EPA Sustainability Initiatives

Craig E. Hooks, Assistant Administrator

EPA’s Office of Administration and Resources Management 

NACEPT

August 2, 2012
Sustainability at Federal Agencies

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Sustainability Reporting Requirements

• Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, 3)

• Energy

– Intensity

– Sources

– Advanced metering

– Reductions

– Conservation measures and projects

– Commissioning

• Renewable energy

– Onsite generation

– Purchases

– Sources

• Transportation

– Fleet size and makeup

– Alternative fuel usage and AFV procurement
Sustainability Reporting Requirements

• Water (potable)

– Intensity

– Reductions and conservation measures

• Water (landscaping and agricultural)

– Consumption

– Reductions, reuse, and conservation measures

• Green buildings (both owned and leased buildings)

– Incorporation of Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High 

Performance and Sustainable Buildings (for new and existing buildings)

– Zero net energy buildings

• Regional and local planning/siting

• Acquisition

– Green product purchasing 

– Affirmative procurement plan
Sustainability Reporting Requirements

• Waste diversion/pollution prevention

– Waste consumption

– Recycling

– Composting

– Construction and demolition debris

– Chemical management, reuse, and recycling

• Electronics stewardship

– Green IT, EPEAT, ENERGY STAR and other requirements

– Power management, duplexing, sound disposition

– Data center utilization, consolidation, and efficiency

• Environmental Management Systems
Sustainability Reporting Requirements

• Reducing our environmental footprint beyond operations

– Business travel (air and ground)

– Webinars, videoconferencing

– Employee commuting

• Telecommuting

• Public transportation, bike-friendly, carpooling

– Supply chain management

– Wastewater treatment efficiency

– Transmission and distribution efficiency

– Emission coefficients (efficiency of power)

– Contractor services

– Green meetings

– Employee education and outreach

• Electronics recycling

• Green your office

• Waste reduction competitions

• Green teams
E.O. 13514, signed October 2009, "to establish an integrated strategy 

towards sustainability in the Federal Government and to make reduction 

of greenhouse gas emissions a priority for Federal agencies.“ 

Federal Government as Leaders

EPA’s Seven Priorities

• Taking action on climate change

• Improving air quality

• Assuring the safety of chemicals

• Cleaning up our communities

• Protecting America’s waters

• Working for environmental 

justice

• Building strong state and tribal 

partnerships
EPA Programs Promote Sustainability
ARRA’s Green Project Reserve

• When EPA was given $6 billion 

for its Clean Water and 

Drinking Water State Revolving 

Funds in the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act, each state was required to 

set aside 20 percent for green 

project reserve which included:

– green infrastructure, 

– water and energy efficiency 

improvements or 

– environmentally innovative 

activities. 

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson meeting 

with citizens in Fresno, California
Green Project Reserve Success 

• I am pleased to report that 47 states and Puerto Rico 

funded beyond the 20% threshold, to make, for 

example, a wastewater treatment facility in Johnson 

County, Kansas entirely energy self sufficient.
Other Green Project Reserve

Examples 

• The Town of Edmonston partnered with the 

Chesapeake Bay Trust to retrofit one of its 

busiest streets using green infrastructure. 

• EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was present at 

its construction launch in fall 2009 and called 

Decatur Street “one of the greenest streets in 

the country.”

• The Metropolitan District in Hartford, CT 

implemented sludge incinerator upgrades and 

the construction of a heat recovery facility at 

the Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility .

•On a daily basis it uses enough electricity to 

light 35,000 one hundred watt light bulbs and 

will meet approximately one third of its power 

demand. 

I 
EPA’s Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan
EPA Sustainability Goals
EPA’s Sustainability Implementation
EPA’s Sustainability Implementation

• Atlantic Ecology Division Laboratory

– Efficient mechanical 

equipment

– Variable air volume 

labs

– Ground-source 

heat pump

– Green roof
EPA’s Sustainability Implementation

• Caribbean Environmental Protection Division

– EPEAT/ENERGY STAR equipment

– Water-efficient fixtures

– Sustainable furniture
EPA’s Sustainability Implementation

• Research Triangle Park Main Laboratory

– Heat recovery system

– Laboratory ventilation 

and fume hood upgrades

– Onsite renewable 

energy
For questions, please contact Dan Amon, P.E.

Senior Advisor for Energy, Planning, and Review at 

(202) 564-7509 or amon.dan@epa.gov