will be implemented at multiple levels throughout USDA. The action plans 

assist the Department in meeting specific goals and targets by creating milestones and 

schedules. The monitoring plans will measure progress toward meeting sustainability goals. 

 

Implementation Initiatives 

Each action plan will contain implementation initiatives. Implementation initiatives are general 

actions that, when applied to operations, reduce the Department’s impact on the environment. 

Since USDA agencies are diverse with respect to both mission and physical location, the extent 

and degree to which sustainable initiatives apply or can be implemented at each agency will 

vary. The SOC will oversee these initiatives to ensure appropriate consistency and that EO 

13514 goals are being pursued aggressively. 

Monitoring Performance 

The Department will utilize a number of methods to monitor performance. Monitoring tools will 

include scorecards, data calls and reports as outlined in Table 1, as well as utility bills and 

procurement records. 

Communicate Process 

SOC Workgroups will periodically update our “greening” website (www.greening.usda.gov) to 

keep employees and the public updated on progress towards sustainability. The workgroups 

will keep leadership informed through quarterly SOC meetings. Annual updates of the SSPP 

will be used as opportunities to remind employees and the public of the plans, goals, progress 

and expectations. Section I.4.B describes other methods of communication. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 6 of 61 

Assessment 

Every year USDA’s SOC will conduct a performance management review of the results of the 

year’s efforts to monitor compliance with Federal requirements relating to sustainability and 

measure USDA’s progress towards sustainability goals. This review process will allow SOC 

workgroups to provide recommendations for improvement and provide information needed for 

the SOC to continuously improve sustainability efforts. 

Tie to USDA Agencies’ existing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) 

While USDA does not have an official Department-wide EMS, the “management system” 

structure described above is based on core components of an EMS. Currently, the degree to 

which facility-level and agency-directed multi-site organizational EMSs incorporate the 

sustainability goals within EO 13514 varies from agency to agency. Because of this diverse 

approach to EMS implementation, USDA did not address EMS under each EO goal outlined in 

Section 2 of this plan. Instead USDA continues to endorse integration of EO 13514 

sustainability goals into all existing EMSs and provides this “management system” framework to 

which USDA agencies with existing EMSs can easily connect. 

I.4.A Leadership and Accountability 

The Secretary of Agriculture designated the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration as 

USDA’s Senior Sustainability Officer (SSO) to chair the previously described SOC, whose 

organization is shown in Figure 2. SOC members include representatives from each USDA 

mission area and thus represent each of USDA’s agencies. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 7 of 61 

The activities of the SOC are coordinated with the Office of Budget and Program Analysis 

(OBPA), the Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the Office of Chief Financial Officer 

(OCFO), Office of General Council (OGC), the Senior Real Property Officer, the Real Property 

Council, and the Procurement Council. 

There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC. Workgroup members serve 

as key points of contact for day-to-day implementation of USDA sustainability initiatives, and 

assist in the development of recommendations in the formation of policy, direction and 

guidance. The workgroup representation includes staff members from the Office of 

Procurement and Property Management, the Office of Operations, the Office of Chief 

Information Office, USDA agency headquarters and field offices staff. 

I.4.B Coordination and Communication 

Coordination and communication are critical components in the success of our SSPP. The 

SOC and representative workgroups play a critical role in coordination and dissemination of 

information. USDA utilizes the following practices to ensure communication: 

3⁄4 Ensure that all agencies and/or Mission Areas have representation on the SOC Workgroups 

3⁄4 Post the SSPP on USDA’s intranet 

3⁄4 Post critical components of the SSPP, such as USDA targets and progress, on a public 

website 

3⁄4 Reference the SSPP in critical planning documents such as USDA’s Sustainable Buildings 

Implementation Plan 

3⁄4 Include goals and targets in USDA policy, direction, and guidance documents 

3⁄4 Communicate USDA’s progress and accomplishments through usual channels of 

communication such as meetings, workshops, web sites, newsletters, electronic email, and 

internal memos 

3⁄4 Include the contents of the SSPP in upcoming workshops, meetings, and outreach events 

3⁄4 When the annual update of the SSPP is complete, use this opportunity to refresh employee 

and public awareness of the plan’s goals, progress and expectations 

3⁄4 Emphasize the role of employees at the office and at home to help achieve and promote 

sustainability 

3⁄4 Promote Green Teams, both place-based and virtual, to increase employee awareness and 

emphasize employees’ roles in sustainability 

I.4.C Budget and Planning Integration 

The OBPA will explore means to track budget information as it relates to the sustainability goals 

outlined in EO 13514. Currently our existing budget line items do not specifically address 

sustainability as a separate line item. However, in many cases sustainability is already an 

integral part of our operation based on USDA policy, guidance, and direction. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 8 of 61 

Table 1: Critical Planning Coordination1

The purpose of this table is to illustrate the current relationship between the sustainability plan 

and other planning and reporting efforts across the agency. 

Originating Report / Plan 

Scope 1 and 2 GHG 

Reduction 

Scope 3 GHG 

Reduction 

Develop and Maintain 

Agency 

Comprehensive GHG 

Inventor

y

High-Performance 

Sustainable Design / 

Green Buildings 

Regional and Local 

Planning 

Water Use Efficiency 

and Management 

Pollution Prevention 

and Waste Elimination 

Sustainable 

Acquisition 

Electronic 

Stewardship and Data 

Centers 

Agency Specific 

Innovation 

USDA Strategic Plan (GPRA) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

USDA Budget Process2 No No No No No No No Yes Yes NA 

Facilities - Agency Capital Plan Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NA NA 

Facilities - Asset Management 

Plan Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NA NA 

Facilities - Sustainable Building 

Implementation Plan Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NA Yes

Energy - Annual Report on Energy 

Management Yes Yes No Yes NA Yes NA Yes Yes NA 

Energy – Metering Plan Yes Yes No Yes NA Yes NA NA Yes NA 

Fleet –AFV Program Annual 

Report Yes Yes No NA NA NA NA Yes NA NA 

Acquisition – Green Purchasing 

Affirmative Procurement Plan No No No Yes NA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Acquisition – Sustainable 

acquisition practices: green 

purchasing, waste management, 

and chemical management Annual 

Report 

Yes Yes No Yes NA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

IT - A-11 300s 

(major investments e.g. data 

centers) 

Yes Yes No NA NA NA Yes Yes Yes NA 

IT - Circular A-11 Exhibit 53s 

(annual IT expenses) Yes Yes No NA NA NA Yes Yes Yes NA 

IT – USDA Green Information 

Technology Strategic Plan Yes Yes No NA NA NA Yes Yes Yes Yes

IT - Data Center Consolidation 

Program Yes Yes No NA NA NA Yes Yes Yes Yes

IT – Electronic Stewardship Plan Yes Yes No NA NA NA Yes Yes Yes Yes

Environmental Management 

System Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Monitoring - OMB Scorecards Yes Yes Yes Yes NA Yes Yes Yes Yes NA 

                                                           

1

 Yes = Integrated; No = Not integrated; NA = Not applicable 2

 Budget process and sustainable practices not yet fully integrated 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 9 of 61 

Table 1 represents a current snapshot in time. In the future, USDA plans to integrate more of 

the listed operating plans and reports with EO 13514 goals where it makes sense to do so. For 

example, USDA plans to integrate its comprehensive GHG inventory with its facility-related and 

fleet-related reports including the annual Energy Report, Asset Management Plan, Sustainable 

Buildings Implementation Plan, and others as appropriate. 

I.4.D Methods of Evaluation 

Every year USDA’s SOC will conduct a performance management review of the results of the 

year’s efforts to monitor compliance with Federal requirements relating to sustainability, and 

measure USDA progress towards sustainability goals. This review process will allow USDA to 

continuously improve sustainability efforts. To the extent that quarterly and biannual monitoring 

data are available, such data will be included in annual reviews and compared from year to 

year. 

I.5 Evaluating Return on Investment 

The extent to which USDA prioritizes projects, initiatives, and efforts based on lifecycle return on 

investment varies significantly. For example, USDA facility managers regularly evaluate 

lifecycle return on investment for energy and water conservation projects, which are being 

accomplished by energy savings performance contract (ESPC) or utility energy services 

contract (UESC). In these instances, facility managers typically establish criteria for payback 

time associated with return on investment and select projects that meet or exceed those criteria. 

By contrast, other types of USDA procurement actions may not receive evaluation on lifecycle 

return on investment. Decisions on product purchases often do not include such analyses. A 

major challenge in having procurement officials perform such analyses is the organizational 

separation of costs and benefits. If a product has a higher initial price but results in lower 

disposal costs at end of life, the purchaser may not place a high priority on this attribute if 

another part of the organization pays for disposal. 

Consideration of costs and benefits varies by USDA mission area. Agencies under the Natural 

Resources and Environment mission area are highly attuned to the environmental costs and 

benefits associated with their activities. Similarly, agencies associated with Rural Development, 

Food Safety, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, and Food Nutrition and Consumer 

Services are highly attuned to social costs and benefits, including harm to future generations 

and international impacts. USDA decision-makers typically consider non-quantifiable benefits in 

both environmental and social arenas. The decision to fund and establish the People’s Garden, 

for example, took its symbolic value into account. As a living exhibit of what USDA does every 

day, the Garden incorporates sustainable practices, is a collaborative effort, and benefits the 

community. One year after the decision, there more than 300 Peoples’ Gardens designated 

throughout the country, which certainly represents an excellent return on investment. 

USDA is beginning to incorporate the use of behavioral economics into its decision-making. 

Some of that thinking is reflected in our Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. For 

example, our discussion of Goal 8 – Sustainable Acquisition in Section 2 of the Plan indicates 

that USDA will not achieve sustainability in 95 percent of contracts by 2011. A major factor 

associated with the longer schedule for achieving this goal is the time it takes to overcome the 

human inertia of continuing current procurement processes and habits. 

Concerned about the risks of climate change to agriculture and forestry, USDA 

established a Climate Change Program Office within the Office of the Chief Economist 

some years ago. This Office functions as the Department-wide coordinator of 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 10 of 61 

agriculture, rural and forestry-related global change program and policy issues facing 

USDA. The Office ensures that USDA is a source of objective, analytical assessments 

of the effects of climate change and proposed response strategies. The Office also 

serves as USDA's focal point for climate change issues and is responsible for 

coordinating activities with other Federal agencies, interacting with the legislative 

branch on climate change issues affecting agriculture and forestry, and representing 

USDA on U.S. delegations to international climate change discussions. 

I.6 Transparency 

USDA is committed to clearly communicating the progress of our SSPP both within USDA and 

to the public. 

Internal 

USDA utilizes the following methods to facilitate internal communication: (1) Green Teams; (2) 

outreach events; (3) newsletters; (4) the Internet; (5) training and workshops; and (6) memos, 

email and voice messages directly from the Secretary. 

SOC Workgroups provide quarterly updates and an annual progress report to the SOC, 

including: (1) fiscal year progress towards USDA’s sustainability goals; (2) success stories to 

facilitate internal networking; and (3) a brief analysis of any barriers or issues that may impede 

performance. 

Annual progress reporting provides senior management with the information needed to analyze 

and alter strategies. The SSPP is updated accordingly to ensure continual success for 

subsequent years. The annual report also provides the information needed to report our 

progress to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on Environmental 

Quality (CEQ). 

External 

USDA is already using "social media" and "Web 2.0" to connect with people in ways that are the 

most convenient and effective for them. For some, the most convenient way is to read 

information directly on our Web site; others might prefer audio or video casts. USDA utilizes 

blogs, Facebook, Flickr, Podcasts, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, Twitter, Widgets, 

and You Tube to increase awareness of USDA’s programs. Links to these social media tools, 

which USDA plans to begin using to communicate about its sustainable operations, can be 

found at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=USDA_STR.

 

In addition to posting stories and articles on an ongoing basis, USDA will post key documents 

relating to SSPP targets and performance twice a year. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 11 of 61 

Section II: Performance Review and Annual Update

II.1 Summary of Accomplishments

This section highlights some of USDA’s recent accomplishments in key Executive Order 13514 

goal areas. 

Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction 

USDA has made significant progress in recent years in improving its energy efficiency and 

renewable energy use performance. In fiscal year (FY) 2009 and FY 2010, USDA achieved 

statutory goals and policy requirements relating to energy intensity reduction, renewable energy 

use, advanced electric metering, energy evaluations, and alternative financing. In FY 2009, 

USDA achieved a 22 percent reduction in energy intensity compared to the FY 2003 baseline. 

In FY 2009, USDA purchased and consumed renewable energy equivalent to 5 percent of the 

Department’s total electricity use. 

Water Conservation 

USDA has made significant progress in recent years in improving its water use efficiency and 

management performance. In FY 2009 and FY 2010, USDA achieved statutory goals and 

policy requirements relating to water use intensity reduction. In FY 2009, USDA reduced its 

water use intensity by 21 percent compared to the FY 2007 baseline. 

Sustainable Buildings 

As of FY 2009, the USDA measures 3 percent as sustainable, after assessing after assessing a 

little less than half of all buildings over 5,000 gross square feet. At present, agencies are 

furthering the assessment process to measure and validate which existing buildings meet the 

Guiding Principles. In 2010, the Department continues to implement strategies to achieve its 

sustainable buildings goals. Agencies are initiating a study of the resources required to achieve 

EO 13514 goals using a sample of existing buildings. 

Waste Reduction and Recycling 

USDA is working to decrease its waste stream and increase its recycling rate. Currently USDA 

headquarters diverts over 60 percent of its waste from the FY 2005 baseline, with a recycling 

rate of over 40 percent. The waste minimization and recycle program practices workforce 

education by conducting outreach events and providing timely data and directions on the web. 

Besides encouraging employee participation in the program, the Office of Operations also 

incorporates waste minimization and recycling criteria into service contracts, including 

concessions, janitorial, and operations and maintenance contracts. 

Green Purchasing 

USDA is making strides towards sustainable acquisitions in all required green purchasing 

categories. In particular, USDA’s BioPreferred program leads by example in the biobased 

products area. By designating categories of biobased products for preferred Federal 

procurement and developing a voluntary labeling program, USDA is creating wealth in rural 

America and meeting Farm Bill mandates. The BioPreferred program web site, 

(www.BioPreferred.gov) contains contract templates and model language to assist Federal 

agencies in purchasing biobased products and services. To date, USDA has designated 42 

product categories—more than 4,500 individual products―for preferred Federal purchase. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 12 of 61 

Electronic Stewardship 

The USDA Chief Information Officer (CIO) has proactively sought to continually decrease the 

carbon footprint of our data centers. Soon after launching a data center consolidation initiative 

in FY 2007, the CIO commissioned a study, called the Green IT Strategic Plan, which 

formulated a strategy for reducing data centers’ greenhouse gas emissions through 

virtualization, consolidation, and energy optimization. Consequently, USDA was well-poised in 

FY 2010 to submit a Data Center Consolidation Plan to the Office of Management and Budget 

that enumerates both substantive accomplishments and aggressive timelines for further 

improvements. 

Environmental Management Systems 

USDA currently has 130 facility-level environmental management systems (EMSs) and one 

multi-site EMS, which addresses 142 additional facilities. USDA agencies will continue to utilize 

EMSs to ensure environmental compliance and pursue progress on the sustainability goals. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 13 of 61 

II.2 Goal Performance Review

Goal 1 – Scope 1and2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Goal 1 – Description 

USDA will reduce reliance on nonrenewable energy by improving energy conservation, 

increasing efficiency, and promoting renewable energy projects and programs. In accordance 

with EO 13514, USDA established a Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 

reduction target of 21 percent in FY 2020, compared to the FY 2008 base year. To help 

achieve our reduction target, we will focus efforts on reducing energy consumption and 

increasing renewable energy use in USDA facilities, and reducing fossil fuel use and increasing 

alternative fuels use in USDA fleet vehicles. 

Goal 1 Objective 1 – Decrease Energy Intensity

Reduce energy intensity by 37.5 percent by FY 2020, compared to the FY 2003 base 

year.3

G

o

a

l

1

Objective 2 – Increase Use of Renewable Energy 

In FY 2009, USDA achieved a 22 percent reduction in energy intensity compared to 

the FY 2003 base year. The reduction target of 37.5 percent by FY 2020 assumes 

that USDA will meet the Energy Independence and Security Act’s 30 percent energy 

intensity reduction goal in FY 2015; while reducing energy intensity by an additional 

1.5 percent per year from FY 2016 to FY 2020. 

Purchase and generate renewable energy equivalent to at least 10 percent of the 

Department’s total electricity use by FY 2020. 

G

o

a

l

1

Objective 3 - Reduce Petroleum use in Fleet Vehicles

In FY 2009, USDA purchased and generated renewable energy equivalent to 5 

percent of the Department’s total electricity use. The target of purchasing and 

generating renewable energy equivalent to 10 percent of total electricity use by FY 

2020 assumes that USDA will meet the Energy Policy Act’s 7.5 percent renewable 

energy use requirement in FY 2013 while using an additional 2.5 percent by FY 2020. 

Reduce covered federal fuel consumption by 2 percent annually for a total reduction of 

30 percent from FY 2005 to FY 2020.

Goal 1 Objective 4 - Increase Use of Alternative Fuels in Fleet AFVs 

Increase use of alternative fuel in locations where alternative fuel is available.

 

                                                           

3 EO 13423 establishes a 30 percent energy intensity reduction goal for 2015 based upon a 2003 baseline. USDA 

has extended this goal to 37.5 percent for 2020 based on the same 2003 baseline as the basis for its Scope 1 and 2 

GHG emissions reduction target. The GHG target is based on a 2008 GHG emissions baseline as required by EO 

13514. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 14 of 61 

G

o

a

l

1

 Objective 5 - Optimize Use of Vehicles and Right-Size Fleet 

The FY 2005 USDA alternative fuel consumption baseline is 196,642 gasoline gallon 

equivalents (GGEs). The annual alternative fuel consumption by FY 2020 is 

forecasted at 2,175,880 GGEs, an increase of 1007% as compared with FY 2005. 

This substantial increase is based on several viable initiatives that have been 

instrumental in escalating the use of alternative fuel in the Department over the past 

Reduce annual fleet fuel consumption by 451,989 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) by 

FY 2020. 

Goal 1 Objective 6 - Increase Use of Low Emission and High Fuel Economy 

Vehicles 

Reduce annual fleet fuel consumption by 2,561,271 GGEs by FY 2020.

This objective will be accomplished through the acquisition of low emission and high 

fuel economy vehicles. These vehicles are projected to increase the overall miles 

per gallon (mpg) rate in the USDA fleet from 23.5 in FY 2010 to 29 mpg in FY 2020. 

USDA motor vehicle fleet reviews have determined that the vehicle acquisition 

process varies substantially from year to year. The vehicle acquisition (owned, 

commercially leased, GSA leased) rate could total 6,000 vehicles in any given year 

and decline to 4,000 vehicles the next. Light duty vehicles leased from GSA (such 

as sedans) are generally replaced every three to four years. However, USDA-owned 

vehicles are replaced anywhere from every six to 10 years. Also, the USDA Forest 

Service operates under a working capital fund and may replace owned vehicles 

more frequently than other USDA agencies. The strategy for accomplishing this 

objective takes into account the vehicle acquisition variance when determining the 

annual number of vehicles required to reach the 30% petroleum reduction goal by 

FY 2020. 

Goal 1 – Leadership

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer (SSO), is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing, and Electronic Stewardship. The 

Facilities Workgroup and the Transportation Workgroup serve as the key points of contact for 

day to day implementation of the USDA Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions reduction initiatives. 

Goal 1 – Implementation Methods 

USDA will rely on the organizational structure and resources of the SOC to implement 

measures to facilitate compliance with Executive Order EO 13423 and EO 13514. The efforts of 

the SOC are supported at the national level by groups such as the USDA’s Real Property 

Council and Procurement Council, as well as various workgroups and employee green teams at 

the regional and field levels. USDA green teams are groups of employees, regardless of 

discipline or organizational level, specifically chartered by leadership to promote and foster 

sustainable operations that reduce a unit’s environmental footprint. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 15 of 61 

USDA will continue to integrate its strategic plans and policies with the services provided by the 

Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to create effective management tools and 

energy initiatives to achieve its Scope 1 and 2 GHG Reduction Target by FY 2020. The 

Department’s planned implementation initiatives will incorporate provisions from various USDA 

policies and plans including: Departmental Regulation 5500-001; the USDA Utilities Metering 

Guidance; the USDA Renewable Energy Guidance; USDA’s Environmental Management 

Systems; and the fleet management policies mandated in the Agriculture Property Management 

Regulations. 

Examples of management tools/strategies that USDA plans to use to achieve this goal include 

Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and 

Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs); green power purchase agreements; purchasing 

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs); awards programs; performance evaluations; training; 

metering; and Life Cycle Cost Analysis. Viable fleet management related strategies will be 

developed through the USDA Internal Motor Vehicle Tool. This tool will also be used as a 

management tool to perform fuel use audits, acquire AFV or fuel efficient vehicles in specific 

locations nationwide, and pinpoint AFVs that can use alternative fuel all of the time. In addition, 

vehicles with critical travel related mission requirements will be able to map alternative fueling 

locations that correspond with their travel routes. 

Other tools/strategies include utilizing internal USDA Agency scorecards and corporate data 

management systems. Specific energy initiatives that USDA will employ entail increasing the 

use of alternative transportation fuels, procuring more energy efficient replacement vehicles, 

“right-sizing” vehicles to perform critical mission requirements, implement vehicle utilization 

strategies, performing facility energy audits, and strategically disseminating “You Have the 

Power” campaign materials. 

As the comprehensive GHG inventory is developed under Goal 3, it should better inform the 

decision making and implementation process under this goal, as well as Goal 2. Achieving this 

goal should help the Department better comply with the High Performance and Sustainable 

Buildings Guiding Principles in Goal 4. Also, we anticipate that synergies will be achieved 

between this goal and Goals 2, 3, and 6, due to the similar implementation strategies that USDA 

plans to employ in attaining these respective goals. 

The following table provides a description of specific implementation initiatives and programs: 

Initiatives 

and Programs Description 

Life-cycle Cost 

Analysis 

Use life-cycle cost methodologies and value engineering to identify costeffective opportunities to improve energy efficiency, use renewable energy, 

and reduce petroleum fuel use in facilities and fleet operations. Consider the 

life-cycle costs of combinations of projects, particularly to encourage bundling 

of energy-efficiency projects with renewable energy projects.

Energy Audits 

and Efficiency 

Improvements 

Conduct energy audits of EISA Section 432 Covered facilities for energy 

efficiency and to expand the use of renewable energy and technologies, to 

the greatest extent possible, subject to available funding. As evaluations are 

completed, continue to identify and implement projects that improve energy 

efficiency and offer potential use of renewable energy and technologies.
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 16 of 61 

Initiatives 

and Programs Description 

Energy Audits 

and Efficiency 

Improvements 

(cont’d.) 

Include an energy analysis during the design phase of renovation projects to 

identify potential energy efficiency opportunities. 

Consider new energy conservation technologies in appropriate repair and 

construction projects. 

Initiate early retirement of older, inefficient appliances and other energy using 

equipment. 

Switch to less greenhouse gas-intensive, non-petroleum energy sources, 

such as natural gas or renewable energy sources, and decrease 

unnecessary fuel use through efficiency projects. 

Pursue combined heating/cooling/power systems projects, when life-cycle 

cost effective. Target facilities for combined heating/cooling/power systems 

where there is a high demand for hot water or cooling for process needs and 

where low cost fuel (such as natural gas or biomass) are readily accessible. 

Alternate 

Financing 

Mechanisms 

Promote the use of ESPC and UESC, when life-cycle cost effective, to help 

finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Utilize audit reports to identify potential sites for energy savings performance 

contracts and/or utility energy service contracts. 

Distributed 

Generation 

Use solar and other renewable technology, particularly at remote locations, 

where it competes favorably with traditional power systems.

Incorporate solar power to run pumps and exhaust fans at recreation sites. 

Utilize wind power at selected facilities 

Electrical Load 

Reduction 

Remain accountable and responsible electrical power consumers 

Coordinate with utility companies to minimize overall use of electricity and 

manage electricity consumption during emergencies

Metering 

USDA will continue to install advanced meters, whenever life-cycle cost 

effective. By utilizing advanced metering technologies, USDA will obtain the 

information needed to meet energy goals, save money, and improve the 

Department’s building operations

Optimize Use of 

Vehicles and 

Right-Size Fleet 

Seek out efficiencies through right-sizing specifications within Departmental 

agencies.

Acquire vehicles meeting the GHG minimum scoring requirements unless 

they do not meet critical mission requirements. 

Review the make-up of the USDA fleet; (e.g., body size, engine size and 

optional equipment) to ensure that each vehicle achieves the maximum fuel 

efficiency and is the right size needed to perform critical mission 

requirements. 

Petroleum 

Reduction 

Identify alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in close proximity to alternative 

fueling stations and notifying USDA agencies to use the fuel immediately; in 

accordance with EPAct §701.

Create specific agency acquisition strategies to replace petroleum vehicles 

with AFVs in areas in close proximity to alternative fueling sites; 

Exchange petroleum vehicles in close proximity to alternative fueling stations 

with AFVs in rural locations. 

Match high mileage AFV mission travel routes with alternative fueling 

locations to ensure alternative fuel use 100 percent of the time in selected 

AFVs. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 17 of 61 

Initiatives 

and Programs Description 

Training, 

Awareness, and 

Recognition 

Raise the level of participation and visibility of USDA in government-wide 

energy and transportation management initiatives while increasing the 

awareness of these initiatives within the Department. 

Continue to disseminate “You Have the Power” campaign awareness 

information to Agency facility managers, energy managers, and fleet 

managers; and promote awareness, education, and training of energy and 

transportation requirements through the USDA Sustainable Operations 

Website. 

Encourage appropriate personnel to attend training program and workshops 

provided by the Federal Energy Management program, private and public 

institutions, and other federal agencies. 

Sponsor the GovEnergy 2010, and encourage employees' participation in the 

annual conference. 

Promote employee commitment to improving energy efficiency through 

awards and recognition programs. 

Participate in the Annual Federal Energy and Water Management Awards 

program and the “You Have the Power” recognition program; Submit FY 

2010 nominations to recognize outstanding energy efficiency and renewable 

energy use efforts. 

Encourage and support USDA agency specific employee award and 

recognition programs that cover a broad-range of categories, including 

energy efficiency and conservation. 

Monitoring and 

Accountability 

Develop a USDA scorecard to track USDA agencies and staff offices 

progress in executing the Department’s initiatives relating to this goal.

Incorporate energy management responsibilities as an element in position 

descriptions and performance evaluation standards of its personnel (e.g., 

facility managers, area and location engineers, building engineers, 

maintenance mechanics, energy managers, engineering project managers, 

and procurement personnel) considered being critical to the implementation 

of this goal. 

Goal 1 – Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing to support the development and 

implementation of the Department’s Scope 1 and 2 GHG Reduction initiatives. A substantial 

portion of the work is performed as a collateral duty.

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 18 of 61 

Goal 1 – Planning Table

SCOPE 1and2 GHG TARGET Unit FY 

10 

FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

FY 

14 

FY 

15 

FY 

16 

FY 

17 

FY 

18 

FY 

19 

. 

FY 

20 

Energy Intensity Reduction Goals 

(BTU/SF reduced from FY03 base 

year) 

% 15 18 21 24 27 30 30 30 30 30 30 

USDA Planned Energy Intensity 

Reduction (BTU/SF reduced from 

FY03 base year) 

% 22 23 25 27 29 30 31.5 33 34.5 36 37.5 

Renewable Electricity Goals 

(Percent of electricity from 

renewable sources) 

% 5 5 5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 

USDA Planned Renewable 

Electricity Use (Percent of electricity 

from renewable sources) 

% 5 5 5 7.5 7.5 7.5 8 8.5 9.0 9.5 10 

Petroleum Use Reduction Targets 

(Percent reduction from FY05 base 

year) 

% 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 

USDA Planned Petroleum Use 

Reduction (Percent reduction from 

FY05 base year) 

% 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 

Alternative Fuel Use in Fleet AFV 

Target (Percent increase from FY05 

base year) 

% 61 77 95 114 136 159 185 214 245 280 318 

USDA Planned Alternative Fuel Use 

in Fleet AFV (Percent increase from 

FY05 base year) 

% 95 100 112 184 262 371 467 571 681 802 1007 

Scope 1 and 2 – USDA Reduction 

Target (reduced from FY08 base 

year) 

% 3.7 5.5 7.4 9.2 11 12.9 14.4 15.9 17.4 18.9 20.6 

[Note, with respect to targets: Shaded targets are listed for reference and represent targets as outlined in the EO; the columns 

that are not shaded represent USDA planned targets.] 

Goal 1 – Agency Status 

USDA has made significant progress in recent years in improving its energy efficiency and 

renewable energy use performance. In FY 2009 and FY 2010, USDA achieved statutory goals 

and policy requirements relating to energy intensity reduction, renewable energy use, advanced 

electric metering, energy evaluations, and alternative financing. 

A summary of USDA’s recent performance and initiatives are provided below: 

3⁄4 In FY 2010, USDA established its Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target in 

accordance with EO 13514 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA’s energy use index (EUI) is estimated at 67,480 British thermal units 

(Btu) per gross square foot (GSF), which represents an approximate 22 percent 

reduction compared to the FY 2003 baseline of 86,281 Btu per GSF. The FY 2009 EUI 

reduction goal for EPACT is 8 percent (as compared to the FY 2003 baseline); and the 

FY 2009 reduction goals for EISA and EO 13423 are both 12 percent (as compared to 

the FY 2003 baseline). Accordingly, USDA exceeded all three of these goals. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 19 of 61 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA reported using 43,700 gallons (5.5 billion Btu) of aviation fuel, which 

represents a 93 percent decrease compared to the Department’s FY 2008 usage. 

3⁄4 USDA target goal for alternative fuel consumption in FY2009 was a 46% increase as 

compared to the FY2005 baseline. The actual FY2009 alternative fuel consumption was 

378,279 GGEs; an increase of 92%. This percentage far surpassed the targeted goal of 

46%. 

3⁄4 USDA agencies strived to select products, materials, and systems that maximize the use 

of renewable energy. We gave appropriate consideration to incorporating solar, wind, 

and other renewable technologies when cost-effective over the life cycle. Accordingly, 

through a combination of purchases and on-site generation USDA used about 25,000 

megawatt-hours (MWH) of renewable energy, which is equivalent to about 5 percent of 

USDA’s total electricity use for FY 2009. Thus, USDA exceeded the EPACT renewable 

energy use goal of 3 percent for FY 2009. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA conducted energy and water evaluations for at least 25 percent of its 

covered facilities in accordance with EISA Section 432. 

3⁄4 USDA completed all of the milestones in its Electric Metering Plan, including completing 

advance metering installations in at least 25 percent of its facilities. Additionally, all 

USDA facilities within the National Capital Region have advanced electric meters 

installed. The Agricultural Research Service has also conducted training of key 

personnel involved in implementing the electric metering plan and conducted an inhouse electric meter survey of all 3,200 buildings in its inventory. Additionally, the 

Forest Service estimates that approximately 4,500 of its buildings are currently metered 

either internally or by local utilities with standard meters; this figure represents about half 

of the Forest Service facilities that have electricity service. 

3⁄4 USDA’s Departmental Management continued to execute its UESC with Washington 

Gas Energy Services (WGES). The UESC, which was awarded in FY 2007, is a ten 

year contract for $10 million and covers the USDA HQ Complex and the George 

Washington Carver Center (GWCC). The HQ Complex and GWCC (located in 

Beltsville, Maryland) contain more than three million gross square feet of mixed use 

office space. The first phase of the UESC contract has a simple payback of 4.5 years 

and will provide over 2,300 megawatt-hours of electrical savings and $552,000 in cost 

savings annually. 

3⁄4 ARS has entered into an interagency agreement with Bonneville Power Administration 

(BPA) for energy efficiency upgrades at several sites in Idaho and Oregon, and is 

contracting with Washington Gas to perform energy upgrades at the National Arboretum. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, as part of the Department’s ongoing facilities modernization, repair, and 

maintenance activities, USDA spent more than $ 5.6 million for related building energy 

efficiency improvement projects. These projects included improving the energy efficiency 

of existing pre-engineered buildings by means of re-insulating the roof areas and interior 

perimeter walls with fiberglass faced insulation and installing energy efficient lighting and 

vent fans. Other projects entailed installing energy efficient boilers and heating, 

ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment; upgrading plumbing equipment; 

installing variable speed drives on pumps and air handlers; upgrading digital control 

systems; and implementing computer-controlled metering for electricity. Furthermore, 

USDA agencies refurbished insulation for coolers; installed alarm systems on freezers; 

cleaned HVAC condenser/evaporator fan coils; repaired compressed air leaks; and 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 20 of 61 

installed advanced meters, rain sensors, hot water tank timers, and restroom occupancy 

light sensors. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA ARS received $176 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act (ARRA) funds. These funds were used to address specific critical deferred 

maintenance needs at ARS research facilities. Completion of this work will, in many 

cases, result in improved energy and water efficiency and reduction in operation and 

maintenance costs. The projects include work at 36 locations in 28 states and the 

District of Columbia. 

3⁄4 In collaboration with DOE National Laboratories, USDA initiated 12 energy and water 

projects (relating to auditing, modeling, and training) at USDA facilities with over 

$500,000 in ARRA funds channeled through FEMP. 

3⁄4 USDA received the 2009 Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy 

Management for its performance in energy management, renewable energy use, and 

transportation management. 

3⁄4 USDA maintained Green rating for status and progress on OMB Energy Management 

Scorecard. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA developed an internal data tool to help monitor and provide oversight 

relative to AFV use and to improve driver compliance with regulatory requirements. This 

tool is capable of monitoring and providing oversight of USDA AFVs and will allow the 

Department to alert drivers of fuel efficiency advantages. Drivers will also be educated 

in terms of assisting the Department with achieving regulatory compliance goals. The 

tool will provide viable petroleum reduction information, such as exchanging gasoline 

vehicles in close proximity to alternative fueling stations with AFVs in rural locations (this 

initiative will decrease AFV waivers). Also, the tool allows for planning AFV and fuel 

efficient vehicle acquisitions and mapping alternative fuel use for AFVs. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA performed an analysis that identified approximately 2,000 high 

mileage vehicles. These vehicles were GSA leased vehicles which are used by USDA 

agencies to travel district-wide, State-wide, and regionally to perform critical mission 

requirements. Approximately 37 percent of these vehicles were light duty trucks and 

sports utility vehicles. Agencies will be instructed to conduct a review of these vehicles 

to determine if a significant portion of these vehicles are capable of being “down-sized or 

right-sized.” Agencies will also be instructed to develop key fuel efficient vehicle and 

AFV acquisition strategies. 

3⁄4 USDA worked with GSA Fleet Management Center representatives and the Department 

of Energy to develop audit methods for leased alternative fuel vehicles. The result of 

this synergetic effort was the USDA internal data tool which is used for auditing, 

monitoring, and analyzing motor vehicle related data. 

3⁄4 USDA also realized energy and cost savings from the following ESPCs: 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 21 of 61 

Energy Savings Performance Contracts 

Facility Location 

Energy 

Savings 

(BTU/Year) 

Description 

Center for Medical, 

Agricultural and Veterinary 

Entomology 

Gainesville, 

Florida TBD Awarded in FY 2009 

Multiple Facilities - 

Agricultural Research 

Service (ARS) 

Texas $9,365 Million Awarded in FY 2009 

Beltsville Agricultural 

Research Center 

Beltsville, 

Maryland 

$48,685 

Million Awarded in 2003 

National Agricultural 

Library 

Beltsville, 

Maryland 

$11,322 

Million 

Awarded in 2000 and includes: lighting 

retrofits, burner replacement, chiller 

plant automation, and building 

automation systems 

National Animal Disease 

Center Ames, Iowa $20,396 Million 

Awarded in 1999 under the DOE MidWest Area Super ESPC 

Forest Service Forestry 

Laboratory 

Corvallis, 

Oregon 

See 

description 

Awarded in 1999. The focus of the 

ESPC is on heating retrofit and building 

automation systems, has achieved 

$48,100 in cumulative savings beyond 

the guaranteed savings of $598,536 

USDA’s planned initiatives for FY 2010 and beyond: 

3⁄4 Perform energy and water evaluations for at least 25 percent of USDA “Covered 

Facilities” in accordance with EISA Section 432 requirements (Was completed by June 

30, 2010). 

3⁄4 USDA agencies will continue to pursue ESPC opportunities. Specifically, agencies will 

review data from EISA Section 432 energy evaluations to determine if it will be cost 

effective to employ ESPCs or UESCs as a follow-up to the site evaluations (Current 

review will be completed by December 31, 2010). 

3⁄4 Update USDA Metering Plan and Guidance to include other utilities, and continue 

installations of advanced metering at USDA facilities (Will be completed by December 

31, 2010). 

3⁄4 Update USDA Renewable Energy Guidance to incorporate provisions contained in EO 

13514 (Was completed by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 Develop USDA Agency Scorecards for Energy Management, and track agencies’ 

progress (Will be completed by June 30, 2011). 

3⁄4 Participate in Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) First Thursday Seminars. 

3⁄4 Identify AFVs that travel in close proximity to alternative fueling stations when performing 

critical mission requirements and mandate immediate alternative fuel consumption (Was 

completed by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 Develop Alternative Fuel and Fleet Efficiency Handbook for fleet representatives at 

headquarters and field offices (Was completed by June 30, 2010). 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 22 of 61 

3⁄4 Complete Fleet Trend Analysis Review and develop specific initiatives to increase 

alternative fuel use (Completed). 

3⁄4 Develop site-specific fleet efficiency and petroleum reduction report strategies geared to 

increase alternative fuel use and decrease waivers (Was completed by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 Conduct inventory to identify waivered AFVs that can immediately be relocated to 

locations with alternative fuel availability (Was completed by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 USDA will partner with Veteran Affairs in South Dakota to develop initiatives to increase 

alternative fuel use (Was completed by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 Coordinating with other agencies and DOE’s Clean Cities program to increase 

alternative fuel use in areas with high AFVs in close proximity to USDA (Was completed 

by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 Forest Service will report to USDA Headquarters detailing progress of B20 diesel tank 

conversion analysis (Was completed by June 30, 2010). 

3⁄4 Work with FEMP to identify further actions to improve compliance (Completed). 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 23 of 61 

Goal 2 – Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Goal 2 – Description 

In accordance with EO 13514, USDA will reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions. 

Goal 2 Objective 1 – Reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions 

Reduce GHG by 7 percent by 2020, compared to the 2008 base year. To help achieve 

our reduction target, USDA will focus our efforts on reducing GHG emissions from USDA 

employee travel, transmission and distribution (T&D) losses (from purchased electricity), 

and contracted waste disposal. 

Goal 2 – Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing and Electronic Stewardship. The 

Facilities Workgroup serves as the key point of contact for day-to-day implementation of the 

USDA Scope 3 GHG reduction initiatives. 

Goal 2 – Implementation Methods 

USDA will rely on the organizational structure and resources of its Sustainable Operations 

Council (SOC) to implement measures to facilitate compliance with EO 13423 and EO 13514. 

The efforts of the SOC are supported at the national level by groups such as the USDA’s Real 

Property Council and Procurement Council, as well as various workgroups and employee green 

teams at the regional and field levels. USDA green teams are groups of employees, regardless 

of discipline or organizational level, specifically chartered by leadership to promote and foster 

sustainable operations that reduce a unit’s environmental footprint. The Department’s planned 

implementation initiatives will incorporate provisions from various USDA policies and plans 

including: USDA Strategic Plan; USDA DR-5500-001; USDA’s Environmental Management 

Systems; and USDA Travel Policy and Regulations. 

As the comprehensive GHG inventory is developed under G

3, it should inform the decision-making and implem

process under this goal, as well as under Goal 1. Also, it is 

anticipated that synergies will be achieved between this 

Goal 1, and Goal 3, due to the similar implementation 

strategies that USDA plans to employ in attaining these g

oal 

entation 

goal, 

oals. 

igure 3, provides a breakout of USDA GHG emissions by 

ee 

ope 3 

F

Scope 3 sub-category. Employee travel (specifically employ

commuting) is the largest contributor to Scope 3 GHG, 

accounting for 89% of USDA’s baseline emissions. 

Transmission and distribution losses (from purchased

electricity) account for 9 percent of USDA’s baseline Sc

GHG emissions while only 2 percent are attributable to 

contracted waste disposal. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 24 of 61 

Initiatives and Programs 

USDA will explore opportunities and develop strategies to reduce GHG emissions; specific 

initiatives and programs are described below:

Initiatives 

and Programs Description 

Increase in Telework 

Explore opportunities to increase utilization of telework, alternative 

work schedules, and regional telework centers, which will reduce GHG 

emissions from employee commuting and contracted wastewater 

treatment.

Increase Use of 

Telecommunications 

Explore opportunities to facilitate the increased utilization of conference 

calls, video-conferencing, webinars, and web-conferencing, which will 

reduce GHG emissions from business travel.

Reduction in Nonrenewable Electricity 

Purchases 

Rely on the implementation strategies and initiatives outlined on Goal 1 

of this Plan to reduce GHG emissions from T&D losses. GHG 

emissions from T&D losses track directly to the use of electricity 

generated “off-site” (a Scope 2 activity).

Tracking Solid Waste Develop methods to gather baseline data and reduce current nonhazardous waste for USDA-owned facilities. 

Communication and 

Networking 

Facilitate communication and networking across agency boundaries to 

share successful implementation strategies to reduce Scope 3 GHG 

emissions.

Training, Awareness, 

and Recognition 

Raise the level of participation and visibility of USDA in governmentwide energy, travel, and waste management initiatives while increasing 

the awareness of these initiatives within the Department. 

Continue to promote awareness, education, and training of energy, 

travel, and waste management initiatives through the USDA 

Sustainable Operations Website.

Monitoring and 

Accountability

Develop a scorecard to track how well its agencies and staff offices are 

executing the Department’s initiatives relating to this goal.

Goal 2 - Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing to develop targets, gather baseline data, and 

implement Scope 3 GHG reduction measures. Staffing for implementing these activities 

consists of full time employees for which Scope 3 GHG reduction is a collateral duty. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 25 of 61 

Goal 2 – Planning Table 

SCOPE 3 GHG TARGET Unit FY 

10 

FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

FY 

14 

FY 

15 

FY 

16 

FY 

17 

FY 

18 

FY 

19 

. 

FY 

20 

Overall Agency Scope 3 Reduction 

Target (reduced from FY08 base year) % 0.7 1.3 2.0 2.6 3.3 3.9 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.1 7.0 

Sub-Target for Federal Employee Travel % 0.5 0.9 1.4 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.2 3.6 4.1 4.6 5.0 

Sub-Target for Contracted Waste 

Disposal % 4.0 8.1 12.1 16.1 20.1 21.8 22.6 23.5 24.3 25.2 26.0 

Sub-Target for Transmission and 

Distribution Losses from Purchased 

Energy 

% 2.1 4.2 6.2 8.3 10.4 12.5 13.8 15.1 16.4 17.7 19.1 

Goal 2 – Agency Status 

USDA will continue to promote telework programs to the maximum extent possible without 

diminished employee performance. USDA DR-4080-811-002 sets forth the authority, policy, and 

responsibilities for managing teleworking programs within the Department. 

USDA is currently utilizing telecommunications to reduce GHG emissions. This method is not 

currently being tracked on a national scale; however USDA hopes to do so within the next two 

to three years. For the past five years, the USDA Forest Service has hosted an Annual 

Sustainable Operations Summit to share lessons learned, unearth barriers, and build a sense of 

community for sustainable operations champions. The summit has grown significantly in 

participation and influence. In 2009, the Forest Service used virtual technology to allow 

participation from close to 600 people, 500 of whom were scattered across 80 locations. By 

using virtual technology, the summit avoided producing 267 metric tons of CO2-equivalent 

greenhouse gases. 

 

USDA is improving its energy efficiency and renewable energy use performance; therefore, 

reducing associated transmission and distribution losses from electricity purchases. A summary 

of USDA’s recent energy intensity reduction and renewable energy use performance is included 

under Goal 1 of this plan. 

USDA has made significant progress is reducing waste at our Headquarters facilities and at 

various other facilities throughout USDA through the use of Environmental management 

systems and green teams. A summary of accomplishments in this area can be found under 

Goal 7 of this plan. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 26 of 61 

Goal 3 – Develop and Maintain Agency Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Goal 3 - Description 

USDA will develop and maintain a Department-wide comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory 

in accordance with EO 13514 and the Federal GHG Accounting and Reporting Guidance. The 

target date for USDA to complete its initial GHG inventory is December 31, 2010. 

Goal 3 – Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Deputy 

Assistant Secretary for Administration (who is also the USDA Senior Sustainability Officer), will 

be primarily responsible for overseeing the development and maintenance of the Department’s 

comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory. 

Goal 3 - Implementation Methods 

In as much as GHG emissions touch on nearly every aspect of USDA’s mission and operations, 

the Department will undertake an integrated, cross-competency approach for developing and 

managing its GHG inventory. USDA will integrate GHG reduction strategies into its strategic 

plans, policies, and regulations. 

USDA intends to develop and manage its GHG inventory in accordance with the Federal 

Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting Guidance and fully document its rationale, should it 

become necessary to deviate from calculation and data collection methodologies provided in the 

Guidance. Also, USDA will rely on updated guidance from CEQ and DOE as improvements in 

data collection and emission estimation becomes available and new Scope 3 categories are 

added to the Department’s inventory. 

Goal 3 - Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing to develop and maintain its Comprehensive 

Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Staffing for implementing these activities consists of full time 

employees, of which GHG inventory development is a collateral duty in some cases. 

Goal 3 – Agency Status 

In FY 2009, USDA agencies conducted GHG inventories for the Yellowstone Ecosystem 

(encompassing Yellowstone National Park and six adjacent National Forests) and the Yates 

Office Building in Washington, D.C. Additionally, in FY 2010, USDA agencies served as “Road 

Testers” for the Public Sector GHG Accounting Protocol, in which USDA agencies developed 

key components of a GHG inventory. USDA gained critical insight into practical implementation 

issues from these two initiatives, and will use the lessons learned to better inform the 

Department’s decision-making and actions in developing a comprehensive GHG inventory. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 27 of 61 

Goal 4 – High-Performance Sustainable Design/Green Buildings

Goal 4 - Description 

USDA will continue to use sustainable building and site practices to plan, design, construct, 

operate and maintain facilities. The Departmental agencies measure sustainable building 

performance by way of a third-party certification system, such as the U.S. Green Building 

Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system, where practicable. 

USDA is the steward for buildings with a total area of 58.7 million gross square feet (GSF). 

EO 13514 mandates that Federal agencies, as leaders in environmental stewardship, apply 

the Guiding Principles to all new building construction, and to major and minor renovations 

over 5,000 GSF. Within the USDA portfolio are 2,743 buildings to which this requirement 

applies, totaling 36.9 million GSF. In response to the EO 13514, USDA is analyzing and 

assessing these buildings for environmental sustainability. 

Goal 4 Objective 1 - Design for Net Zero Energy 

Beginning in FY 2020, design all new buildings, and those buildings undergoing major 

renovation, to achieve zero-net energy by FY 2030.4

Goal 4 Objective 2 - Follow the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High 

Performance and Sustainable Buildings (Guiding Principles) 

Construct all new buildings, and renovate, repair, and alter existing buildings in 

compliance with the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and 

Sustainable Buildings (Guiding Principles). Increase the number of existing buildings 

and building leases of 5,000 GSF or over that meet the Guiding Principles. Demonstrate 

annual progress toward 100-percent conformance with the Guiding Principles for the 

Department’s building inventory. 

Goal 4 Objective 3 - Optimize performance of the agency’s real property portfolio 

and use of non-renewable resources; reduce and minimize waste in a manner that 

is cost effective, and innovative

Examine opportunities to decrease environmental impacts through consolidation, colocation, reuse, and disposal of existing assets prior to adding new assets. 

Demonstrate the use of cost-effective, innovative building strategies to minimize energy, 

water, and materials consumption. 

Goal 4 Objective 4 - Preserve our Nation’s cultural resources and historic 

properties 

Ensure the use of best practices and technologies in rehabilitating historic properties. 

Goal 4 – Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer (SSO), is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing and Electronic Stewardship. The 

                                                           

4

 EO 13514 imposes this requirement beginning in FY 2020. USDA is not implementing this requirement sooner 

because in many cases the technology to achieve zero-net energy does not currently exist or is not practicable for the 

types of buildings USDA is likely to need. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 28 of 61 

Sustainable Buildings Workgroup, a subgroup of the Facilities Workgroup, leads this effort by 

recommending sustainability guidance, direction, and policy, to the SOC. 

Goal 4 - Implementation Methods

The Department implements sustainable building technical and assessment initiatives and 

provisions of various USDA policies and plans including the annual USDA Sustainable Building 

Implementation Plan, DR-5500-001, the USDA Utilities Metering Guidance, and the USDA 

Renewable Energy Guidance. (See Appendix 2 for USDA agency-specific policy and 

implementation strategies.) 

Achieving the High-Performance Sustainable Design/Green Buildings goal helps the 

Department to achieve objectives of Goals 1, 2, and 6, such as reaching the GHG reduction 

target, and achieving water and energy conservation objectives. 

USDA is currently assessing its inventory of buildings and developing an action plan for 

achieving sustainability in 15 percent of our facilities as required by EO 13514. Based on our 

previous accomplishments and recognizing that some of our largest buildings are the biggest 

consumers of energy, we believe achieving sustainability for 15 percent of our buildings based 

on square footage is not only significant but also achievable by 2015. 

It is unlikely, however, that USDA will be able to achieve sustainability in 15 percent of the 

number of buildings over 5,000 square feet, which is the metric CEQ has adopted, by 2015. At 

this time, the Department lacks sufficient information to develop a schedule for achieving the 15 

percent sustainability target because we have not yet completed sustainability assessments for 

all of our existing buildings over 5,000 square feet. USDA hopes to complete its sustainability 

assessments for existing buildings during FY 2011. In FY 2011, USDA will identify buildings 

which are closest to being considered sustainable and therefore represent “targets of 

opportunity” to further achievement of our sustainable buildings goal. USDA will also develop 

an initial baseline projection of what percentage of buildings will be sustainable by 2015. In FY 

2012, USDA will be better able to forecast compliance with the 15 percent requirement. Figure 

4 below illustrates this process. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 29 of 61 

The following table outlines USDA initiatives and programs that will contribute to achieving the 

sustainability objectives of EO 13514. 

 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Evaluate and 

Prioritize 

Enhance the existing USDA building survey to assess the extent to which 

these buildings meet the Guiding Principles

Develop tools to assist and guide agencies in prioritizing buildings within 

existing inventories, to address sustainability in design and construction 

projects

Certification 

Use a third-party sustainable building certification system such as the U.S. 

Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) LEED system, to measure sustainability 

in constructing new buildings, where practicable 

Ensure contracts require Architectural and Engineering firms to design 

buildings to achieve at least a LEED-Silver rating 

Require all new design and construction, at a minimum, owned buildings 

meet the Guiding Principles, and leased buildings over 10,000 GSF meet the 

criteria of the USGBC’s LEED Silver Certification, where practicable 

Procure Green 

Building 

Products, 

Materials, and 

Systems 

Pursue green procurement methods and use green contract language in 

leasing, constructing, repairing, altering, and operating and maintaining 

facilities 

Incorporate green materials, including biobased products, and systems into 

technical construction specifications to ensure that buildings meet the 

Guiding Principles, and, where practicable, meet the USGBC’s LEED Silver 

Certification criteria 

Green Leasing 

Standards 

Further develop a USDA leasing standard which, for all new leasing actions, 

follows the GSA Solicitation for Offers (SFO), and requires projects of 10,000 

rentable square feet and above to earn the Energy Star label and the 

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – New Construction (LEEDNC) Silver criteria 

Follow the GSA SFO and require that all leasing build-outs meet the Guiding 

Principles and the USGBC’s LEED for Commercial Interiors, Certified criteria 

Encourage all lease offerors, through award factors and evaluation criteria, to 

use Energy Saving Performance Contracts (ESPCs) or utility agreements to 

achieve, maintain, and/ or exceed the ENERGY STAR Benchmark Score of 

75, and to practice Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy methods in 

design and construction, and facility operation 

Communication 

and Networking 

Enhance the existing USDA Sustainable Buildings SharePoint site. The 

current site provides a foundation to share information and to raise 

awareness of sustainable building accomplishments within the Department, 

and to recognize agency achievements in sustainable building design, 

construction, and operation 

Models and 

Pilots 

Expand upon net-zero energy models for buildings, and the example the 

Forest Service’s model provides 

Form research and interest groups to pilot projects in sustainable sites/ 

sustainable land management, alternative energy, and water conservation 

and Low Impact Development (LID) technologies 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 30 of 61 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Conserve 

Resources 

Implement energy, water, and natural resource conservation activities 

Utilize Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC’s) to complete energy 

and water conservation projects and to install renewable energy systems 

Meter Building 

Utilities 

Implement the USDA Building Electric Metering Plan, and install advanced 

electricity meters whenever life-cycle cost effective 

Utilize metering technologies to obtain the information needed to meet 

Departmental energy goals, save money, and improve building operations 

Install electric meters by 2012 and natural gas/ steam meters by 2016 

Training, 

Awareness, and 

Recognition 

Share information and raise awareness of sustainable building practices by 

creating training presentations, internet-based tools, and tools to inspire 

sustainable operations practices 

Hold discussion groups with the Sustainable Buildings Sub-workgroup and 

with the Facilities Workgroup 

Develop methods to recognize and reward positive sustainable building 

performance 

Monitoring and 

Accountability 

Develop performance standards of existing buildings including: offices, 

laboratories, farm buildings, and buildings that serve national forests 

Refine and enhance internal real property accounting systems to track and 

measure sustainability characteristics 

Further develop and maintain a reporting system for USDA agencies to 

report their current sustainable buildings status 

Goal 4 – Positions

The Department has one dedicated sustainable buildings staff member. Within each USDA 

agency, sustainable buildings duties are collateral to the position’s engineering or program 

management duties. Our dedicated staff member works with USDA agency staff to train them 

on sustainable buildings requirements and assessment methodologies and posts information on 

a USDA Sustainable Buildings Microsoft® SharePoint website. 

Goal 4 - Planning table 

SUSTAINABLE 

PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS Unit FY 

10 

FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

FY 

14 

FY 

15 

Owned Facilities Targets % 5.0 TBD5 TBD TBD TBD TBD 

Leased Facilities Targets % 5.0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

Total Facilities Targets (by number of 

buildings) % 5.0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

Goal 4 – Agency Status

As of FY 2009, about 3 percent of all buildings over 5,000 GSF met the USDA sustainability 

criteria. Over the next two years agencies will continue conducting assessments. USDA 

agencies will use assessment results to identify priorities for sustainability which will form the 

basis for USDA’s future sustainability goal. 

Specific agency example of their efforts includes: 

                                                           

5

 See text for a description of why there are not forecasted targets. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 31 of 61 

3⁄4 The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Engineering Office is surveying all 

of the sustainable facilities over 5,000 GSF and implementing green initiatives such as 

energy and water conservation projects to enhance sustainability. 

3⁄4 The APHIS Realty Business Office is surveying APHIS, AMS, and GIPSA sustainable 

buildings with leases over 5,000 square feet. 

3⁄4 The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) assesses existing building sustainability 

annually, following similar criteria to that of LEED-EB v2.0; ARS currently has six percent 

of existing buildings sustainable. This assessment concentrates on locating and 

improving sustainable facilities. The ARS identifies agency-wide sustainability practices, 

and implements them in a cost effective, affordable manner. 

3⁄4 The Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy 

Lab are developing a net-zero energy model for buildings, and partnering with EPA on 

what net-zero waste means, plus establishing an implementation model for a ranger 

district. 

3⁄4 The Forest Service’s Sustainable Operations Western Collective is creating and 

developing office-level tools and educational materials for sustainable operations 

practices across five regions and one research station. 

3⁄4 The Forest Service uses a micro-grant program to implement energy, water, and 

resource conservation activities, and ESPC’s to complete energy and water 

conservation projects and to install renewable energy systems. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 32 of 61 

Goal 5 – Regional and Local Planning

Goal 5 - Description 

Goal 5 Objective 1 - Partnerships 

Ensure coordination and partnerships with states, local governments, Federal agencies, 

communities, regions, and Native American tribes, whose actions contribute to the 

quality and integrity of the environment, atmosphere, land, and watersheds. These 

actions include developing energy and transportation infrastructure within jurisdictions. 

Goal 5 Objective 2 - Location 

Incorporate sustainable building location into policy and planning for new Federal 

facilities and leases (Goal 4 Objective 2 - Sustainable Buildings and Guiding Principles 

addresses locating buildings sustainably.) 

Goal 5 Objective 3 - NEPA 

Ensure that all environmental impact statements and environmental assessments 

required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for proposed new or 

expanded Federal facilities identify and analyze impacts associated with energy usage 

and alternative energy sources. 

Goal 5 - Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), chaired by the USDA Senior Sustainability 

Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 13514. There are 

five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental Management, 

Transportation, Facilities, Green purchasing and Electronic Stewardship workgroup. The SOC 

group that presently leads this goal is the Facilities Workgroup. 

Goal 5 - Implementation Methods 

USDA currently conducts environmental impact statements and environmental assessments as 

required under NEPA. 

The USDA Strategic Plan outlines how USDA works with rural communities to create prosperity 

and ensure lands are conserved, restored, and made more resilient to climate change, while 

enhancing our water resources. The USDA Strategic Plan places emphasis on the use of 

partnerships with individuals, communities, and State, tribal and local governments in almost 

every aspect of USDA’s operations. 

Key agencies and offices involved with sustainability include: 

The USDA Sustainable Development Office 

The Sustainable Development Office, operating within the Office of the Chief Economist 

(OCE), advances the principles and goals of sustainable development through partnerships, 

collaboration, and outreach. Their work focuses on sustainable agriculture, sustainable 

forests, and sustainable communities. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 33 of 61 

Climate Change Program Office 

The Climate Change Program Office operates within OCE, functioning as the coordinator of 

agriculture, rural and forestry-related global change program and policy issues which face 

USDA. This Office also serves as USDA's focal point for climate change issues. 

USDA Sustainable Operations Council 

The Sustainable Operations Council is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and 

goals of EO 13514. The Council works with respective USDA agencies to implement policy, 

guidance, and direction to implement Departmental sustainable practices. 

USDA Agency Offices/Programs 

USDA agencies are involved in numerous sustainability efforts that involve coordination and 

partnerships dealing with sustainable operations and development. USDA’s sustainable 

programs and activities website identifies sustainable programs and activities 

(http://www.usda.gov/oce/sustainable/). 

The SOC promotes regional and local planning throughout USDA, and enhances public 

education and awareness of the many facets of USDA’s role with sustainability by: 

3⁄4 Providing opportunities during Council meetings for USDA agencies to showcase their 

successes 

3⁄4 Publishing projects or initiatives on our sustainable operations website 

(http://www.greening.usda.gov) or utilizing other forms of networking to share success 

stories 

3⁄4 Developing a system to recognize leaders in sustainability.

Goal 5 - Positions 

This goal results in accomplishments that achieve multiple sustainability goals, therefore this 

goal does not lend itself to separate tracking; refer to staffing as outlined under the other 

sustainable goals. 

Goal 5 - Agency Status 

USDA is involved in numerous innovative initiatives, projects, practices and partnerships that 

promote and achieve sustainability, including the following examples: 

Greater Yellowstone Greenhouse Gas Inventory 

The Forest Service was the first Federal land management agency to join the Environmental 

Protection Agency Climate Leaders program. The Forest Service collaborated with the National 

Park and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to set comprehensive emission reduction goals for the 

18 million-acre Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. As part of this affiliation, the Forest Service 

inventoried greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at seven locations, including within the Greater 

Yellowstone Area (GYA) National Forests. This inventory is one of many actions the Forest 

Service takes to reduce its environmental footprint while utilizing the power of partnerships to 

benefit local communities. The inventory was completed in the spring of 2009. The National 

Renewable Energy Lab consolidated this inventory with GYA GHG inventories from the other 

agencies. The consolidated GHG inventory accounts for anthropogenic activities on all Federal 

lands in the GYA. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 34 of 61 

The USDA and Department of the Navy Memorandum of Understanding 

A January 21, 2010 Memorandum of Understanding, signed between the USDA and the 

Department of the Navy, encourages the development of advanced biofuels and other 

renewable energy systems. The Departments work together to support President Obama's 

initiative to make the United States a global leader in developing a renewable energy economy, 

reducing energy consumption derived from fossil fuels, and increasing energy production from 

renewable energy sources. 

Chesapeake Bay Conservation Partnership Projects 

As of April 19, 2010, USDA is accelerating voluntary efforts toward a healthy and restored 

Chesapeake Bay, through its Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), a USDA 

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) initiative using existing conservation 

programs. CCPI projects improve water quality in six states by working with landowners and 

operators to reduce sediments and nutrients, increase carbon sequestration, and contribute to a 

healthy Chesapeake Bay. 

USDA plans at least $5 million in financial assistance from two programs, the Environmental 

Quality Incentives Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program, to carry out CCPI in the 

Chesapeake Bay Watershed in FY 2010. This funding is available for single-state and multistate partnership projects that address natural resource concerns within six Chesapeake Bay 

Watershed states: New York, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

Approximately $500,000 of the total funding is set aside for multi-state projects. 

Mississippi River Basin Conservation Partnership Project 

To improve the health of the Mississippi River Basin, including water quality and wildlife habitat, 

NRCS is developing the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI). Through 

this new Initiative, NRCS and its partners help producers in selected watersheds in the 

Mississippi River Basin to voluntarily implement conservation practices that avoid, control, and 

trap nutrient runoff; improve wildlife habitat; and maintain agricultural productivity. MRBI 

conserves the resources of 41 watersheds in 12 states, through existing NRCS programs and 

initiatives. The USDA cooperates with agricultural producers, partner organizations, and 

Federal, State, and local agencies, to improve the watersheds and quality of life for those 

millions living in the Mississippi River Basin. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 35 of 61 

GOAL 6 - Water Use Efficiency and Management

Goal 6 - Description6

 

USDA will promote water conservation through identification of water inefficiencies and 

implementation of water conservation projects. 

Goal 6 Objective 1 - Reduce Potable Water Use 

Institute practices to reduce potable water use intensity by at least 26 percent by FY 

2020, relative to USDA’s FY 2007 baseline, as required by EO 13514. 

Goal 6 Objective 2 – Reduce landscaping and agricultural water use 

Seek opportunities to reduce agricultural and landscaping water use by 20 percent by 

FY 2020, relative to USDA’s FY 2010 baseline, as required by EO 13514. 

Goal 6 Objective 3 – Stormwater design 

Use technically feasible stormwater control practices, in development or re development, 

that use or mimic natural hydrologic processes, to manage the temperature, rate, 

volume and duration of stormwater discharge; to achieve the specific performance 

objectives of EISA Section 438, as well as the objectives prescribed by EPA in 

Stormwater Guidance for Federal Facilities. 

In FY 2007, USDA’s potable water use intensity was 37.4 gallons per gross square 

foot. Our target potable water use intensity for FY 2020 is 28 gallons per gross 

square foot. The FY 2020 reduction target assumes that USDA will meet EO 13423 

16 percent water use intensity reduction requirement by the end of FY 2015; while 

achieving an additional 2 percent reduction in water use intensity per year from 

FY2016 to FY2020. It also assumes that USDA’s FY 2008 facilities gross square 

footage (58,865,300) will be relatively steady through FY 2020. 

Goal 6 – Leadership

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green purchasing and Electronic Stewardship 

workgroup. The Facilities Workgroup serves as the key point of contact for this goal. 

Goal 6 - Implementation methods 

USDA will rely on the organizational structure and resources of its Sustainable Operations 

Council (SOC) to implement measures to facilitate compliance with Executive Order EO 13514. 

The efforts of the SOC are supported at the national level by groups such as the USDA’s Asset 

Management Council and Procurement Council; as well as, various workgroups and employee 

green teams at the regional and field levels. USDA will continue to integrate its strategic plans 

and policies with the services provided by FEMP to create effective management tools and 

                                                           

6

 The goals described below exclude water that the Forest Service uses to fight forest fires. Fire fighting is 

considered an emergency response and may be exempted from EO 13514 water conservation requirements. 

Section 18 (c) (i) states: The head of an agency may exempt law enforcement, protective, emergency response, or 

military tactical vehicle fleets of that agency from the provisions of this order, other than this subsection and section 

20. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 36 of 61 

initiatives to achieve its Water Use Efficiency and Management Targets by FY 2020. The 

Department’s planned implementation initiatives will incorporate provisions from various USDA 

policies and plans including: DR-5500-001; the USDA Utilities Metering Guidance; and USDA’s 

Environmental Management Systems. 

Examples of management tools/strategies that USDA plans to use to achieve this goal include 

DOE sponsored Energy Savings Performance Contracts and Utility Energy Service Contracts; 

awards programs; performance evaluations; training; metering and Life Cycle Cost Analysis. 

Other tools/strategies include utilizing internal USDA Agency scorecards, and corporate data 

management systems. 

Specific initiatives USDA will employ entail increasing the use of water efficient products; 

implementing Water best management practices (BMPs); performing facility water audits; 

designing facilities to protect and preserve water resources, as well as, maintaining or restoring 

pre-development hydrology. 

Achieving this goal should help the Department better comply with the High Performance and 

Sustainable Buildings Guiding Principles in Goal 4. Also, synergies should be achieved between 

this goal and Goal 1, due to the similar implementation strategies that USDA plans to employ in 

attaining these respective goals. 

The following table outlines USDA initiatives and programs that will contribute to achieving the 

sustainability objectives of EO 13514. 

 

Initiatives 

and Programs Description 

Life-Cycle Cost 

Analysis 

Use life-cycle cost methodologies and value engineering to 

identify/implement life-cycle cost-effective opportunities to improve water 

efficiency 

Facility Water 

Audits and 

Efficiency 

Improvements 

Conduct water audits of EISA Section 432 covered facilities to the greatest 

extent possible, subject to available funding. As evaluations are completed, 

USDA will continue to identify and implement projects that improve water 

use efficiency 

Renovation projects will include a water use analysis during the conceptual 

phase to identify potential opportunities. New water conservation 

technologies will be considered in appropriate repair and construction 

projects 

Metering 

Install advanced meters, whenever life-cycle cost effective. By utilizing 

advanced metering technologies, USDA will obtain the information needed 

to meet water conservation goals, save money, and improve the 

Department’s building operations 

Alternative 

Financing 

Mechanisms 

Promote ESPCs and UESCs, when life-cycle cost effective, to help finance 

water efficiency projects. USDA agencies will review completed audit 

reports and identify sites with potential for ESPC and/or UESC projects. 

USDA anticipates that it will continue to receive annual benefits in reduced 

water use from ESPCs and UESCs awarded in previous fiscal years 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 37 of 61 

Initiatives 

and Programs Description 

Green 

Infrastructure/Low 

Impact Design 

Use Green Infrastructure/Low Impact Design (GI/LID) management 

practices to maintain or restore the on-site pre-development hydrology. 

These practices mimic the natural hydrologic cycle processes of infiltration, 

evapotranspiration, and re-use, and enable local re-use of precipitation. 

The Department uses these practices at the site, neighborhood, or regional 

scale, to allow precipitation to infiltrate, recharge groundwater, and release 

into the atmosphere 

Stormwater 

Management 

Follow design, construction, and maintenance stormwater management 

practices that either: 1) manage rainfall onsite, and prevent the off-site 

discharge of the precipitation from all rainfall events less than or equal to 

the 95th percentile rainfall event, or; 2) preserve the pre-development runoff 

conditions following construction, determined by a site-specific hydrologic 

analysis 

Training, 

Awareness, and 

Recognition 

Raise the level of participation and visibility of USDA in government-wide 

water management initiatives while increasing the awareness of these 

initiatives within the Department. Promote awareness, education, and 

training of water use requirements through the USDA Sustainable 

Operations Website 

Provide timely and topical water management training and materials to its 

employees to keep up awareness 

Encourage attendance in training programs and workshops provided by the 

Federal Energy Management program, private and public institutions, and 

other Federal agencies 

Sponsor GovEnergy 2010, and encourage employee participation in this 

annual conference 

Promote employee commitment to improving water efficiency through 

awards and recognition programs 

Participate in the Annual Federal Energy and Water Management Awards 

program and the “You Have the Power” recognition program; submit FY 

2010 nominations for these award programs to recognize outstanding water 

use efficiency and management 

Encourage and support USDA agency-specific employee award and 

recognition programs that cover a broad range of categories, including 

water use efficiency and conservation 

Monitoring and 

Accountability 

Continue to incorporate water management responsibilities as an element 

in position descriptions and performance evaluation standards of its 

personnel (e.g., facility managers, area and location engineers, building 

engineers, maintenance mechanics, energy managers, engineering project 

managers, and procurement personnel) considered critical to the 

implementation of this goal 

Develop a scorecard to track how well its agencies and staff offices are 

executing the Department’s initiatives relating to this goal 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 38 of 61 

Goal 6 - Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing to support the development and 

implementation of the Department’s Water Use Efficiency and Management initiatives. A 

significant amount of this work is also provided by employees as a collateral duty. 

Goal 6 - Planning table

WATER USE EFFICIENCY 

AND MANAGEMENT

Unit FY 

10 

FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

FY 

14 

FY 

15 

FY 

16 

FY 

17 

FY 

18 

FY 

19 

FY 

20 

Potable Water Reduction Targets 

(gal/SF reduced from FY07 base 

year) 

% 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 

Planned Potable Water Reduction 

(gal/SF reduced from FY07 base 

year) 

% 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 

Industrial, Landscaping, and 

Agricultural Water Reduction 

Targets (gal reduced from FY10 

base year) 

% - 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 

Planned Industrial, Landscaping, 

and Agricultural Water Reduction 

(gal reduced from FY10 base year) 

% - 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 

Goal 6 – Agency Status 

USDA has made significant progress in recent years in improving its water use efficiency and 

management performance. 

In FY 2009 and FY 2010, USDA achieved statutory goals and policy requirements relating to 

water use intensity reduction. 

A summary of USDA’s recent performance and initiatives are provided below: 

3⁄4 USDA used an estimated 1,737 million gallons of water in its buildings during FY 2009 at 

a cost of $8.1 million. The FY 2009 consumption level translates to 29.7 gallons per 

GSF, which represents a 20.5 percent reduction compared to the FY 2007 baseline 

amount of 37.4 gallons per GSF. USDA exceeded the EO 13423 reduction goal for FY 

2009 of 4 percent. 

3⁄4 USDA and its agencies executed a wide variety of new and ongoing water conserving 

practices during FY 2009, including installing water meters as part of new construction 

projects; installing low-flow water devices; utilizing rain sensors and native plant species 

for landscaping. USDA also employed techniques such as leak detection and historical 

data analysis throughout the Department. 

3⁄4 USDA continued to operate its Sustainable Landscape Partnership to address 

sustainable landscaping at facilities within the National Capital Region. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA conducted energy and water evaluations for at least 25 percent of its 

covered facilities in accordance with EISA Section 432. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 39 of 61 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, USDA ARS used $176 million in ARRA funds to address specific critical 

deferred maintenance needs at ARS research facilities. Completion of this work will, in 

many cases, result in improved energy and water efficiency and reduction in operation 

and maintenance costs. The list of projects includes work at 36 locations in 28 states 

and the District of Columbia. 

3⁄4 USDA received the 2009 Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy 

Management for its performance in water use management. 

3⁄4 USDA maintained Green rating for status and progress on OMB Energy/Water 

Management Scorecard. 

Provided below is a summary of USDA’s planned initiatives for FY 2010 and beyond: 

3⁄4 Establish USDA’s FY 2010 baseline for industrial, landscaping, and agricultural water 

use 

3⁄4 Perform energy and water evaluations for at least 25 percent of USDA covered facilities 

in accordance with EISA Section 432 requirements 

3⁄4 USDA agencies will continue to pursue ESPC opportunities. Specifically, agencies will 

review data from EISA Section 432 energy evaluations to determine if it is cost effective 

to employ the use of ESPCs or UESCs as a follow-up to the site evaluations 

3⁄4 Update USDA Metering Plan and Guidance to include water consumption; and continue 

installations of advanced metering at USDA facilities 

3⁄4 Update USDA Water Conservation Guidance to incorporate provision contained in EO 

13514 

3⁄4 Develop USDA Agency Scorecards for Water Use Management and track agencies’ 

progress 

3⁄4 Participate in FEMP First Thursday Seminars 

3⁄4 Develop better collection methodologies for capturing water consumption and costs 

data. USDA lacks a Department-wide system for tracking water use, and has to rely on 

cost-based estimates (from water, trash, and other utilities object class accounting 

codes) for reporting 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 40 of 61 

GOAL 7 - Pollution Prevention and Waste Elimination

Goal 7 - Description 

USDA will pursue integrated waste management strategies that include reducing, reusing and 

recycling, with emphasis on green purchasing. 

Goal 7 Objective 1 – Minimize the generation of non-hazardous waste through 

waste diversion and recycling 

3⁄4 Divert 55 percent of non-hazardous solid waste in all Government-owned, USDAoccupied buildings by FY 2015, using a baseline of FY 2005. 

3⁄4 Divert 50 percent of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris by FY 2015 in 

Government-owned, USDA-occupied facilities. 

3⁄4 Pursue opportunities to increase recycling and divert compostable and organic 

materials. 

(Note: USDA will address diversion in buildings USDA leases after receiving 

guidance from CEQ on these facilities.) 

Goal 7 Objective 2 – Minimize the purchase and use of hazardous chemicals and 

materials. Where hazardous materials are necessary, manage these materials 

according to regulations to minimize the risks associated with their use. 

3⁄4 Implement pollution prevention practices through source reduction and green 

purchasing. 

3⁄4 Ensure that hazardous materials are managed and disposed of in accordance with 

all applicable regulations 

3⁄4 Implement integrated pest management and landscape management practices to 

reduce and eliminate the use of toxic and hazardous chemicals and materials 

Goal 7 - Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing and Electronic Stewardship 

Workgroups. Several workgroups contribute to this goal including Green Purchasing, Facilities, 

and Environmental Management. The Facilities Workgroup is the key point of contact for the 

solid waste diversion goals. 

Goal 7 - Implementation Methods 

USDA will rely on the organizational structure and resources of its Sustainable Operations 

Council (SOC) to implement measures to facilitate compliance with Executive Order EO 13514. 

The efforts of the SOC are supported at the national level by the workgroups described above; 

as well as various employee-driven Green Teams and Agency-related Environmental 

Management teams at the National, Regional and Field levels which are instrumental in 

pollution prevention and waste reduction. Since waste generation cuts across multiple 

sustainability goals, the Department’s planned implementation initiatives incorporate provisions 

from various USDA policies and plans including: DM-5600; the Green Purchasing Affirmative 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 41 of 61 

Procurement Plan (GPAPP), the Sustainable Buildings Implementation Plan, Electronic 

Stewardship Plan, and Agency-specific Environmental Management Systems. 

USDA has achieved significant successes, not only at our headquarters (HQ) facilities but 

throughout USDA. USDA agencies rely heavily on voluntary efforts of employees to achieve 

waste reduction successes; therefore, the level at which this information is tracked varies 

significantly. Although there are complete records for HQ facilities, such records are generally 

not available throughout USDA. USDA has already achieved E.O. 13514’s waste diversion 

targets for our headquarters operations. Before USDA can commit to diversion targets outside 

of Washington, DC, however, we must first establish a baseline that takes into account our 

agencies’ information. Figure 5, below, illustrates a timeline for collecting data, establishing a 

baseline, and implementing practices towards achievement of a 50% diversion target by 2015. 

The following table outlines USDA initiatives and programs that will contribute to achieving the 

sustainability objectives of EO 13514. 

 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Non-hazardous 

Waste Reduction 

Develop an implementation plan for tracking and reporting non-hazardous 

waste reductions to set specific targets to meet overall sustainability goals 

as outlined in EO 13514. 

Update Departmental policy to include USDA sustainability reduction 

targets. 

Provide forums to share best management practices throughout USDA to 

facilitate waste reduction progress. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 42 of 61 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Divert C&D

Track construction and demolition (C&D) waste diversion in new building 

construction, major renovations, and building modernizations utilizing data 

tracking methods under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

Design (LEED) certification. Those projects that seek LEED certification will 

automatically pursue at least 50 percent C&D waste diversion; those 

projects that aren’t LEED-registered will seek 40 percent diversion in FY 

2011 and 50 percent by FY 2012, following the best practices of LEEDregistered. 

Update Departmental policy to include USDA sustainability reduction 

targets. 

Chemical and 

Hazardous 

Materials 

Reduction 

Implement strategies outlined under Goal 8 (Sustainable Acquisition) to 

minimize the purchase and use of chemicals and hazardous substances. 

Update Departmental policy to focus on pollution prevention through source 

reduction and product substitution. 

Integrated Pest 

Management 

Practices 

Increase awareness of integrated pest management practices through the 

Beneficial Landscaping Partnership, of which the “People’s Garden” is a 

part. The Partnership’s mission is to create a visually inspiring USDA 

headquarters landscape that showcases environmentally responsible 

practices, engages and educates the public, provides social benefits for 

employees, and serves as a sustainable site planning model for public 

institutions in the region and throughout the Department. 

Compliance 

Utilize environmental management systems (EMS) to ensure compliance 

with environmental regulations. 

Ensure compliance with respect to Emergency Planning and Community 

Right-to-Know Act reporting through annual verification reporting. 

Training, 

Awareness, and 

Recognition 

Conduct awareness and outreach efforts, including improved container 

signage, janitorial staff training, recycling logistics, and booth displays 

during public events. 

Continue to promote awareness, education, and training for pollution 

prevention and waste management initiatives through the USDA 

Sustainable Operations Website. 

Develop new employee orientation training for HQ facilities, including 

information about sustainable practices. 

Coordinate Departmental nominations for the White House Closing the 

Circle awards. 

Monitoring and 

Accountability 

Develop a methodology and baseline for tracking pollution prevention and 

waste reduction efforts. 

Utilize Green Teams and EMS teams to track and report accomplishments. 

Goal 7 - Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing to develop targets, gather baseline data, and 

implement waste reduction and recycling measures. Staffing for all phases of recycling and 

waste reduction consists of full time employees for which waste management is a collateral 

duty. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 43 of 61 

Goal 7 - Planning Table

POLLUTION PREVENTION 

AND WASTE ELIMINATION Unit FY 10 FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

FY 

14 

FY 

15 

HQ Non-Hazardous Solid Waste 

Diversion Targets (non C&D) % 70% 73% 75% 76% 78% 80% 

Non-HQ Non-Hazardous Solid 

Waste Diversion Targets (non 

C&D) 

% TBD7 TBD TBD TBD TBD 55 

C&D Material and Debris Diversion 

Targets % TBD TBD 50 50 50 50 

Goal 7 – Agency Status 

3⁄4 By the end of FY 2009, USDA HQ Complex reduced waste by 22 percent and achieved 

a 42 percent recycling rate for a total waste diversion rate of 64 percent. Practices 

include placing additional recycling containers inside and outside the buildings, 

composting food trays and food scraps, and increasing used printer cartridges collection. 

Waste reduction practices HQ implemented include removing subscribers from mailing 

lists, conducting more business electronically, and reusing more personal property. 

3⁄4 Using ARRA funds, USDA HQ restarted building modernization in FY 2009 in the South 

Building, which, at 1.5 million square feet, is the largest building in the USDA inventory. 

One of the requirements in the modernization specification is to recycle 50 percent of 

C&D debris. USDA is documenting this requirement as part of the LEED process. 

3⁄4 New Forest Service ranger stations and administrative buildings have applied for, or 

achieved, LEED certification, recycling up to 75 percent of C&D debris. 

3⁄4 In FY 2009, OFEE awarded USDA HQ an Honorable Mention in the “Recycling” 

category of the Closing the Circle awards program. 

3⁄4 USDA is currently updating our Departmental Manual (DM) 5600 to emphasize pollution 

prevention through source reduction and product substitution. 

3⁄4 USDA is showcasing integrated pest management techniques through the “People’s 

Garden” (refer to Goal 10 for more information). 

 

                                                           

7 See text for a description of why there are not forecasted targets.
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 44 of 61 

GOAL 8 - Sustainable Acquisition

Goal 8 - Description 

USDA will implement sustainable acquisition practices for recycled content, energy efficient, biobased, and environmentally preferable products and services. 

Goal 8 Objective 1 – Pursue sustainable contracts 

USDA intends to reach 95 percent compliance with acquisition of all six categories of 

green products: energy efficient (ENERGY STAR-qualified, FEMP-designated, and low 

standby power), water efficient, environmentally preferable (not including EPEATregistered), biobased, recycled content, and non-ozone depleting during the FY 2015 to 

2020 timeframe as described below. 

Goal 8 Objective 2 – Initiate pilot program for janitorial contracts 

Starting October 2010, USDA plans to initiate a pilot program to require all USDA 

contracts to contain biobased language. The Agricultural Research Service, USDA’s 

second largest agency, has already been mandated that all of its janitorial contracts 

contain biobased language. By the end of FY 2011, USDA project 95 percent 

compliance for the Department. In FY 2012, USDA plans to extend this requirement to 

all construction and operations and maintenance contracts.

Goal 8 - Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing, and Electronic Stewardship. The 

Green Purchasing Workgroup serves as the key point of contact for day-to-day implementation 

of the Sustainable Acquisition goal. 

In April 2010, the Secretary of Agriculture transmitted letters to all Cabinet Members 

emphasizing the importance of the procurement of biobased products and requesting that all 

Departments work with their procurement and acquisition officials to identify contracts that could 

incorporate biobased products. USDA has received six responses back to date and will actively 

work with those departments in adding biobased products and green products to their 

operations. 

In 2007, USDA began working with the U.S. House of Representatives’ “Green the Capitol” 

initiative–advising on the purchase of biobased food service products, and assisting the House 

with initiation of food service waste composting. Today, House cafeterias have emerged as 

models of sustainability for other Federal agencies. The House has eliminated Styrofoam and 

plastic food containers, and has replaced foodservice cutlery and packaging with biobased 

products. The composting effort has resulted in the diversion of more than 650 tons of compost 

to the composting facility. USDA anticipates further implementation of sustainable cafeteria 

best practices (product sourcing, cafeteria operations, and end-of-life material management) 

across Federal foodservice facilities. These efforts will be made more scalable through the July 

2010 initiation of an Office of the Federal Environmental Executive Sustainable Acquisition and 

Materials Management green cafeteria/food waste composting workgroup, on which USDA 

plays a leadership role. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 45 of 61 

pplicable 

ther 

Goal 8 - Implementation Methods 

As the Federal organization with lead responsibility for 

implementing the BioPreferred program, USDA strives to 

lead by example in achieving E.O. 13514’s sustainable 

acquisition goals for biobased products. Consequently, the 

Department has developed specific data elements to track 

procurement of biobased products using our Integrated 

Acquisition System (IAS). As indicated in Figure 6, USDA 

has achieved relatively high compliance with biobased 

product-related sustainable acquisition over the past few 

years. USDA plans to increase the percentage of a

procurements with biobased product purchases to 91 

percent in FY 2011 and 95% in FY 2012. 

Although USDA has achieved significant successes in the 

biobased product area, we nevertheless face significant 

challenges in tracking green acquisitions in most of the o

procurement categories. Two of our most significant 

challenges are measurement and the need to change 

behavior in the procurement community. Existing federal 

procurement tracking systems, such as the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), 

GSAAdvantage!, and SmartCard, do not align with designated sustainability categories. As a 

result, USDA selects a sample of its largest contracts and conducts surveys of those contracts 

to prepare its annual Sustainable Acquisition Survey reports to CEQ and OMB. This method 

does not yield accurate reporting data; however it represents the best we can do given the 

limitations of existing procurement tracking systems. 

The awareness of the USDA procurement community regarding sustainable acquisition varies 

widely among individuals. USDA plans to conduct training and raise awareness among the 

procurement community as described in the implementation initiatives and programs table 

below. Behavioral economics teaches us to expect that training and awareness efforts will take 

time because human behaviors are not easily changed. 

As a result of these two challenges, USDA plans to achieve the goal of having 95 percent of 

contracts sustainable, but that achievement will take longer than EO 13514 contemplates. In 

the short term, the Department will continue to rely on contract surveys to measure 

sustainability. USDA will use the survey mechanism to establish an interim sustainability 

baseline and schedule for achieving the 95 percent goal, while we begin to modify our 

Integrated Acquisition System (IAS) to include the data elements required to measure all six 

categories of sustainable acquisition. USDA will also continue training and awareness activities 

during this period. In the absence of a baseline and schedule, we cannot forecast a specific 

time to achieve the 95 percent goal. Consequently our planning table has gaps in most cells. 

Figure 7 on the following page outlines the process for achieving the 95 percent goal. As the 

figure indicates, we expect to achieve 75 percent contract sustainability by FY 2012 as 

measured by contract survey. Full compliance with the 95 percent goal is not forecast prior to 

FY 2015. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 46 of 61 

Figure 7

Implementation Plan and Schedule for Attaining E.O. 13514 sustainable Acquisition Goal at USDA 

Revise 

Sustainable 

Acquisition 

Policies to Align 

with

E.O. 13514

Establish

Interim Sustainable 

Procurement 

Baseline Using 

Contract Survey; 

Continue Training

The following table outlines USDA initiatives and programs that will contribute to achieving the 

sustainability objectives of EO 13514. 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Data 

Management and 

Tracking 

Develop an implementation plan for tracking and reporting “green 

purchasing” to set specific FY targets to meet overall sustainability goals as 

outlined in EO 13514. 

Review existing programs and policies to identify barriers and develop 

solutions. 

Modify USDA Integrated Acquisition System (IAS) to include the data 

elements required to measure all six categories of sustainable acquisition. 

Acquisition 

Policies 

Update the USDA Green Purchasing Affirmative Procurement Plan 

(GPAPP) to require sustainable acquisition for 95 percent of new contracts, 

and define non-toxic or less toxic alternatives as one of the green product 

categories. 

Training, 

Awareness, and 

Recognition 

Utilize the USDA Green Purchasing Workgroup to communicate 

sustainable acquisition guidance and policy to agency members who, in 

turn, disseminate the information throughout their organizations. 

FY 2010

FY 2015 -

FY 2020

Establish

Interim 

Schedule for 

Achieving

95% Goal

Achieve Interim 

Goal of 75% 

Sustainable 

Contracts 

Measured by 

Survey

Refine Data 

Collection 

Efforts to Allow 

Actual 

Sustainable 

Procurement 

Measurement

Revise Interim 

Baseline

Using

Actual Data; 

Continue 

Training

Modify Interim 

Schedule for 

Achieving

95% Goal as 

Necessary

Achieve

95% Goal

FY 2011 FY 2012

FY 2012 FY 2013
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 47 of 61 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Training, 

Awareness, and 

Recognition 

(cont’d.) 

Continue to use the USDA “greening” website’s training module that covers 

six green products and services categories. 

Post green purchasing training on USDA corporate training site (AgLearn) 

to facilitate tracking requirements. 

Conduct training and awareness on biobased products through the USDA 

BioPreferred Program. 

Monitoring and 

Accountability 

Utilize the FPDS to monitor compliance with green purchasing directives by 

examining a selection of the larger construction, service, and supply 

contracts from various agencies on a semiannual basis. 

Report annually through OMB’s Sustainable Acquisition Survey, 

summarizing the Department’s yearly procurement of green products and 

services. 

Utilize purchase card summary invoices, supply contractors spreadsheets, 

and USDA’s Integrated Acquisition Service’s database to track acquisitions 

Goal 8 - Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing to develop targets, gather baseline data, and 

implement sustainable acquisition measures. Staffing for all phases of contracted green 

products and services purchasing consists of full time employees for which sustainable 

acquisition is a collateral duty. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 48 of 61 

Goal 8 - Planning Table 

Sustainable Acquisition Unit FY 

10 

FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

FY 

14 

FY 

15 

FY 

16 

FY 

17 

FY 

18 

FY 

19 

FY 

20 

New Contract Actions meeting 

Sustainable Acquisition 

Requirements 

% - 75 TBD8 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

Energy Efficient Products 

(ENERGY STAR, FEMPdesignated, and low standby 

power devices)* 

% - 90 91 93 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 

Water Efficient Products* % - * 75 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

Biobased Products* % 88 91 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 

Recycled Content Products* % - * 75 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

Environmentally Preferable 

Products/Services (excluding 

EPEAT)* 

% - * 75 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

SNAP/non-ozone depleting 

substances* % - * 75 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 

* Refer to the implementation timeline on the previous page 

Goal 8 – Agency Status 

The latest limited contract sampling from FPDS of some 33 contracts from FY 2009, worth an 

aggregate of $68 million, showed that 94 percent by dollar value of the appropriate contracts 

had green products and/or services in at least one sustainability category; 17 percent by dollar 

value of the contracts sampled were inappropriate for green product or service use. 

USDA has leveraged its buying power over the years by establishing Blanket Purchase 

Agreements (BPAs) with multiple award schedule contracts the U.S. General Services 

Administration (GSA) has procured. An office products BPA directs purchasers not only to a full 

range of Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) and biobased products, but also to 

AbilityOne products that meet both CPG and biobased requirements. USDAAdvantage! has 

environmental icons and key words that users can select to show only green products in the 

product category for which they search. GSAAdvantage also has these icons, as well as an 

“Environmental Aisle” containing only green products. 

USDA, through its BioPreferred Program, oversees the biobased products program for the 

entire Federal government, designating products for preferred procurement, promulgating 

regulations for a biobased labeling program, and conducting outreach to the Federal, academic, 

and commercial communities. 

 

                                                           

8 See text for a description of why there are not forecasted targets.
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 49 of 61 

GOAL 9 - Electronic Stewardship and Data Center

Goal 9 - Description 

USDA will promote sound environmental practices for the three life-cycle phases of electronic 

products: acquisition, operations and maintenance, and end-of-life management. 

Goal 9 Objective 1 – Pursue “green” acquisition 

3⁄4 By FY 2011, 90 percent of acquisitions will be ENERGY STAR and EPEATregistered products. 

Goal 9 Objective 2 – Pursue “green” operations 

3⁄4 By FY 2011, power management will be enabled on 95 percent of all appropriate 

electronics. 

3⁄4 By FY 2011, USDA data centers will achieve 30 percent hosting through cloud 

computing, 90 percent metered and monitored on a weekly basis, 33 percent 

operating on a bandwidth utilization of 85 percent, 50 percent operating with an 

average CPU utilization of 60 to 85 percent, 25 percent with an average power 

usage effectiveness (PUE) range of 1.3 to 1.6, and 30 percent of activity 

implemented via virtualization. In addition, USDA intends to reduce the number of 

data centers by 20 percent in FY 2011.

Goal 9 Objective 3 – Pursue “green” disposal practices 

3⁄4 USDA will handle the disposition of 95 percent of excess and surplus electronics in 

an environmentally sound manner. 

Goal 9 - Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), which is chaired by the USDA Senior 

Sustainability Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 

13514. There are five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental 

Management, Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing, and Electronic Stewardship. The 

Electronic Stewardship workgroup will oversee the implementation of the goals for power 

management, ENERGY STAR and EPEAT procurement, and data center consolidation and 

optimization. The Facilities Workgroup will oversee the implementation of sound environmental 

practices for excess and surplus electronics.

Goal 9 - Implementation Methods 

The four goals of Electronics Stewardship mandated by EO 13423 and reinforced by EO 13514 

are: purchasing of 95 percent EPEAT products, enabling power management on all applicable 

computers and monitors, extending computers’ lifespan to four years, and using environmentally 

sound disposition practices for all excess and surplus electronics. USDA has demonstrated 

compliance with all goals except power management, a goal that EO 13514 extended to all 

applicable electronics. 

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 50 of 61 

The following table outlines USDA initiatives and programs that will contribute to achieving the 

sustainability objectives of EO 13514. 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Power 

Management 

Deployment of Big Fix to all agency computers by the end of FY 2010. Big 

Fix is capable of monitoring the status of computers and printers throughout 

the network. Network administrators can then re-image computers to 

conform to the power management requirement or enable power 

management over the network. USDA agencies can use Big Fix to deploy 

power management settings on all devices that have Big Fix agents on 

them. 

Developing and piloting scripts to automate the shutdown and startup of 

desktop computers allowing for reduction of electrical consumption while 

still facilitating the after-hours security patching and systems maintenance 

requirements. Pilot tests across several thousand desktops indicate 

positive results; OCIO is negotiating deployment of these scripts with 

various USDA agencies as another tool for scaling up power management. 

Cloud 

Environments 

Establishing a private cloud environment called Platform as a service, and 

actively standing up new, as well as migrating existing, applications into this 

environment when and where appropriate. 

Piloting the use of public cloud offerings and, based on analysis of the pilot, 

adopting their usage where appropriate. Moreover, USDA is actively 

monitoring bandwidth utilization across the USDA wide area network 

(WAN), including in all data centers attached to the USDA WAN. OCIO 

regularly analyzes results from the monitoring tools to ensure that 

bandwidth is “right-sized” at all of the data centers. 

Virtualization 

Virtualization of agency applications in preparation for USDA’s Data Center 

Consolidation Initiative. USDA is making steady progress in moving from a 

physical server per application model of operation to a model where 

multiple applications reside on a single server through the use of 

virtualization. USDA is closely monitoring central processing unit utilization 

rates in these virtualized server environments to ensure average utilization 

rates are in the 60 to 70 percent range. 

Green IT 

Strategic Plan 

The Green IT Strategic Plan provides USDA’s strategy for reducing data 

centers’ carbon footprint through consolidation, virtualization, and energy 

optimization (see 

http://www.dm.usda.gov/USDA_Green_IT_Strategic_Plan.pdf ). 

Metering 

Installation of metering devices to measure and track electrical 

consumption at USDA data centers on all Enterprise Data Centers (EDCs) 

and seventeen other computer rooms within the USDA headquarters 

complex. 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 51 of 61 

Initiatives and 

Programs Description 

Data Center 

Consolidation 

Focusing capital investment into EDCs and implementing new green 

technologies and industry best practices to drive down the power usage 

effectiveness (PUE) ratio at these sites. Currently the primary production 

EDC is rated at 1.64, a ratio that meets the criteria both for certification as 

an ENERGY STAR-qualified data center and conformance with the EPAct 

of 2005, which required PUE ratios for data centers of less than 1.7 by the 

end of 2011. 

Migration of applications to three certified USDA-owned EDCs commenced 

in FY 2009 and is ongoing. 

Analyzing commercial data center hosting providers as options to meet 

potential space and or geographic needs to complete consolidation; a 

contract award for commercial data center hosting is expected in FY 2010. 

Updating the USDA Data Center Consolidation Plan in compliance with the 

OMB Data Center Consolidation Initiative due July 30, 2010. 

Training and 

Awareness 

Electronics Stewardship Plan establishes policy for this program area. 

Departmental Regulation 3170, End User Workstation Standards mandates 

implementation of the four Electronics Stewardship goals of EO 13423. 

The SOC workgroups, specifically, the Green Purchasing Workgroup and 

the Electronic Stewardship Workgroup provide policy, direction, guidance 

and awareness of USDA efforts under this goal. 

Monitoring and 

Accountability 

The OMB Environmental Stewardship scorecard provides monitoring 

documentation. 

USDA Green IT strategic plan, Electronic Stewardship Plan, and the Data 

Center Consolidation Plan all provide information for monitoring USDA’s 

progress. 

After completion of the OMB-approved Data Center Consolidation Plan, 

USDA will implement action items needed to achieve targets for cloud 

computer hosting, metering, bandwidth utilization, PUE range, virtualization, 

and consolidation. USDA will assess its overall achievement of the targets 

using metrics laid out in the plan on an ongoing basis. 

Goal 9 - Positions

Enterprise Data Centers are appropriately staffed to support data center consolidation and cloud 

initiatives and will augment staff, as needed, with contract support to cover the surge in staff 

hour requirements related to actual migrations of applications and data center closure.

 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 52 of 61 

Goal 9 - Planning Table 

Electronic Stewardship and Data Center Unit FY 

10 

FY 

11 

FY 

12 

FY 

13 

% of device types covered by current ENERGY 

STAR specifications that must be ENERGY 

STAR qualified 

% 75 90 95 95 

% of electronic assets covered by sound 

disposition practices % 90 95 95 95 

% of cloud activity hosted in a data center % 5 30 60 95 

% of agency data centers independently 

metered or advanced metered and monitored on 

a weekly basis 

% 40 90 100 95 

Reduction in the number of data centers % 5 20 40 95 

% of agency, eligible electronic products with 

power management and other energyenvironmentally preferable features (duplexing) 

actively implemented and in use 

% 50 95 100 95 

% of agency data centers operating with an 

average CPU utilization of 60-70% % 10 50 75 95 

% of agency data centers operating at a PUE 

range of 1.3-1.6 % 0 25 50 95 

% of covered electronic product acquisitions that 

are EPEAT registered % 75 95 95 95 

% of agency data center activity implemented 

via virtualization % 10 30 40 95 

Goal 9 – Agency Status

USDA has had success with the goals of procuring EPEAT products, extending the life of 

computers to four years, and using environmentally sound practices for excess and surplus 

electronics. A more difficult goal has been that of enabling power management on all 

computers, but in FY 2009, USDA began to resolve those challenges by applying “Big Fix” to 

half of the computers, as explained above in “Goal 9 - Implementation Methods.” 

Regarding excess and surplus electronics, USDA uses the GSAXcess website to track, 

reassign, transfer, and donate electronics nationwide. In addition to donating thousands of 

computers a year to schools through the Computers for Learning program, USDA also transfers 

used computers and scientific equipment to land-grant colleges under the authority of the 

Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, which authorizes the Secretary of 

Agriculture to acquire and transfer title of Federal excess personal property to certain eligible 

institutions in support of research, educational, technical, and scientific activities or related 

 programs. In the National Capital Area, USDA conducts its own sales of surplus property and 

uses UNICOR to recycle surplus electronics that are not sold at auction. 

USDA ensures that all contracts for IT equipment contain verbiage requiring that ENERGY 

STAR-qualified products be procured when and where available. Additionally, the EDCs are 

working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish standards and criteria for 

ENERGY STAR certification of data centers. For instance, USDA continues to work with EPA 

on the analysis of the primary disaster recovery EDC and looks to gain ENERGY STAR 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 53 of 61 

certification for that site in late 2011. In FY 2007, USDA established a Blanket Purchase 

Agreement (BPA) for computer hardware with the original intent of having similar hardware 

Department-wide. In 2008 USDA “refreshed” this BPA so that the vendor supplies only 

desktops, laptops, and monitors that are Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool 

(EPEAT)-registered. Major USDA agencies like the Forest Service and Natural Resources 

Conservation Service bought thousands of computers using this BPA in FY 2009, helping USDA 

achieve a 95 percent EPEAT procurement rate. 

Since Electronics Stewardship became a mandatory program in January 2007 (as a result of 

EO 13423), USDA has remained “green” in progress on the OMB Environmental Stewardship 

scorecard. USDA has been “yellow” in status on the scorecard because of the failure to 

adequately enable power management on all computers. 

To find and implement best practices for energy efficient management of servers and data 

centers, USDA has contracted the services of the Lawrence Berkley Laboratories to evaluate its 

EDCs and make recommendations for energy saving through investment in green technologies. 

Many of these recommendations have been implemented at the EDCs, including: 

3⁄4 Replacement of Data Center lighting with high efficiency electronic ballasts utilizing low 

wattage lamps 

3⁄4 Installation of a Virtual Tape System allowing for the decommissioning and removal of many 

outdated and inefficient tape drives 

3⁄4 Replacement of outdated and inefficient Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) Units 

with newer technology CRAC Units that are rated at >90 percent efficient 

3⁄4 Replacement of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units, with high efficiency modular units 

that allow for the right sizing of supply power to load while operating at >93 percent 

efficiency 

3⁄4 Replacement of main electrical distribution system transformers with newer technology 

transformers that operate at >95 percent efficiency 

3⁄4 Replacement of rooftop mounted air conditioning dry-coolers with new units rated to operate 

at >90 percent efficiency 

3⁄4 Installation of an air economizer feature allowing the data center space to utilize “freecooling” when outside air temperatures drop below 40 degrees F 

3⁄4 Implementation of virtualization across shared computing environments allowing the 

physical number of machines to be reduced, as compared to the old paradigm of one server 

per application 

3⁄4 Optimization of the raised floor layout by relocating equipment and aligning the entire space 

to the hot row-cold row concept of operations (This process is on-going as customer 

outages have to be coordinated to physically relocate equipment.) 

3⁄4 Analysis of the layout and location of vented floor tiles, resulting in realignment as necessary 

to ensure that the static pressure of the raised floor plenum was maintained and that 

conditioned air was directed to the heat loads rather than inefficiently expended to areas 

where no load was present 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 54 of 61 

3⁄4 Development of standards for all equipment racks housed within the EDCs; installation of 

blanking panels and air dams to ensure that conditioned air was directed to the heat loads 

rather than inefficiently expended 

3⁄4 Investment in building automation technology that continuously monitors and adjusts CRAC 

units to ensure that they are properly coordinated, and that inefficient operations such as, 

one unit being in a heat mode competing with others in a maximum cooling mode, do not 

occur 

3⁄4 Installation of in-row cooling for high heat load equipment; by adopting close coupled cooling 

technology the cooling source can be moved directly adjacent to the heat source. This 

proximity allows the use of less powerful fans as compared to cooling a large open space 

   
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 55 of 61 

GOAL 10 - Agency Innovations

Goal 10 - Description 

Promote agency innovations that expand the sustainability mission beyond what is required in 

EO 13514 by linking USDA’s sustainable operations with USDA’s sustainable agriculture and 

forestry missions. 

Goal 10 Objective 1 

USDA will pursue innovative initiatives, projects, practices, and partnerships that 

promote and achieve sustainability 

Goal 10 - Leadership 

The USDA Sustainable Operations Council (SOC), chaired by the USDA Senior Sustainability 

Officer, is responsible for overseeing the overall objectives and goals of EO 13514. There are 

five workgroups under the direct leadership of the SOC: Environmental Management, 

Transportation, Facilities, Green Purchasing and Electronic Stewardship. There is no one SOC 

workgroup that leads this goal because it is a vital piece of every goal. Emphasis on fostering 

new innovative ideas and technology is critical to reaching our sustainability goals. 

Goal 10 - Implementation Methods 

USDA SOC will create an environment that recognizes new innovative ideas for achieving 

sustainability by: 

3⁄4 Providing opportunities during Council meetings for agencies to showcase their successes 

3⁄4 Publishing projects or initiatives on our green website or utilizing other forms of networking 

to share success stories 

3⁄4 Develop a system to recognize leaders in sustainability 

 

Goal 10 - Positions 

USDA anticipates that it will utilize current staffing. 

Goal 10 - Agency Status 

USDA is involved in numerous innovative initiatives, projects, practices and partnerships that 

promote and achieve sustainability. The following examples showcase USDA’s recent success 

in the area of “innovative sustainability.” 

The People’s Garden 

In 2009, the Secretary declared the entire grounds of the USDA Headquarters complex in 

Washington, D.C., as the People's Garden. The landscape at USDA Headquarters will serve 

as a living exhibit of the many ways USDA provides a safe and nutritious food supply while 

protecting and conserving the land. The Garden serves as a model to teach others how to 

nurture, maintain and protect a healthy landscape by demonstrating sustainable practices to 

improve soil, air and water quality. 

255 gardens have been established by USDA workers worldwide, including an indoor 

lettuce garden in North Carolina and a vegetable garden on the grounds of the U.S. 

Embassy in South Korea. All of the food grown at these gardens—29,656 pounds last year–

is donated to food pantries and soup kitchens. The garden at USDA headquarters last year 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 56 of 61 

yielded more than 300 pounds of peas, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and other produce, 

which was given to D.C. Central Kitchen. 

In 2009, volunteers and USDA staffers planted the vegetable garden, the first component of 

the sustainable landscape to be installed. The garden includes organic raised vegetable 

beds and transition plots and is expected to be fully certified organic within three years. 

USDA's vegetable garden provides a great variety and amount of organic produce, which is 

donated to D.C. Central Kitchen, a local non-profit organization that provides food and 

culinary training for those in need. The gardens also include a native plant pollinator garden 

and green roofs. There are plans to install rain gardens later in FY 2010. Information is 

made available to the public at www.usda.gov/peoplesgarden. 

Examples of Flagship Facilities Leading the Way in Sustainable Practices 

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has an agency-wide policy to use green cleaning 

products exclusively including janitorial, and EPEAT for all computer purchases (exceptions 

are allowed only for conflicts with mission requirements such as needs for specific scientific 

equipment). The ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, 

Illinois, is an example of agency policy implementation, transitioning to nearly 100 percent 

purchasing of green cleaning products used for the operations and maintenance of the 

facility. This facility also installed automatic paper towel dispensers in the restrooms 

throughout the facility, reducing the paper consumption by approximately 18 percent. In 

addition, this facility has standardized computer purchases to be ENERGY STAR compliant. 

The facility’s computers meet the Gold performance rating. The CPU’s and monitors in the 

Gold class are 88 percent efficient. For additional savings, the facility has completed bulk 

purchases of these standardized units, roughly 25 each, three to four times per year. This 

facility is working on virtualizing its server room. This practice will lead to an 80 percent 

reduction on servers. 

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food 

‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ is a USDA-wide effort to create new economic 

opportunities by better connecting consumers with local producers. ‘The Know Your 

Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative emphasizes the need for a fundamental and critical 

reconnection between producers and consumers. This innovative program establishes 

closer links between local producers and consumers and thus promotes sustainable 

agriculture by conserving the energy used to transport food long distances. 

The effort builds on the 2008 Farm Bill, which provides for increases and flexibility for USDA 

programs in an effort to promote local foods. Consumer demand for locally grown food in 

the United States is expected to rise from an estimated $4 billion in 2002 to as much as $7 

billion by 2012. 

The 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative includes such major agricultural topics 

as supporting local farmers and community food groups; strengthening rural communities; 

enhancing direct marketing and farmers' promotion programs; promoting healthy eating; 

protecting natural resources; and helping schools connect with locally grown foods. USDA 

also began a pilot program aimed at improving the health and wellness of federal employees 

by serving local, nutritious food at USDA cafeterias. The initiative thus bridges internal 

USDA efforts to improve sustainable operations with USDA’s mission to promote 

sustainable agriculture across the country.   
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 57 of 61 

Section III Self Evaluation 

I. Evaluation Determination 

Does your plan provide/consider overarching strategies and approaches for achieving 

long-term sustainability goals? Y 

Does your plan identify milestones and resources needed for implementation? Y 

Does your plan align with your agency’s 2011 budget submission? Y 

Is your plan consistent with your agency’s FY 2011 budget and appropriately aligned to 

reflect your agency’s planned FY 2012 budget submission? Y 

Does your plan integrate existing EO and statutory requirements into a single framework 

and align with other existing mission and management related goals to make the best 

use of available resources? 

Y 

Does your plan provide methods for obtaining data needed to measure progress, 

evaluate results, and improve performance? Y 

II. Description 

The following tables describe USDA’s completed and planned actions to achieve the 

sustainability and energy standards for success on the OMB Scorecard. 

Status of Current Scorecard Items 

Category Planned Actions for OMB Scorecard Jan 2010 – Jun 2010 Target 

Completion 

Environmental 

Tracking number of people taking green purchasing training 

on AgLearn. 

June 30, 2010 

Provided access to critical HQ and Forest Service (FS) 

environmental management system (EMS) documents on 

USDA and FS internet sites as evidence of HQ and FS EMS 

Complete 

Providing 12 contracts containing the 6 green designated 

product/services & representing all USDA agencies. 

June 30, 2010 

Implementing required SBIP milestones June 30, 2010 

Implementing Electronic Stewardship plan milestones 

• Big Fix deployed to additional 20,000 workstations, for a 

total of 70,000 workstations 

• Obtaining baseline power usage thru Big Fix 

• Piloting scripts for power management 

June 30 

Implementing OMB data center consolidation plans and 

implementing milestones outlined in OMB Passback 

• Submitted Preliminary Plan to OMB on April 30 

• Inserted Data figures into SSPP consistent with Passback 

June 30 

Agencies continue to buy EPEAT products from our Blanket 

Purchase Agreement, helping to meet 95% procurement 

target 

Ongoing 

Energy 

Updated USDA Water Conservation and Renewable Energy 

Guidance to include provisions of EO 13514. 

June 4, 2010 

Submitted GHG emission reduction goal for Scope 3 and 

Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. 

June 2, 2010 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 58 of 61 

Category Planned Actions for OMB Scorecard Jan 2010 – Jun 2010 Target 

Completion 

Energy 

(cont’d.) 

Perform EISA Sec 432 Energy Evaluations at 25% of USDA 

covered facilities 

June 18, 2010 

Transportation 

Identify alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) traveling near 

alternative fuel (AF) stations when performing mission and 

instruct drivers to use AF. 

June 30, 2010 

Develop Fleet Handbook for HQ and field offices. June 30, 2010 

Complete Fleet Trend Analysis Review and develop specific 

initiatives to increase AF use. 

Completed 

Develop site-specific fleet efficiency and petroleum reduction 

report strategies geared to increase AF use and decrease 

waivers. 

June 30, 2010 

Conduct inventory to identify waivered AFVs that can 

immediately be relocated to locations with AF availability. 

June 30, 2010 

Ensure Forest Service reports to USDA HQ detailing 

progress of B20 diesel tank conversion analysis. 

June 30, 2010 

Partner with VA in South Dakota to develop initiatives to 

increase AF use. 

June 30, 2010 

Coordinate with other agencies and DOE’s Clean Cities 

program to increase AF use in areas with high AFVs that in 

close proximity to USDA. 

June 30, 2010 

Work with FEMP to identify further actions to improve 

compliance. 

Completed 

2010 Planned Scorecard Action Items 

Category Planned Actions for OMB Scorecard July 2010 – Dec 

2010 

Target 

Completion 

Environmental 

Revise green purchasing training to include EO 13514 

requirements 

Dec 2010 

Provide 10 contracts containing six designated 

products/services representing all USDA agencies 

Dec 2010 

Revise Green Purchasing Affirmative Procurement Plan to 

include EO 13514 requirements 

Dec 2010 

Begin formulating preliminary baseline for 6 green product 

categories based on contract survey 

Dec 2010 

Implement ES plan milestones 

• Deploy Big Fix on remaining USDA computers 

• Obtain USDA baseline power usage with Big Fix 

• Enable CPM on most workstations using Big Fix agents, 

network applications, and workstation re-imaging 

• Deploy scripts for timed standby and wakeup on targeted 

agency workstations 

Dec 2010 

Continue to buy EPEAT products from the blanket purchase 

agreement, helping to meet our 95 percent procurement 

target 

Dec 2010 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 59 of 61 

Category Planned Actions for OMB Scorecard July 2010 – Dec 

2010 

Target 

Completion 

Environmental 

(cont’d.) 

Implement OMB data center consolidation plans and 

implement milestones outlined in OMB Passback 

• Finalize Data Center Plan based on OMB feedback 

• Begin implementing milestones in OMB Passback 

Dec 2010 

Implement SBIP milestones Dec 2010 

Track incorporation of sustainability practices into existing 

EMS(s) 

Dec 2010 

Energy 

Complete comprehensive GHG inventory Dec 2010 

Provide energy auditing training to USDA energy/facility 

managers 

Dec 2010 

Prepare draft of Guidebook for Development of Wind Energy 

on National Forest Service lands 

Dec 2010 

Establish the USDA industrial, landscaping, and agricultural 

irrigation water use baseline for 2010 

Dec 2010 

Establish the USDA industrial, landscaping, and agricultural 

irrigation water use baseline for 2010 

Dec 2010 

Transportation 

Perform analysis of AFVs in close proximity to alternative 

fueling sites and report all impediments and barriers to AF 

use. List recommendations to resolve and/or eliminate all 

fuel use obstacles and prepare plan to use AF. 

Dec 2010 

Conduct pilot project with USDA agencies to increase overall 

fleet efficiency through increased AF use strategies, fuel 

economic vehicle acquisition strategies, and petroleum 

reduction initiatives 

Dec 2010 

Provide training to USDA motor vehicle fleet managers and 

budget representatives on Federal goals and requirements 

related to AFV and Fuel Economic Vehicle acquisition, 

increased fuel use within the Department, and best practices 

for fleet efficiency 

Dec 2010 

Develop implementation plan to use AF in selected waivered 

AFV locations. Report alternative fuel use in the first quarter 

of FY 2011 

Dec 2010 

Establish partnership with Department of Homeland Security 

to perform initiative to increase AF use in locations in close 

proximity to alternative fueling facilities 

Dec 2010 

Continue coordination effort with DOE’s Clean Cities program 

and FEMP to increase AF use within USDA 

Dec 2010 

Utilize USDA Internal AFV Tool to develop informative 

managerial and decision making reports relative to AFV and 

fuel economic vehicle replacement and vehicle exchange 

programs geared towards exchanging AFVs in rural locations 

with petroleum vehicles in close proximity to alternative 

fueling facilities 

Dec 2010 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 60 of 61 

2011 Planned Scorecard Action Items 

Category Planned Actions for OMB Scorecard Jan 2010 – Jun 2011 Target 

Completion 

Environmental 

Coordinate with AgLearn to test revised training June 2011 

Provide 10 contracts containing six designated 

products/services representing all USDA agencies 

June 2011 

Obtain preliminary baseline of 6 green product categories June 2011 

Implement ES plan milestones targeted by July 2011 

• Enable CPM on remaining workstations using Big Fix 

agents, network applications, and workstation re-imaging 

• Deploy scripts for timed standby and wakeup on targeted 

agency workstations 

June 2011 

Continue to buy EPEAT products from the blanket purchase 

agreement, helping to meet our 95 percent procurement 

target 

June 2011 

Implement OMB data center consolidation plan and 

implement milestones outlined in OMB Passback 

June 2011 

Implement SBIP milestones June 2011 

Track incorporation of sustainability practices into existing 

EMS(s) 

June 2011 

Energy 

Perform EISA Sec 432 energy evaluations at 25% of USDA 

covered facilities 

June 2011 

Update USDA Advanced Metering Guidance to include 

natural gas, steam, and water 

June 2011 

Develop USDA agency scorecards for energy and water 

management 

June 2011 

Conduct surveys for potential renewable energy use at select 

USDA sites 

June 2011 

Transportation 

Reevaluate USDA critical mission areas nationwide to 

determine locations where critical masses (≥ 50) of USDA 

vehicles operate. The goal is to reduce petroleum 

consumption and increase AF use by possible infrastructure 

development of partnership with other Federal, state, local, 

and private entities 

June 2011 

Develop USDA internal petroleum reduction procedures such 

as the use of mass transit, video conferencing, and other 

petroleum reduction initiatives associated with Scope 3 

greenhouse gas reductions. 

June 2011 

Work with Clean Cities of DOE and FEMP to identify high 

density USDA AFV areas to increase the use of alternative 

fuel 

June 2011 

Develop guidance document to assist USA fleets with 

regulatory compliance, effective motor vehicle fleet efficiency 

processes, petroleum reduction, and alternative fuel 

increases 

June 2011 
September, 2010 USDA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan Page 61 of 61 

Category Planned Actions for OMB Scorecard Jan 2010 – Jun 2011 Target 

Completion 

Transportation 

(cont’d.) 

Begin development of a comprehensive USDA petroleum 

reduction strategy based on agency specific petroleum 

reduction initiatives. Strategy will be accomplished in the first 

quarter of FY 2012 

June 2011 

Develop Forest Service plan to convert diesel tanks to tanks 

capable of using B20 biodiesel. Plan is based on FS tank 

reduction analysis 

June 2011 

Evaluate Natural Resource Conservation Service and 

Agricultural Research Service diesel tanks to determine the 

number of tanks feasible for B20 biodiesel conversion 

June 2011 
Appendix A: Acronyms 

Acronym Description 

A-E Architectural and Engineering 

AFV Alternative Fuel Vehicle

AMS Agricultural Marketing Service

APHIS Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service 

ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

ARS Agricultural Research Service

BARC Agricultural Research Center

BPA Bonneville Power Administration

BPAs Blanket Purchase Agreements

BTU or Btu British Thermal Unit 

C&D Construction and Demolition

CCPI Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative 

CEQ Council on Environmental Quality 

CMAVE Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology 

CPU Central Processing Unit

CRAC Computer Room Air Conditioning

D.C. District of Columbia 

DM Departmental Manual

DOE Department of Energy

DoN Department of the Navy 

DR Departmental Regulation

EDCs Enterprise Data Centers 

EISA Energy Independence and Security Act 

EISA Energy Independence Security Act 

EMS Environmental Management System

EO Executive Order

EPAct Energy Policy Act 

EPCRA Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 

EPEAT Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool 

ESPC Energy Savings Performance Contract 

EUI Energy Use Index

EUL Enhanced Use Lease

FEMP Federal Energy Management Program

FPDS Federal Procurement Data System

FS Forest Service

FSA Farm Service Agency 

FY Fiscal Year

gal gallon

GGE Gasoline Gallon Equivalents 

GHG Greenhouse Gas

GIPSA Grain Inspection, Packers, & Stockyards Administration 

GPAPP Green Purchasing Affirmative Procurement Plan 

GPRA Government Performance and Results Act

A‐1
A‐2

Acronym Description 

GSA General Services Administration 

GSF Gross Square Feet 

GWCC George Washington Carver Center 

GYA Greater Yellowstone Area 

HQ Headquarters 

HVAC heating, ventilating, and air conditioning 

IT Information Technology 

LCCA Life Cycle Cost Analysis 

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 

LID Low Impact Development 

MOU Memorandum of Understanding 

mpg miles per gallon 

MRP Marketing & Regulatory Programs 

MWA Megawatt-hours 

NADC National Animal Disease Center 

NAL National Agricultural Library 

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act 

NRCS National Resource Conservation Service 

O&M Operations and Maintenance 

O&M Operations and Maintenance 

OCE Office of the Chief Economist 

OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

PPA Power Purchase Agreement 

PUE Power Usage Efficiency 

REAP Rural Energy for America Program 

RECs Renewable Energy Certificates 

RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis 

ROI Return on Investment 

RPO Real Property Officer 

RSS Really Simple Syndication 

SF Square Feet or Square Footage 

SNAP Significant New Alternatives Policy 

SOC Sustainable Operations Council 

SSO Senior Sustainability Officer 

SSPP Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan 

TRI Toxics Release Inventory 

UESC Utility Energy Services Contract 

UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply 

USDA United States Department of Agriculture 

USGBC United States Green Building Council 

WGES Washington Gas Energy Services 
Appendix B: Agency Specific Sustainable Building Policies 

In the USDA mission areas for Natural Resources and Environment and for Marketing and 

Regulatory Programs (MRP)1, agencies include the Forest Service (FS), the Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the 

Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA.) The USDA Research, 

Education and Economics mission area includes the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Two 

of these five USDA land-holding agencies design and construct buildings to meet a minimum 

Silver certification level under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 

metric, and the other three design and construct buildings to meet the Guiding Principles. All 

five follow the Guiding Principles and LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) for existing 

building sustainability. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) another Marketing and 

Regulatory Programs agency occupies only leased buildings. 

NRCS uses a voluntary, cooperative approach to address environmental challenges. The 

“conservation partnership” includes groups, agencies, and individuals, from State and Tribal 

governments to local watershed councils; NRCS works with many partners to achieve 

conservation goals. NRCS is currently updating its sustainable policies and practices, including 

those for leased assets. These sustainable policies include the use of renewable energy and 

EnergyStar products, smart meters, water conservation, recycling of construction waste, and the 

use of biobased products. Planning for new leases and contracts for janitorial services include 

green cleaning provisions. 

The FS mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and 

grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The FS uses integrated 

building concepts and high performance green building standards, and strives to enhance 

occupant welfare and protect mission critical assets. New building construction projects, 10,000 

gross square feet or greater must be registered and certified under the LEED rating system at a 

minimum Silver certification level, for FS regional offices, supervisor’s offices, district offices, 

visitor centers, and research offices/labs, must be registered and certified under the LEED 

rating system at a minimum Silver certification level. All new construction or major renovation 

projects are designed to incorporate the sustainable principles of the most recent LEED rating 

system into the appropriate building systems and components. 

The FS follows its Sustainable Buildings policy, Forest Service Handbook 7309.11 – Buildings 

and Related Facilities Handbook, Chapter 70, to include using The Guiding Principles and 

practices when designing, constructing, or conducting major renovations of certain types1

 of FSowned administrative buildings. The FS has also updated Forest Service Manual (FSM) 1300 

to include FSM 1313, “Sustainable Operations – Managing the Forest Service Environmental 

Footprint,” which directs leadership to implement sustainable practices in order to reduce 

resource consumption, minimize waste, use sustainable acquisition methods, and meet high 

performance standards for building construction, lease, operation, and maintenance. 

The APHIS complies with the Guiding Principles in all new construction, major renovation or 

repair and alteration. These agencies are working to ensure that all new owned facilities and 

major renovation projects implement design, construction, and operations and maintenance 

practices in support of the sustainable design/high-performance buildings regulatory 

requirements. The APHIS sustainable building strategies address the Guiding Principles in all 

building life cycle stages, including siting, design, and construction of new buildings, and 

renovation, operation and maintenance of existing owned buildings, and disposal and 

deconstruction. Specific goals include the USDA goal four targets above. 

B‐1
B‐2

MRP agencies, including APHIS AMS and GIPSA, strategize to support and mirror the 

Department’s sustainability goals and objectives in all leasing activities. The MRP agency 

leases over 5,000 square feet presently total 80, 58 for APHIS, 20 for AMS, and 2 for GIPSA. 

MRP agencies must re-compete approximately 53 of these leases by 2015; in renewing or 

replacing leases, MRS agencies plan to actively solicit for green buildings and incorporate green 

provisions into the government lease1

 that support the Guiding Principles. The MRP agency 

realty office is using the GSA green leasing solicitations1

. All leases will at a minimum have the 

GSA minimum green leasing provisions regarding green products and green building materials, 

i.e. paints, wall board, carpet, etc. These guidelines are incorporated across USDA agency 

lines and are part of the GSA “Delegated Authority” guidelines1

. The MRP agency realty office 

plans to incorporate a rating system in its Access database system that will actively track which 

buildings have met the sustainability minimum of 40%. 

ARS Policy 

Agricultural Research Service facilities are designed based on Design Manual 242.1, continually 

updated to comply with the energy, water, and sustainability requirements of the current 

legislation and executive orders and their guidance. Manual 242.1 requires the design of 

sustainable high performance buildings. 
Appendix C: Agency Specific Sustainable Building Achievements and Future Plans 

Current APHIS six-month accomplishments: 

1. updated the APHIS standard design guide, to include the Guiding Principles in design, 

construction, or major renovations of owned facilities. Specific changes include: 

i. facilities must achieve the USGBC LEED-Silver rating, or meet the criteria 

of the USGBC LEED-Silver rating system; 

ii. facilities must use solar hot-water heating where life cycle cost effective; 

iii. construction contracts must require green purchasing of materials and 

systems, where cost effective; and 

iv. facilities must use advanced meters, for all utilities. 

2. nine agency-owned buildings that meet the internal USDA sustainability standard, and, 

this fiscal year, APHIS starts a program to survey all facilities over 5,000 gsf by a third 

party to determine the measure sustainability and to find possible green initiatives; 

eighteen facilities are surveyed to date; 

3. demolished five owned, but obsolete, buildings at the Moore Air Base in Texas; 

4. completed an energy savings project at the APHIS Pink Bollworm Rearing Facility in 

Phoenix, Arizona, replacing all T-12 fluorescent fixtures with T-8 fluorescent fixtures. 

Planned APHIS accomplishments, July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010: 

1. continuously update the Standard Design Guideline as more sustainable requirements 

are identified; 

2. assess 22 facilities over 5,000 gsf, using a third party, to determine the existing state of 

sustainability and to find possible green initiatives to make the facilities more 

sustainable; 

3. demolish a large excess building in Waimanalo HI; and 

4. start a program to add smart meters to all owned buildings over 5,000 gsf with high 

energy intensive use. Fifteen facilities should be completed. 

Planned APHIS accomplishments, January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011: 

1. continuously update the Standard Design Guideline as more sustainable requirements 

are identified; and 

2. assess the four final facilities, using a third party, to determine the existing state of 

sustainability and to discover green initiatives to make the facilities more sustainable. 

Current FS six-month accomplishments: 

1. issuing Chapter 70 - Sustainable Buildings FS Handbook chapter; 

2. completing, in Jan 2010, an initial survey to score sustainability of some FS buildings 

over 5,000 gsf in size; and 

3. identifying the highest electrical energy consuming buildings for installation of advanced 

meters for all utilities. 

C‐1
Planned FS accomplishments, July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010: 

1. develop program requirements, specifications, and procurement requirements for 

installation of advanced meters at highest electrical energy consuming buildings. 

2. continue to develop inventory capability to measure and reduce green house gas 

emissions. 

3. further sustainable buildings surveys, for facilities over 5,000 gsf in size. 

Planned FS accomplishment, January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011: 

1. initiate advanced meter installation at highest electrical energy consuming buildings; 

2. develop and test capability to report sustainable building accomplishments into the 

DOE/FEMP High Performance Buildings Database; 

3. continue to develop inventory capability to measure and reduce green house gas 

emissions; and 

4. further sustainable buildings surveys, for facilities over 5,000 gsf in size. 

Current ARS six-month accomplishments: 

1. incorporating a requirement into its design standards in Manual 242.1 that all new 

building designs begun after 2020 must produce zero net energy buildings by 2030; 

2. requiring that all building designs follow the Guiding Principles, by incorporating the 

requirement into Design Manual 242.1 and P&P 134.2 Energy, Water and Sustainability 

policy; 

3. using cost effective strategies to minimize energy water and materials consumption in 

buildings, by following requirements in P&P 134.2; 

4. using existing facility evaluations -- from a survey conducted in November 2009 -- to 

identify buildings that can be made sustainable, and continue progress towards the goal 

of 15% sustainable by 2015; 

5. appointing facility energy managers, for each covered facility, responsible for conducting 

energy, water and recommissioning surveys; 

6. issuing a new O&M policy and aims to manage buildings to reduce agency deferred 

maintenance costs -- ARS was appropriated $176,000,000 in ARRA finds for critical 

deferred maintenance -- 

7. working to reduce the inventory of inefficient buildings in its inventory that are not cost 

effective to operate; specifically, completed a BARC consolidation study; 

8. committing to the green house gas (GHG) reduction goal, to reduce scope 1 and scope 

2 GHG by 20.5% by FY2020 from a baseline year of FY 2008; setting strategies to 

reduce energy consumption and use renewable energy in buildings; 

9. planning to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions by 6.5% by FY 2020 from a baseline year of 

2008; strategies include waste diversion/reduction in building construction; 

10. communicating within and outside the agency, utilizing intranet and internet websites, 

other electronic communication, formal and informal training, and other outreach; 

C‐2
C‐3

11. maintaining an intranet energy awareness Sharepoint site that contains announcements, 

information, links, and training opportunities that is regularly updated; and 

12. in following the NEPA process, assessing and addressing the impact of projects on local 

resources, interacting with local regulatory groups to comply with state and local laws, 

EPA regulations, building codes, energy codes and other requirements; soliciting public 

comment as described at 7 CFR 520, and completing NEPA evaluations to evaluate 

construction projects and consider the environmental effects of proposed construction 

actions; and 

13. planning for historic building utilization, specifically - 

- planning for utilizing the US National Arboretum; 

- renegotiating a programmatic agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office for 

El Reno OK; 

- consulting the Maryland Historic Trust and other cultural resources organizations. 

Planned ARS accomplishments, July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010: 

1. incorporate energy, GHG emissions and climate change considerations when the 

pending NEPA guidance is finalized in accordance with its direction. 

2. planning to continue to make progress towards the goal of 100% sustainability. 

Current NRCS six-month accomplishments: 

1. updating sustainable policies and practices, including those for leased assets; policies 

include the use of renewable energy and EnergyStar products, smart meters, water 

conservation, recycling of construction waste, and the use of biobased products. 

2. planning for new leases and contracts for janitorial services include green cleaning 

provisions; 

3. accelerating voluntary efforts toward a healthy and restored Chesapeake Bay, through 

its Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), a USDA Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS) initiative using existing conservation programs. The CCPI 

projects improve water quality in six states by working with landowners and operators to 

reduce sediments and nutrients, increase carbon sequestration and contribute to a 

healthy Chesapeake Bay; planning at least $5 million in financial assistance from two 

programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Wildlife Habitat 

Incentive Program, to carry out CCPI in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in fiscal year 

2010, available for single-state and multi-state partnership projects that address natural 

resource concerns within six Chesapeake Bay Watershed states, New York, Delaware, 

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; and 

4. developing the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) to help 

producers in selected watersheds in the Mississippi River Basin voluntarily implement 

conservation practices that avoid, control, and trap nutrient runoff; improve wildlife 

habitat; and maintain agricultural productivity. 
Appendix D: Agricultural Research Service DRAFT SSPP 

Section 1: Agency Policy and Strategy 

I. Agency Policy Statement 

The Agricultural Research Service has adopted Policy and Procedure 134.2 Energy, 

Water and Sustainability. It states that, consistent with REE’s mission and without 

compromising health and safety, it is REE policy to give energy and water conservation 

as well as sustainability, prime consideration in the acquisition, use, and disposal of all 

property and in the performance of all functions. This action will reduce the impact of our 

activities on the environment and help conserve resources. Efficiency and conservation 

shall be integrated into the core activities of the Agency. It shall be every employee’s 

responsibility to ensure that every reasonable effort is made to reduce operating costs and 

conserve energy, water, and resources. 

II. Sustainability and the Agency mission 

The Agricultural Research Service conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to 

agricultural problems of high national priority and provides information access and 

dissemination to 

• ensure high-quality, safe food and other agricultural products, 

• assess the nutritional needs of Americans, 

• sustain a competitive agricultural economy, 

• enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and 

• provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities and society as a 

whole. 

III. The Agricultural Research Service is committed to the goal to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 

green house gases by 20.5% by FY2020 from a baseline year of FY 2008. It plans to reduce 

scope 3 green house gas emissions by 6.5% by FY 2020 from a baseline year of 2008. 

Reductions in scope 1 and scope 2 emissions will be accomplished by reductions in energy 

consumption and the use of alternative fuels and renewable energy. Scope 3 emissions will be 

reduced by the expansion of telecommuting and alternative work schedules, by the use of 

electronic communications in lieu of travel such as teleconferencing, netconferencing and 

videoconferencing, by waste diversion/reduction, and by the incorporation of more fuel efficient 

vehicles due to the changes in the CAFE standards. 

IV. Plan Implementation 

The Agricultural Research Service will use its standard organizational structure of Headquarters, 

Areas and locations to achieve the goals of the plan. Administrative and Financial Management 

D‐1
(AFM) has the overall responsibility for policy, planning, and evaluation for the implementation 

of the Agency’s energy water and sustainability program. The Facilities Division (FD) and 

Acquisition and Property Division (APD), AFM, provide inter- and intra-Agency liaison 

respectively on energy water and sustainability matters involving facilities management and 

procurement/property management programs. The Facilities Energy Manager coordinates the 

efforts of FD.

FD is responsible for implementing policies to achieve energy-efficient facilities design, 

construction and operations, and utilizing Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC), or 

Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESC) as appropriate. APD is responsible for implementing 

policies for green purchasing; procurement of energy-efficient products; achieving energy 

efficiency in motor vehicles through reduction of gasoline and diesel fuel consumption; use of 

alternative fuels, and acquisition of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV). 

ARS Areas and field locations, in concert with FD and APD, are responsible for field 

administration and management of the energy, water and sustainability program within their 

respective organization. The Area and Location Administrative Officers are responsible for 

identification of appropriate energy conservation actions and the planning, programming, 

budgeting, reporting, and implementing the Agency’s plan to achieve the goals of the plan. 

The Agricultural Research Service has implemented an Environmental Management system at 

each appropriate location. This structure will be utilized to evaluate progress in concert with the 

annual reporting process. Based on this, and when new legislation and executive orders or their 

guidance are issued plans and policies are reviewed and, if necessary, updated. 

Agricultural Research Service facilities are designed based on Design Manual 242.1 which is 

updated to comply with the energy, water, and sustainability requirements of the current 

legislation and executive orders and their guidance. Manual 242.1 requires the design of 

sustainable high performance buildings. 

V. Evaluating Return on Investment 

Agricultural Research Service utilizes life cycle cost analysis in decision making about energy 

efficient designs, energy and water conservation measures and renewable energy investments, 

The life cycle cost analysis must include investment costs, energy and water costs, non fuel 

operation and maintenance costs, repair and replacement costs, and salvage values. 

Agricultural Research Service NEPA evaluations are described by the regulation at 7 CFR 520. 

Evaluation of construction projects consider if the proposed construction action will: 

(1) Cause or contribute to soil erosion by wind or water? 

(2) Affect soil surface stability? 

(3) Degrade water quality in a sole source aquifer? 

(4) Decrease aquifer yield or affect water rights? 

D‐2
(5) Affect aquatic life? 

(6) Cause or contribute flow variation in a stream or spring? 

(7) Degrade the aesthetic properties and/or potential uses of either ground or 

surface waters? 

(8) Affect chemical quality of ground or surface waters (pH, dissolved oxygen, 

nutrients, dissolved solids, pesticides, etc.)? 

(9) Affect physical quality of ground or surface waters (suspended solids, turbidity, 

color, oil, temperature, etc.)? 

(10) Cause odors or release odoriferous substances to air or water? 

(11) Release toxic substances to the air in quantities that could affect human health 

or safety, or environmental quality? 

(12) Release particulate matter to the air? 

(13) Change local meteorological conditions or air movement patterns? 

(14) Release substances for which there is a National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(i.e., sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter, 

etc.)? 

(15) Affect undisturbed natural areas or a wild and scenic river? 

(16) Affect game animals or fish or their taking? 

(17) Affect rare, threatened, or endangered species, or a critical habitat? (A 

consultation with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act may be required). 

(18) Affect species balance, especially among predators? 

(19) Involve special hazards, such as radioactivity or electromagnetic radiation? 

(20) Affect or to be located in a wetland, flood plain, or the coastal zone? 

(21) Affect a known or potential cultural, historical, or archaeological site, district, or 

area? (A consultation with the State Historical Preservation Officer is required). 

(22) Affect local or regional systems related to: 

(a) Transportation? 

(b) Water supply? 

(c) Power and heating? 

(d) Solid waste management? 

(e) Sewer or storm drainage? 

(23) Affect local land use through effects on: 

(a) Flood plains or wetlands? 

(b) Location land use? 

(c) Aesthetics? 

(d) Access to minerals? 

(24) Affect socioeconomic aspects of an area including: 

(a) Population? 

(b) Housing supply or demand? 

D‐3
(c) Employment? 

(d) Commercial activities? 

(e) Industrial activities? 

(f) Cultural patterns? 

(g) Environmental justice? 

(25) Cause or contribute to unacceptable noise level? 

(26) Affect public health or safety? 

(27) Cause public reaction or controversy? 

Agricultural Research Service will incorporate energy, greenhouse gas emissions and climate 

change considerations when the pending NEPA guidance is finalized in accordance with its 

direction. 

VI Transparency 

ARS communicates within and outside the agency utilizing intranet and internet websites, other 

electronic communication, formal and informal training, and other outreach. ARS maintains an 

intranet energy awareness Sharepoint site that contains announcements, information, links, and 

training opportunities that is regularly updated. 

Pursuant to EISA section 432, ARS has appointed facility energy managers for each covered 

facility. These individuals are responsible for conducting energy, water and recommissioning 

surveys. When the web based DOE Compliance Tracking System is implemented, survey data 

will be posted on this public facing web site. 

Section 2: Performance Review and Annual Update 

I. Summary of Accomplishments during the previous year 

a. According to the NFC data furnished by CRI, between FY 2008 and FY 2009, ARS 

reduced electricity 15.9 percent, and natural gas by 3.7 percent. 

b. ARS purchased 3% of its annual electrical energy consumption in RECs and generated 

55 MWH of electrical energy with wind and 21.6 million BTUs of energy from solar hot 

water panels. 

c. ARS completed a 621,000 SF laboratory building in Ames IA that has been submitted to 

the USGBC for LEED Certification. 

d. ARS invested $4.9 million in energy efficiency projects. In addition, ARS was 

appropriated $176,000,000 by ARRA for “critical deferred maintenance.” While not 

directed at energy by Congress this will result in energy improvements because 

equipment will be replaced with updated items. 

D‐4
e. ARS awarded two financed ESPCs and three unfinanced UESCs. One ESPC covered the 

entire state of Texas. One of the UESCs was an interagency agreement with Bonneville 

Power Administration to do energy upgrades at 5 locations. 

f. ARS has evaluated all of its facilities for sustainability. 

g. In previous years ARS did a water use survey and an electric, natural gas and steam 

meter survey of all facilities. ARS is on track towards having advanced electric meters in 

all energy intensive buildings over 10,000 SF by the end of FY 2012 and similarly natural 

gas and steam meters by FY 2016. 

h. ARS completed a greenhouse gas inventory for scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions as part of the 

Road Test of the Public Sector Protocol. 

i. ARS performed 29 energy audits of facilities in FY 2009, or 40% of covered facilities by 

number. 

j. ARS implemented a program to transition to all green cleaning products at ARS locations 

by the end of FY 2010. 

k. ARS has updated all of its applicable policies, standards, and contracts to incorporate the 

requirements of EO 13423, EO 13514, EPACT 2005 and EISA. 

l. ARS has received technical assistance from DOE as part of their ARRA funds to perform 

training, energy audits, and re-/retro-commissioning. 

1. Goal: Scope 1 & 2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction 

a. Buildings 

1) Reduce facility energy intensity 

ARS will continue to reduce the energy consumption of buildings by implementing 

energy improvement projects and energy awareness programs. 

ARS is incorporating the energy efficiency requirements of EO 13423, EO 13514, 

EPACT 2005 and EISA into all new design and construction projects. This is being 

accomplished by incorporating the requirements into all applicable policies, standards 

and contracts. 

ARS will continue installing advanced meters in all energy intensive buildings over 

10,000 SF where cost effective and is on track to meet the requirements of EPACT 2005 

and EISA. 

ARS will continue to use appropriated funds to perform cost effective energy efficiency 

projects where funds are available. 

D‐5
ARS will continue to use UESCs to identify and implement energy conservation 

measures in buildings where they are available and feasible. At other locations ARS will 

use ESPCs. 

2) Renewable electricity installation and use 

ARS will continue to purchase RECs to meet its statutory requirements for purchase 

and generation of renewable energy. 

ARS will continue to produce renewable energy at its location in Bushland TX and 

Honolulu HI. ARS will also continue to produce renewable energy for small projects 

such as USNA, Morris MN, University Park PA, Boise ID, Watkinsville GA, and Las 

Cruces NM. ARS is installing a geothermal energy system at Morris MN, and 

photovoltaics at Tucson AZ in FY 2010. 

ARS includes cost effective renewable energy installation as a goal in all UESCs and 

ESPCs. 

ARS requires all new designs to consider cost effective renewable energy 

installations. 

ARS is performing renewable energy studies at several locations with the assistance 

of the Department of Energy. ARS plans to act on the cost effective recommendations 

of those studies. 

b. Fleet 

1) ARS will continue to reduce petroleum consumption in fleet vehicles through 

purchase and use policies. 

2) ARS will continue to increase purchase of AFVs and use Alternative Fuels. 

Encouraging area offices to establish infrastructure for storing and delivering 

alternative fuels. South Atlantic Area is increasing use of biodiesel. BARC continues 

to use biodiesel (B20) in all diesel vehicles and equipment. Midwest Area will 

continue to store and dispense E85 in their Peoria fueling station. 

3) ARS is replacing larger SUVs and pick up trucks, with smaller vehicles as part of the 

ARRA fleet purchase. Of the 700 vehicles replaced, 220 were hybrid vehicles and 

250 were E85 vehicles. This includes sedans, SUVs, and pick up trucks. 

4) ARS is purchasing hybrid vehicles, which increase fuel economy but cost more than 

equivalent non-hybrid vehicles. Light duty pick up trucks cost nearly twice as much 

as non-hybrid models. ARS is implementing a policy that purchases of vehicles must 

D‐6
be fuel efficient, including Hybrid or AFV where AF is available, or the functional 

need must be justified. 

c. Other 

ARS is exploring better ways to track bulk fuel consumption of fleet vehicles and equipment not 

captured in FAST. 

ARS is developing a FMS BETA tool to capture and synthesize location energy consumption 

data. 

ARS is moving from TUMs to SureTrack and will be capturing more utility accounts improving 

the accuracy of energy reporting. 

2. Goal: Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Reduction 

a. Federal Employee Travel 

ARS will explore opportunities to replace a percentage of business travel with conference 

calls, net conferencing and video conferencing. 

ARS will encourage the use of rail in lieu of air travel. 

ARS will explore opportunities to expand telecommuting and alternative work schedules 

to reduce commuter emissions. 

ARS will explore other opportunities to encourage commuter efficiency such as public 

transportation subsidies, car pooling or van pooling. 

ARS will encourage the use of fuel efficient rental cars, trucks and equipment. 

b. Contracted waste disposal 

ARS is encouraging increased recycling. 

ARS is encouraging the reduction in waste by using duplex printing. 

ARS is operating composting facilities and accepting waste from USDA HQ and the US 

Capitol. 

c. T&D losses from purchase electricity 

ARS will continue to reduce facility energy intensity and work to increase use of 

renewable energy. 

d. Other 

ARS is exploring other opportunities to monitor and reduce scope 3 emissions within our 

contractors and programs. 

e. Planned activity or policy implementation to improve accuracy and overall data 

collection analysis methods related to scope 3. 

D‐7
3. Goal: Develop and maintain agency comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory 

ARS participated in the Road Test of the Greenhouse Gas Public Sector Protocol. Sources of 

data were explored and calculations were performed for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 

emissions. We expect to refine our data collection during the data call for the next annual 

energy report with additional surveys. Scope 1 and scope 2 emissions for utilities were 

calculated using the data from the FY 2008 annual energy report. Scope 3 was calculated 

using a combination of data from FY 2008 and FY 2009 where FY 2008 was not available. 

For instance, business travel data was incomplete for FY 2008 because travel agency vendors 

changed mid-year in FY 2008. Air travel emissions were calculated based on a FY 2009 

report from Travel Trax. POV business travel was calculated from mileage shown on an ad 

hoc FY 2009 report from Northrop Grumman. The split between cars and light 

trucks/SUVs/vans was estimated from a sample parking lot for a 1200 employee ARS 

building in Beltsville MD and found to be 57% and 43% respectively. Commuting was based 

on averages in national commuting studies compared to data from the USFS road test. As 

recommended by CEQ, 230 work days per year was used. Rental car, taxi and rail emissions 

were calculated from a representative sample of 62 travel vouchers and scaled up by the total 

number of trips in the ad hoc Northrop Grumman report. Scope 3 ARS emissions were also 

scaled up to USDA by a ratio of number of employees. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction 

requirements will be incorporated into all relevant policies and standards. 

4. Goal: High Performance sustainable design/green buildings 

a. ARS has incorporated a requirement into its design standards in Manual 242.1 that all 

new building designs begun after 2020 must be zero net energy buildings by 2030. 

b. ARS has required that all buildings incorporate the 5 guiding principles by incorporating 

the requirement into Design Manual 242.1 and P&P 134.2 Energy, Water and 

Sustainability policy. 

c. ARS has evaluated all existing facilities for sustainability in a survey conducted in 

November 2009. This data will be used to identify buildings that can be made 

sustainable. ARS is making progress towards the goal of 15% sustainable by 2015. 

d. ARS intends to continue to make progress towards the goal of 100% sustainability. 

e. ARS uses cost effective strategies to minimize energy water and materials consumption 

in buildings. Requirements are in P&P 134.2 

f. ARS has just issued a new O&M policy and aims to manage buildings to reduce agency 

deferred maintenance costs. ARS was appropriated $176,000,000 in ARRA finds for 

critical deferred maintenance. 

g. ARS is working to reduce the inventory of inefficient buildings in its inventory that are 

not cost effective to operate. For example a consolidation study was just performed at 

BARC. 

D‐8
h. ARS looks at historic buildings within its programs to utilize them responsibly. The US 

National Arboretum is one of its historic facilities. ARS is renegotiating a programmatic 

agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office for El Reno OK. ARS consults 

with organizations such as the Maryland Historic Trust and is sensitive to the historic 

character of its buildings. 

5. Goal: Regional and local planning 

Lease acquisition requirements are based on the program request and established need. If 

there is a need for major construction, a feasibility study is performed to determine if 

there is available Federally-owned land prior to leasing land. Many ARS land and space 

leases are obtained from universities with a collaborative research program. These leases 

are typically obtained for nominal rent. ARS leases are typically for university-owned 

land or space classified as laboratory or greenhouse. Often on University campuses a 

Master Plan exists and building siting and orientation along with other building 

characteristics are dictated by others. ARS must follow the requirements of public bodies 

established to coordinate land use, development and utilities. ARS assesses and addresses 

the impact of Federal projects on local resources. Interaction with local regulatory groups 

includes compliance with state and local laws, EPA regulations, building codes, energy 

codes and other requirements. Agricultural Research Service also solicits public comment 

in its NEPA process as described at 7 CFR 520. 

6. Goal: Water efficiency and Management 

a. ARS will continue to make progress towards reductions in potable water use intensity. 

ARS P&P 134.2 Energy Water and Sustainability policy requires locations to reduce 

potable water use. ARS, in conformance with USDA decisions has included landscaping 

water associated with buildings in the FY 2007 baseline. Agricultural irrigation was not 

included. ARS has performed a water use survey of all of its facilities to determine its 

position with regards to these water reduction requirements. 

b. ARS is working with its scientific programs, which are the mission of the agency, on the 

requirements of EO 13514 for reductions in agricultural uses of water. This impacts 

aquaculture, livestock and agricultural irrigation. Where efficiencies are cost effectively 

possible without compromising the mission of the agency they will be undertaken. In 

mission-driven agricultural research studies where cost effective efficiency measures will 

not be effective or will impact scientific approaches and objectives, exceptions will be 

sought. Where animal health and welfare are at risk, exceptions also will be sought. ARS 

is committed to the humane treatment of animals. 

c. ARS will continue to seek cost effective water reuse strategies that comply with code. 

d. ARS design standards incorporate the requirement that pre development hydrology must 

be restored for projects with a footprint of 5,000 SF or more. 

7. Goal: Pollution prevention and waste elimination 

D‐9
a. ARS has a chemical hygiene program and follows EPA requirements. Requirements are 

in Manual 230. 

b. ARS will make progress towards diverting at least 50% of non-hazardous (and non C&D) 

solid waste by FY 2015. 

c. ARS has incorporated the requirement to divert at least 50% of construction and 

demolition waste by FY 2015. Due to the long life cycle of a construction project, it will 

be approximately 5 years before the results of this are manifest. Projects must pass 

through the planning, design, bid and construction phases and these are subject to the 

appropriation of funds for each phase among other causes of delay. 

d. ARS OCIO has issued a Bulletin on Electronics Stewardship that requires printers to be 

capable of printing on both sides (duplex) and enabled to do so. 

e. The Electronics Stewardship Bulletin also requires 30% post consumer recycled content 

paper and recycled toner cartridges. 

f. ARS requires compliance with the Solid Waste Act in Manual 230 and ARS acquisition 

policies. ARS has a chemical inventory program and a chemical hygiene plan. ARS has 

implemented a program to transition to all green cleaning products by the end of FY 2010 

including in custodial contracts. 

g. ARS composts waste at our locations. BARC composts waste from the USDA 

headquarters and US Capitol Buildings. 

h. ARS will continue to use integrated pest management and landscape management 

systems. 

i. ARS receives new MSDS sheets which contain information about alternative chemicals. 

j. ARS plans to develop a method of identifying the use of chemicals that emit greenhouse 

gases. 

k. ARS participates in emergency planning and community right to know act activities. It 

provides plans to police, fire and rescue squads with building schematics, chemical 

inventories and information about fume hoods, explosives, chemical storage, etc. 

8. Goal: Sustainable Acquisition 

a. ARS will require that in FY 2011, 95% of new contract actions will be for energy 

efficient, biobased, environmentally preferable, non ozone depleting, recycled and less 

toxic. Biobased and recycled content product will be used if they are comparable in price, 

performance and availability. 

b. There requirements are being incorporated into Manual 242.1, P&P 134.2, various 

acquisition policies and the FAR. 

9. Goal Electronics Stewardship and data centers 

a. ARS has issued an electronics stewardship bulletin that requires responsible purchase, 

use and disposal of electronics. It requires: 

• Desktop computers, laptops and monitors must be listed on the Electronics Product 

Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) website. 

• Printers must be capable of printing on both sides of the sheet (duplex). 

D‐10
D‐11

• Purchase electronics that consume no more than 1 Watt of stand-by power, or if 

impracticable, purchase items with the lowest stand-by power possible. 

• Purchase electronics that bear the Energy Star label or are FEMP designated 

• Paper must be 30% post consumer recycled content. 

• Purchase recycled ink and toner cartridges. 

b. The electronics stewardship bulletin requires the use of sound disposition practices. 

Donate usable electronics to qualified organizations, such as public schools. Sell usable 

or refurbishable equipment to the public. Recycle unusable, unsold equipment using 

sustainable environmental practices that help keep components out of the landfill and 

recover materials for use in the manufacture of new products. It refers to the USDA 

Electronics Stewardship Plan Appendix K for electronics recycling and repurposing 

options. 

c. The electronics stewardship bulletin includes the FEMP Best Practices Guide for Energy 

Efficient Data Center Design. 

d. ARS does not have data centers. 

e. ARS does not have data centers. 

f. The electronics stewardship bulletin requires the use of sound disposition practices. 

Donate usable electronics to qualified organizations, such as public schools. Sell usable 

or refurbishable equipment to the public. Recycle unusable, unsold equipment using 

sustainable environmental practices that help keep components out of the landfill and 

recover materials for use in the manufacture of new products. It refers to the USDA 

Electronics Stewardship Plan Appendix K for electronics recycling and repurposing 

options. 

10. Goal: Agency Innovation 

• ARS has implemented a plan to do UESCs wherever they are available and ESPCs 

elsewhere where they are cost effective. ARS bundled 12 locations into an ESPC in 

the state of Texas. 

• ARS is working with USDA to install photovoltaic panels at the George Washington 

Carver Center in Beltsville MD.