Green Information Technology: Agencies Have Taken Steps to Implement Requirements, but Additional Guidance on Measuring Performance Needed
Published: 2011-07-28T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The federal government's substantial use of information technology (IT) contributes significantly to federal agencies' energy use and environmental impact. To help mitigate this impact, organizations have adopted practices for using computing resources in a sustainable and more environmentally friendly manner-- sometimes referred to as "green IT." These practices include equipment acquisition, use, disposal, and related processes. GAO was asked to (1) determine the extent to which the government has defined policy and guidance on green IT and how selected federal agencies are implementing this policy and guidance, and (2) identify leading green IT practices used by federal agencies, state and local governments, and private-sector organizations. To do this, GAO evaluated federal guidance and policy, as well as guidance and initiatives at selected agencies; identified and characterized efforts in the public and private sectors; and interviewed officials.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Two executive orders, from 2007 and 2009 respectively, assign responsibility to federal agencies for increasing their environmental sustainability and contain green IT-related requirements. These requirements include acquiring electronic products that meet certain environmental standards, extending the useful life of electronic equipment, implementing power management on computers, and managing federal data centers in a more energy efficient manner. In meeting these and other sustainability requirements, agencies are required to designate senior sustainability officers and develop performance plans that prioritize actions for meeting the requirements in the executive orders. The six agencies in GAO's review (the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, and Health and Human Services; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the General Services Administration) have developed sustainability performance plans and taken additional steps to implement the executive orders' requirements. For example, they have increased their acquisition of certified energy-efficient IT equipment, established and implemented policies to extend the useful life of agency equipment, and developed environmental policies for disposing of electronic equipment. However, the overall effectiveness of the agencies' efforts cannot be measured because key performance information is not available. Specifically, the agencies have not identified the information needed to measure the progress or results of their efforts. For example, the agencies have generally not established baselines (starting points) or developed performance targets that are consistently defined in terms of quantifiable benefits, such as a reduction in energy. This is in part because the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and a key White House council--the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)--have not developed specific guidance on establishing performance measures for green IT efforts. Without such guidance, the effectiveness of these efforts and their contribution to overall federal sustainability goals will remain unclear. GAO identified a number of leading practices used by federal, state, and local government and private-sector organizations that are relevant to green IT. These practices include enhanced leadership, dedicated funding, prioritization of efforts, and improved employee training, as well as acquiring IT equipment with the highest energy efficiency ratings; consolidating equipment and services; reducing use of paper; and using new, more efficient computers. For example, according to a 2009 survey of federal employees, agencies spend about $440.4 million per year on unnecessary printing. By contrast, in the non-federal sector, a major IT equipment company implemented managed print services that reportedly reduced the number of printers by 47 percent globally, cut per-page print costs by up to 90 percent, and saved more than $3 million in 2 years in the United States alone.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends OMB and CEQ develop green IT guidance to help agencies more effectively measure performance and encourage the use of leading practices. In comments on this report, OMB and CEQ partially concurred with the recommendations. They agreed to encourage the use of leading green IT practices but did not agree that additional guidance was needed for measuring performance. GAO continues to believe that additional guidance is needed to help determine the effectiveness of agencies' efforts.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The federal government anticipates spending $79 billion on information  technology (IT) in fiscal year 2011. This substantial use of IT makes a  significant contribution to federal agencies’ energy use and environmental  impact. For example, computer equipment contains lead and mercury that  can have an adverse impact on human health and the environment. This  equipment also requires significant energy to operate. To help mitigate  these impacts, organizations have adopted practices to use computing  resources in a sustainable and more environmentally friendly manner— sometimes referred to as “green IT.” Green IT can include a wide range of  practices covering the lifecycle of products and systems, such as  purchasing more energy-efficient technology, managing IT operations to  conserve energy and resources, and disposing of equipment that has  reached the end of its useful life in an environmentally sound way.
This report responds to your request that we review green IT issues. Our  objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which the federal  government has defined policy and guidance on green IT and how  selected federal agencies are implementing this policy and guidance, and  (2) identify leading green IT practices used by federal agencies, state and  local governments, and private-sector organizations.
To accomplish our objectives, we conducted our work at the Office of  Management and Budget (OMB), the White House Council on  Environmental Quality (CEQ), and at a nonprobability sample of six  selected agencies to provide examples of agency green IT efforts—the  Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Commerce (DOC), Energy (DOE),  and Health and Human Services (HHS); the Environmental Protection  Agency (EPA); and the General Services Administration (GSA). DOE and  EPA were selected based on their missions to protect the environment.  DOC and HHS were selected because they were two of the four top  agencies for fiscal year 2009 IT spending. GSA and USDA were selected  for their ongoing green IT efforts. To determine the extent to which the  federal government has defined policy and guidance on green IT, we  reviewed executive orders and other guidance from OMB and CEQ and  interviewed officials from these offices. To determine how agencies are  implementing this policy and guidance, we analyzed internal guidance  developed at each agency in response to federal green IT-related  requirements and interviewed selected agency officials.
In addition, we identified leading green IT practices that have been used  by federal agencies, state and local governments, and private-sector  organizations; we identified these practices through multiple sources,  including our attendance at national IT symposia (e.g., the GreenGov  Symposium held in Washington, D.C., in October 2010); a review of  industry publications, such as ComputerWorld and InfoWorld; an  examination of leading green IT practice information contained on the  federal electronics stewardship Web site, known as FedCenter.gov; and  interviews with various federal and state officials and industry  representatives. Detailed information on the scope and methodology for  our review is provided in appendix I.
We conducted this performance audit from August 2010 through July  2011 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards required that we plan and perform the audit  to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis  for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We  believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: In recognition of the cost, energy usage, and environmental impact of IT,  the federal government has undertaken various initiatives to promote the  acquisition and use of more efficient and environmentally friendly IT  products, commonly referred to as electronic stewardship or “green IT.”  According to OMB Circular A-11, green IT refers to the application of  sustainable and environmentally efficient practices so that computing  resources are used in a sustainable and environmentally efficient  manner.
subsections: section_title: Green IT Encompasses the Environmentally Sound Practices of Purchasing, Managing, and Disposing of IT Equipment
paragraphs: Green IT applies to a broad range of activities that span the entire  lifecycle of IT capital assets, including but not limited to the acquisition,  operations and use, and disposition of equipment. These activities include  developing programs for purchasing equipment that meets certain  environmental standards, operating and managing IT equipment in ways  that reduce energy usage and conserve resources, and disposing of  equipment in ways that lessen the environmental impact of potentially  hazardous waste.
Purchasing equipment. Tools exist to help organizations purchase more  environmentally friendly IT equipment. One such industry tool is the  Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®), which  was developed along the lines of EPA and DOE’s Energy Star program  to assist consumers in comparing and selecting laptop computers,  desktop computers, and monitors with environmentally preferable  attributes. Through EPEAT, manufacturers are rewarded for meeting  increasing levels of energy efficiency and environmental standards by  providing them with a certification label of bronze, silver, or gold. Using  this tool, consumers can also evaluate the design of an electronic product  for energy conservation, reduced toxicity, extended lifespan, and end-of- life recycling, among other things.
Operating and managing IT resources. Effective management of IT  equipment in use can help reduce energy usage and conserve resources.  For example, monitoring and efficiently managing IT equipment’s power  use can help organizations track and reduce specific energy costs.  Software can be used to turn off or power down personal computers  when they are not being used and to track network power usage. New  techniques, such as computer virtualization, are also being used to save  energy. Computer virtualization allows multiple, software-based virtual  machines with different operating systems to run in isolation, side-by-side,  on the same physical machine. Virtual machines can be stored as files,  making it possible to save a virtual machine and move it from one  physical server to another. Virtualization is often used as part of cloud  computing.
Disposing of equipment. Finally, IT equipment may be donated, sold,  recycled, or returned to the manufacturer in lieu of disposal in a landfill.  Organizations donate usable electronics to qualified organizations, such  as public schools, and sell usable or refurbishable equipment to the  general public. Another option is to recycle unusable and unsold  equipment using environmental practices that help keep components out  of landfills and recover materials for use in the manufacture of new  products.
section_title: Environmental Impact and Roles of Key Organizations
paragraphs: The federal government purchases or leases approximately 1 million  computers and monitors each year and estimates it will spend about $79  billion on IT in fiscal year 2011. This investment in IT has environmental  impacts that can be described in terms of cost, energy usage, and waste.  Examples of these impacts include the following:    According to the Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) Program  Manager, the federal government disposes of approximately 750,000  computers and monitors that have reached the end of their useful  lives each year—50 percent are reused; 40 percent are recycled; and  10 percent are discarded.   Office electronics can contain materials such as lead, mercury, and  other constituents that are harmful to human health and the  environment.   The global greenhouse gas emissions attributable to information and  communication technologies, including data centers and computers,  are nearly 2 percent of all emissions.
According to FEC data, there are potential environmental benefits of  implementing green IT in federal agencies. While we did not validate the  data reported by various federal agencies, FEC estimated that energy  savings of over 500,000 megawatts were achieved in fiscal year 2009 as  a result of related efforts by federal agencies, as well as cost savings of  over $48 million.
Two federal organizations play key roles related to green IT:    OMB reviews and approves agency plans and prepares scorecards to  track agencies’ progress toward achieving various federal goals and  requirements, including those for electronic stewardship.   CEQ, in conjunction with OMB, coordinates federal environmental  efforts and works with agencies in the development of policies and  initiatives.
section_title: High-Level Green IT Policy and Guidance Exist, but Effectiveness of Selected Agencies’ Efforts Cannot Be Measured
paragraphs: Federal policy and guidance direct agencies to take a variety of green IT- related actions. Specifically, two executive orders outline broad  requirements for green IT as part of a larger sustainability effort. The six  agencies in our review have taken steps to implement these green IT- related requirements. However, the benefits of the agencies’ efforts  cannot be measured because key performance information is not  available.
subsections: section_title: Executive Orders Outline Broad Green IT-Related Requirements as Part of a Larger Sustainability Effort
paragraphs: Two executive orders—13423 and 13514—assign responsibility to federal  agencies for meeting green IT-related requirements. These requirements,  often referred to as electronic stewardship, are part of a much larger effort  covered by the executive orders to move federal operations toward  environmental sustainability. According to Executive Order 13423  implementing instructions, electronic stewardship seeks to reduce the  environmental and energy impacts of electronic product acquisition,  operation and maintenance, and disposition through continual  improvement for each of these lifecycle phases.
In 2007, Executive Order 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental,  Energy, and Transportation Management,” set goals for federal agencies  to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,  among others. In addition, Section 2(h) of the executive order contains  four broad green IT-related requirements that federal agencies are to  follow:    meet at least 95 percent of agencies’ requirements for new electronic  products with EPEAT-registered products, unless no applicable  EPEAT standard exists;   enable the Energy Star feature on agency computers and monitors;    establish and implement policies to extend the useful life of agency    use environmentally sound practices with respect to disposition of  agency electronic equipment that has reached the end of its useful  life.
To assist the agencies in accomplishing Executive Order 13423  requirements, CEQ provided implementing instructions and directed the  agencies to develop Electronic Stewardship Plans. The implementing  instructions elaborated on the goals in the executive order and included  certain targets that agencies should set for implementing each  requirement. Specifically, each agency should    ensure that 95 percent of its product acquisitions are EPEAT    enable the Energy Star feature on 100 percent of its computers and    use in-house agency computers for a minimum of 4 years before  identify acceptable partners for electronic recycling.
In 2009, Executive Order 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental,  Energy, and Economic Performance,” expanded on the agency  requirements of Executive Order 13423. The executive order required  federal agencies to submit to the Chair of CEQ and the Director of OMB a  2020 greenhouse gas pollution reduction target within 90 days and to  increase energy efficiency, reduce fleet petroleum consumption, conserve  water, reduce waste, support sustainable communities, and leverage  federal purchasing power to promote environmentally responsible  products and technologies. The executive order requires agencies to  meet broad sustainability goals, such as    30 percent reduction in vehicle fleet petroleum use by fiscal year    26 percent improvement in water efficiency by fiscal year 2020; and    50 percent non-hazardous waste diversion by fiscal year 2015.
With regard to green IT, section 2(i) of the order contains five broad  goals. Three of these are similar to those in Executive Order 13423, but  the goals also include requirements related to power management and  data center consolidation. Specifically, under this section, agencies are to    ensure procurement preference for EPEAT-registered electronic    establish and implement policies to enable power management,  duplex printing, and other energy-efficient or environmentally  preferable features on all eligible agency electronic products;   employ environmentally sound practices with respect to the agency’s  disposition of all agency excess or surplus equipment;   ensure the procurement of Energy Star and Federal Energy  Management Program-designated electronic equipment; and implement best management practices for energy-efficient  management of servers and federal data centers.
To meet these requirements, Executive Order 13514 assigns the  agencies several duties. The order requires agencies to designate a  Senior Sustainability Officer, who is accountable for agency conformance  to the requirements of the order. The sustainability officer is to develop  and implement an annual Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan and  monitor the agency’s performance and progress in implementation. The  plan is to be updated and submitted annually to the CEQ Chair and the  OMB Director. Each sustainability plan is to identify agency goals, a  schedule for meeting those goals, milestones, approaches for achieving  results, quantifiable metrics for agency implementation, and prioritized  actions based on lifecycle return on investment.
In addition, both OMB and CEQ have responsibilities and have taken  actions related to agencies’ progress in meeting the executive order  requirements. Specifically, CEQ reviews and OMB approves each  agency’s sustainability plan. CEQ’s duties include preparing, in  coordination with OMB, reporting metrics to determine each agency’s  progress on the goals of the executive order and establishing interagency  working groups that provide recommendations to CEQ for areas of  improvement. To assist the agencies in implementing the requirements,  OMB and CEQ provided guidance through a template for developing the  sustainability plans. According to CEQ officials, this template was not  mandatory, but agencies were instructed to justify using a different  approach.
section_title: Agencies Have Taken Steps to Implement Green IT-Related Requirements
paragraphs: The six agencies in our review are taking steps toward implementing the  green IT-related requirements of the two executive orders. Each agency  has designated a senior sustainability officer and submitted its  sustainability plan to OMB and CEQ for review. Further, the agencies  reported on various initiatives aimed at meeting the requirements. For  example, according to officials, EPA donates the majority of its excess  electronics to schools, state and local governments, eligible nonprofit  organizations, and other federal agencies.
Table 1 shows the agencies’ progress in implementing the green IT- related requirements of Executive Order 13423 (issued in 2007).
As the table shows, the selected agencies have implemented most of the  requirements associated with this executive order. They also all have  plans to address the unmet ones. For example, DOC described an action  planned to meet the Energy Star requirement and plans to report its  progress in its updated sustainability plan.
Table 2 shows the agencies’ progress in implementing the green IT- related requirements of Executive Order 13514 (issued in 2009).
As table 2 shows, implementation to date of the requirements of this more  recent executive order is not as far along. For requirements that have not  yet been implemented, all six agencies described plans and efforts to  meet them. For example, although none of the agencies have completed  the requirement to implement best management practices for energy- efficient management of servers and data centers, they all described  plans to do so.
section_title: Additional Data Needed to Measure Benefits of Agencies’ Efforts
paragraphs: While agencies have taken a variety of steps to implement green IT  practices, the effectiveness of these efforts cannot be measured because  of a lack of performance data. As previously mentioned, Executive Order  13514 requires the agencies to develop, implement, and annually update  their sustainability plans to allow them to prioritize agency actions based  on the lifecycle return on investment. Among other things, these plans are  to (1) identify agency goals, milestones, and quantifiable metrics and (2)  identify opportunities for improvement and evaluate performance to  determine benefits.
Each of the agencies’ 2010 sustainability plans includes planned actions  for meeting the requirements of the executive order. These are related to  increasing the number of devices covered by Energy Star, improving data  center efficiencies, and increasing the use of virtualization and cloud  computing. In addition, most of the agencies’ plans contained actions with  associated percentage-based targets and milestones for meeting them  over several fiscal years. However, the plans do not identify baseline  information for the planned actions. A baseline is a starting point for  measurement (e.g., an agency’s current energy usage) that provides a  basis for measuring progress. Our research has shown that measuring  progress toward performance targets requires establishing such baseline  information. Without baselines, it will be unclear what progress agencies  have made in meeting their targets.
In addition, the agency plans do not identify benefits linked to their  specific green IT efforts. Specifically, the targets identified in the  agencies’ plans are not defined in terms of benefits (such as dollar or  energy savings), and as a result the agencies are not positioned to  identify benefits from their activities and to use that information to  evaluate and prioritize their efforts. For example, USDA had a goal to  reduce the number of its data centers by 5 percent during fiscal year  2010. However, it is unclear whether or by how much meeting this 5  percent reduction goal was expected to result in energy or dollar savings  or other benefits.
The limitations in the data on the effectiveness of agencies’ efforts are  due, in part, to challenges related to developing performance information,  as well as to the guidance provided to the agencies by OMB and CEQ,  which did not include instructions related to collecting this information.    Officials from all six agencies stated that it was challenging to  estimate baseline costs and energy use and to quantify the cost  savings and reduction of energy consumption resulting from  implementation of the executive order requirements. EPA officials  stated that one reason for this is that not all of their buildings are sub- metered at the level necessary to capture this information. While we  acknowledge that establishing baselines and identifying quantifiable  benefits for some agency green IT activities can be challenging,  developing such information, where possible, could help agencies  better determine their progress toward meeting targets.
In addition, the guidance that OMB and CEQ provided to the agencies  did not include instructions for developing baselines. CEQ officials told  us that, other than the sustainability plan template, they have not  issued any further guidance for the plans and do not plan to develop  implementing instructions for Executive Order 13514.
While CEQ does not plan to issue additional guidance, the agency has  been working to develop a national strategy, or road map, for green IT- related initiatives. According to a November 2010 letter, CEQ requested  that EPA and GSA join with the council in co-chairing an interagency task  force to develop such a strategy. This strategy is to include an action plan  to direct federal agencies in achieving requirements related to green IT.  As of June 2011, this strategy, which was due on May 6, 2011—180 days  after the memorandum was issued—had not been released. If  appropriately developed and implemented, such a strategy could provide  additional guidance for agencies to measure the effectiveness of green IT  efforts.
Without specific guidance related to establishing targets and identifying  baselines that measure benefits, agencies, OMB, and CEQ will continue  to be challenged in determining the actual benefits of green IT efforts.  Further, it will continue to be unclear to what extent these efforts are  supporting the federal government’s broader sustainability initiatives.
section_title: Leading Green IT Practices Range from Increased Leadership to Improved Print Management
paragraphs: In addition to the activities agencies have underway to meet the  requirements of the executive orders, we identified a number of leading  practices used by government entities and private sector organizations  that are relevant to green IT. Among others, these practices include  leadership, funding, prioritization, and employee training and involvement:  Obtain senior management commitment. Senior management  commitment can remove potential obstacles when implementing green IT  initiatives and establishing goals. For example, according to a 2009 study  of the key drivers of green IT, research showed that identifying an  executive sponsor who will champion the green IT initiative will help to  remove the road blocks to implementation.
Align green IT with the organization’s budget. According to a 2007  industry report on creating a green IT action plan, green IT must fit within  an organization’s anticipated budget. In recognition of the importance of  adequate funding to program success, the 2009 executive order states  that, starting in fiscal year 2011, strategic sustainability efforts, which  include electronics stewardship (green IT), should be integrated into the  agency’s strategic planning and budgeting process, including the  agency’s strategic plan.
Evaluate and prioritize green IT options. With various green IT options  available, lifecycle return on investment can be a useful tool for  determining which options provide the greatest return on investment in an  environment of reduced agency budgets. According to a 2009 survey of  IT professionals by a national IT services and solutions provider, IT  departments may be foregoing large, long-term savings by ranking factors  such as cost over energy efficiency in their purchasing decisions. One  recommendation from the survey is that organizations need to prioritize  their actions based on costs and benefits.
Provide appropriate agency personnel with sufficient green IT training. As  part of a 2010 private-sector survey of federal chief information officers,  industry officials also offered some observations, including that agencies  should work with the Office of Personnel Management to improve the IT  workforce. The survey noted that, in doing so, government organizations  should use existing best practices, such as those found at the  Department of Defense, to train employees and develop new leaders. In  recognition of the importance of training, the 2007 executive order states  that agencies are to establish programs for environmental management  training. Implementing instructions associated with that order require that  each agency shall ensure that all personnel whose actions are affected  by the executive order receive initial awareness training as well as  necessary refresher training on the goals of the executive order.  Overseas, one British report indicated that increasing the capability of  staff will not only improve the performance of overall IT operations, it  could also reduce the amount that the public sector spends on IT  consultants and contractors by some 50 percent.
Procure IT equipment that meets the most stringent EPEAT standard  available, if economically practical. As discussed previously, EPEAT is a  tool to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate,  compare, and select electronic products based on their environmental  attributes. EPEAT-registered products must meet 23 required  environmental performance criteria. The products are then rated gold,  silver, or bronze based on whether the products met 75 percent or  greater, 50 percent to 74 percent, or less than 50 percent, respectively, of  28 optional criteria. The three EPEAT level ratings differ to a small, but  measurable, extent in their environmental benefits. As we reported in  2009, if federal agencies replaced 500,000 non-EPEAT rated laptop  computers and computer monitors with either EPEAT bronze-rated,  silver-rated, or gold-rated units, the federal government would achieve  energy savings equivalent to 182,796 U.S. households, 183,151  households, or 183,570 households, respectively. In the non-federal  government sector, in March 2009 the city of San Francisco upgraded its  environmental requirement for IT purchases to the EPEAT gold-level as  its procurement baseline whenever possible.
Consolidate and standardize IT equipment and services. In an earlier  2011 report, we noted that, because procurement at federal departments  and agencies is decentralized, the federal government is not fully  leveraging its aggregate buying power to obtain the most advantageous  terms and conditions for its procurements. The report also stated that  applying strategic sourcing best practices throughout the federal  procurement system could produce significant savings. Similarly,  according to a 2010 report by a private-sector IT council, the federal  government’s costs of operating IT systems are higher than they need to  be, in some cases by more than a factor of two. The report estimated  that at least 20 percent to 30 percent of the more than $70 billion spent  annually on IT assets could be eliminated by reducing overhead,  consolidating data centers, eliminating redundant networks, and  standardizing applications. Therefore, the report recommended that the  federal government consolidate IT infrastructure. In the non-federal  sector, the IT council report indicated that IBM had cut its overall IT  expenses in half over the past 5 years through consolidation and  standardization. In addition, the National Association of State Chief  Information Officers (NASCIO) identified consolidation/optimization,  through centralizing or consolidating services, operations, resources,  infrastructure, and data centers, as its number one priority for 2011.
Implement print management actions beyond duplex printing. Using  responses obtained from its 2009 survey of federal employees, an IT  provider estimated that the federal government spends about $1.3 billion  annually on employee printing, and about one-third of that total, or about  $440.4 million per year, is spent on unnecessary printing. The survey  indicated that 89 percent of federal employees report that their agencies  do not have formal printing policies in place—for example, according to  federal employees, just 20 percent of agencies have restrictions on color  printing; only 11 percent of agencies have policies dictating when to print  or not to print; and only 5 percent of agencies require personal password  codes to print. The survey further noted that 69 percent of federal  employees believe that their agencies’ documentation processes could  realistically be converted from paper to digital trails. In the non-federal  sector, Hewlett-Packard implemented managed print services that  reportedly allowed a customer to reduce the number of printers by 47  percent globally, cut per-page print costs by up to 90 percent, and save  more than $3 million in 2 years in the United States alone. In addition,  California implemented the Go-Online program as an alternative to  mainframe printing, reportedly reducing the number of pages printed by  54 million and reducing costs by $700,000 annually.
Utilize new IT tools, such as thin client technology. An alternative to the  use of desktops that is gaining attention is the use of thin client  technology. A thin client is a computer or computer program that depends  heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational  needs. For thin client computers, the applications software, data, and  computer processing power reside on a network server rather than on the  client computer. The Department of State, by the end of fiscal year  2010, replaced 8,187 standard desktop computers with thin clients,  providing annual reported energy savings of 630,399 kilowatt hours and  emission savings of 422.7 tons of CO, an environmental impact  equivalent to planting 1,900 trees or powering 71 households year round.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: Initiatives to implement environmentally sound computing practices at  federal agencies have the potential to generate savings through reduced  energy use and other cost reductions. The agencies in our review, with  the assistance of OMB and CEQ, have taken steps to implement green  IT-related requirements contained in executive orders.
However, even with the potential of green IT, the effectiveness of  agencies’ efforts cannot be measured, in part, because OMB and CEQ  have not provided specific guidance to assist agencies in establishing  baselines and targets that measure energy or cost savings or other  quantifiable benefits. Current OMB and CEQ guidance does not provide  specificity to help agencies assess their progress in implementing  environmentally sustainable IT practices. The national strategy being  developed by CEQ, EPA, and GSA could provide the guidance needed  for increased measurement of energy or cost savings related to green IT  initiatives. In addition, opportunities exist to enhance these efforts through  more widespread adoption of leading green IT practices identified by  government entities and private-sector organizations. Without specific  guidance, agencies, OMB, and CEQ will continue to be challenged in  assessing the effectiveness of green IT efforts and the extent to which  these efforts are supporting the federal government’s broader  sustainability initiatives.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To help federal managers better assess the effectiveness of progress  made toward green IT-related sustainability goals, we recommend that  the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in conjunction with  the White House Council on Environmental Quality, take the following two  actions:    update the existing green IT sustainability guidance, through the  national strategy or another appropriate method, to direct agencies to  develop baselines for their green IT-related goals and, where  possible, targets that measure energy or cost savings or other  quantifiable benefits and consider including the leading green IT practices identified in this  report as part of this guidance.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: We received e-mail or written responses on a draft of this report from  CEQ, OMB, and all six agencies that were included in our review. These  comments and our evaluation are summarized below.    The White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Deputy General  Counsel provided an e-mail response. In the comments, CEQ partially  concurred with our recommendations and also provided technical  comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. In response to our  recommendations, CEQ agreed to consider including leading green IT  practices as part of its update to sustainability guidance. CEQ did not  concur that this guidance should direct agencies to develop baselines  for their green IT-related goals and, where possible, targets that  measure energy or cost savings or other quantifiable benefits.  However, as we stated in this report, our research has shown that  baselines are needed to measure progress. We also maintain that  identifying and tracking benefits resulting from green IT-related efforts  is needed to determine their effectiveness.   A representative from OMB’s Office of General Counsel provided an  e-mail response and stated that OMB generally concurred with our  draft report and also concurred with comments on the draft provided  by CEQ.   The Department of Commerce’s Chief Information Officer provided  written comments. In the comments, the department concurred with  the findings as they apply to the Department of Commerce. These  comments are reprinted in appendix II.   The Department of Energy’s Deputy Chief Information Officer  provided written comments in which the department agreed with our  assessment of DOE’s progress in meeting green IT requirements  associated with Executive Orders 13423 and 13514. These comments  are reprinted in appendix III.   The Department of Agriculture’s representative from the Program  Management Office, Office of the Chief Information Officer, e-mailed  comments for GAO’s consideration. We incorporated these comments  as appropriate.   The Environmental Protection Agency’s GAO Liaison Team Lead in  the Office of Budget provided e-mail comments. The agency offered  technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.   A General Services Administration management analyst from the  Office of the Chief Financial Officer e-mailed a response in which the  agency provided no comments.   A representative from the Department of Health and Human Services’  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation provided an e-mail  response. The department offered technical comments that we  incorporated as appropriate.
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If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, please  contact David Powner at (202) 512-9286 or pownerd@gao.gov or Frank  Rusco at (202) 512-3841 or ruscof@gao.gov. Contact points for our  Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on  the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to  this report are listed in appendix IV.
section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: Our objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which the federal  government has defined policy and guidance on green IT and how  selected federal agencies are implementing this guidance and policy and  (2) identify leading green IT practices used by federal agencies, state and  local governments, and private-sector organizations.
To accomplish our first objective, we obtained and evaluated executive  orders, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) instructions on  green IT activities. We also interviewed OMB, White House Council on  Environmental Quality (CEQ), and selected agency officials about agency  requirements for electronic stewardship or green IT. We focused on a  nonprobability sample of six agencies: the Departments of Agriculture  (USDA), Commerce (DOC), Energy (DOE), and Health and Human  Services (HHS); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the  General Services Administration (GSA).    USDA was selected because it developed a strategic plan focused  solely on green IT, and the department had implemented a green  purchasing program. Further, for fiscal year 2009, USDA IT spending  was $2.4 billion.   DOC and HHS were among the top four federal departments in IT  spending for fiscal year 2009, spending $3.8 and $5.7 billion,  respectively. (The Departments of Defense and Homeland Security  were also among the top four agencies in IT spending for fiscal year  2009. They were not selected because we have extensive ongoing  work at these departments.)   DOE and EPA have missions and initiatives related to green IT. They  jointly operate the Energy Star program. DOE’s Federal Energy  Management Program has developed guidance that specifies the  conditions for agencies to meet executive order requirements. In  addition, EPA has a partnership program, known as the Federal  Electronics Challenge, which among other things, encourages federal  agencies to purchase green electronic products and manage obsolete  electronics in an environmentally safe way.   GSA is the federal government’s supply arm, property manager, and  procurement agency. The agency has several ongoing initiatives and  has published information on some federal, state and local, and  foreign initiatives.
At each agency, we focused on the electronic stewardship (i.e., green-IT- related) requirements found in Executive Orders 13514 and 13423. We  analyzed internal guidance developed in response to the green IT-related  requirements in the orders, and instructions obtained; identified ongoing  or planned initiatives; and obtained and analyzed examples of reported or  proposed cost savings for these initiatives. In addition, we analyzed the  sustainability plans produced by the agencies. As part of this analysis, we  used GAO developed criteria on measuring performance.
GAO, Executive Guide: Measuring Performance and Demonstrating Results of  Information Technology Investments, GAO/AIMD-98-89 (Washington, D.C.: March 1998). standards. Those standards required that we plan and perform the audit  to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis  for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We  believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
section_title: Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Commerce
section_title: Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Energy
section_title: Appendix IV: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contacts
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the individuals named above, Pamlutricia Greenleaf,  Assistant Director; Carlos E. Hazera, Assistant Director; Robert J. Baney;  Kami Corbett; Wilfred B. Holloway; Franklin D. Jackson; Lee A.  McCracken; Vasiliki Theodoropoulos; Adam Vodraska; and Eric D. Winter  made key contributions to this report.