From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2007, agencies were to meet the energy goals established by two executive orders and a statute as shown in figure 2. Using energy data that agencies submit, DOE reports to Congress on agencies’ performance toward meeting these energy goals. According to DOE, for fiscal year 2007, the buildings subject to these energy goals consumed approximately one-third of the energy consumed by the federal government as a whole. Federal buildings obtain this energy from a number of different energy types, as shown in figure 3. According to 2007 national data from DOE’s Energy Information Administration, electricity generation consists of coal (49 percent), natural gas (21 percent), nuclear electric power (19 percent), hydroelectric power (6 percent), and other (5 percent). Carbon dioxide and certain other gases trap some of the sun’s heat in the earth’s atmosphere and prevent it from returning to space. The trapped heat warms the earth’s climate, much like the process that occurs in a greenhouse. Hence, the gases that cause this effect are often referred to as greenhouse gases. Fuel types vary in the amount of greenhouse gases that they emit. For example, the burning of coal and oil emits greater quantities of greenhouse gases during energy use than other fossil fuels, such as natural gas. Renewable energy is produced from sources that cannot be depleted and, unlike fossil fuels, most renewable sources do not directly emit greenhouse gases. According to draft data agencies provide to DOE, most of the 22 federal agencies reporting in fiscal year 2007 met the energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission, and renewable energy goals. Some agencies used credits to meet the goals and would not have met the goals through reductions in energy intensity alone. Figure 4 shows the energy consumed, measured at the site where it is consumed rather than the source of the energy, in buildings that are subject to the energy goals, for 10 agencies with the highest energy consumption, in addition to the other 12 agencies reporting to DOE in fiscal year 2007. The other 12 agencies consumed a combined total of only about 4 percent of total site-delivered energy. Energy efficiency. As figure 5 shows, all but one agency met the 2007 energy efficiency goal laid out in E.O. 13423, which calls for a 6 percent reduction in energy intensity from a 2003 baseline. Among the agencies held to the goal, only the Railroad Retirement Board missed it, reducing energy intensity by 5.8 percent from its 2003 baseline. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reduced energy intensity by 63.8 percent from a 2003 baseline, which was the largest reduction among the agencies. As a whole, the 22 agencies met the energy efficiency goal, with agencies cumulatively reducing energy intensity by 11 percent from 2003 levels. Use of credits for the purchase of renewable energy and source energy was common among agencies in 2007. USPS was the only agency that did not use any credits. Of the 21 agencies that used credits, 3 that met the energy efficiency goal with the credits would not have met the goal without them. EPA achieved the greatest percentage of its energy intensity reduction using credits—81.2 percent of its overall reduction in energy intensity came from the use of credits—representing about 5 percent of the total credits the federal government used. In contrast, about a third of DOD’s reduction in energy intensity came from credits, but this reduction accounted for over half of all the credits the federal government used because DOD is overwhelmingly the largest consumer of energy in the government. Almost one-third of the total reduction in energy intensity reported by agencies is attributable to the use of credits. Most agencies—21 of 22—used renewable energy purchase credits in fiscal year 2007. Five agencies also used source energy credits. For all agencies, renewable energy purchase credits accounted for about two- thirds of all credits used. Both types of credits were established under E.O. 13123. Source credits were aimed at helping the federal government reduce total energy use at the source of generation. According to DOE, renewable energy purchase credits were established to support the renewable energy industry. Although the credits were established to support federal energy policies, they do not reflect actual decreases in energy intensity. Greenhouse gas emissions. The same 21 of 22 agencies met the 2007 greenhouse gas emissions goal under E.O. 13423, which holds agencies to the same standard as the energy efficiency goal—a 6 percent reduction in energy intensity from a 2003 baseline. The same renewable energy purchase and source energy credits that count toward the energy efficiency goal also count toward the greenhouse gas emissions goal. Renewable energy. Seventeen of the 22 agencies met the fiscal year 2007 renewable energy goal, as figure 6 shows. This goal requires that at least 3 percent of total electric energy consumption come from renewable energy sources, with at least half of the required renewable energy an agency consumes coming from resources put into service after January 1, 1999. The departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and State; the Social Security Administration; and USPS missed the goal. EPA achieved the greatest percentage of total electric consumption from renewable sources, with 153.5 percent. EPA was able to count more than 100 percent of its electricity consumption as renewable because it bought renewable energy certificates that exceeded the electricity it used, and because it received a small bonus for renewable energy generated on federal or Indian land. As a whole, the federal government met the renewable energy goal, with 4.9 percent of its electricity use coming from renewable sources and at least half of this energy coming from newer renewable sources; only about 3 percent of the renewable energy total is attributable to bonuses. Determining the extent to which agencies have made progress toward the goals over time is problematic due to key changes in the goals—as specified in statute and executive order—and how performance is measured. Performance can be compared across years when the way a goal is measured remains unchanged. After substantial change, however, there is no consistent measure against which to compare long-term progress toward the goals. Energy efficiency. Key changes in the energy efficiency goal since 2005 illustrate the difficulty in making comparisons. As figure 7 shows, EPAct 2005 made key changes in both building categories and baseline years, and also changed the percentage reduction and the year by which agencies should have reduced energy intensity by that percentage. These key changes make it problematic to compare agency performance against the goal before and after EPAct 2005 took effect. Although all but 1 of 22 agencies met the single energy efficiency goal in 2007 for buildings subject to the goal, according to draft DOE data, this performance cannot be directly compared with performance in 2005. In that year, only 8 of 17 agencies met the goal for standard buildings and 8 of 12 agencies met the goal for industrial and laboratory buildings. Difficulty in comparing agency performance against the goal mainly resulted because of the key changes in building categories and baselines. The change from two building categories—standard and industrial and laboratory—to only one category changed the total square footage included in the energy intensity calculation. Data on NASA’s performance against the energy efficiency goal in 2005 and 2007 show the difficulty in gauging progress after a key change to a goal. In 2005, the agency met the standard building goal by reducing energy intensity for those buildings by 30.4 percent against a 1985 baseline, exceeding the goal of 30 percent. It missed the industrial and laboratory building goal, reducing energy intensity for those buildings by 16.1 percent against a 1990 baseline, short of the goal of 20 percent. In 2007, NASA exceeded the goal for all buildings subject to the goal by reducing energy intensity by 17.6 percent against a 2003 baseline, well over the goal of a 6 percent reduction. However, because of changes in the baseline year and building categories, NASA’s performance against the goal in 2007 cannot be directly compared with its performance in 2005 or earlier. While we focused on how changes to measurement of the energy efficiency goal make assessing progress toward meeting the goal problematic, DOE also maintains actual energy intensity data for reporting agencies dating back to 1985. According to the data, agencies decreased energy intensity in all their buildings from 1985 to 2007 by approximately 14.3 percent. However, these data do not reflect the evolution of the energy efficiency goal during that period. For example, buildings that are excluded under the executive orders and EPAct 2005 are included in these totals. Greenhouse gas emissions. Similar comparative difficulties show up in examining progress toward the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Before 2007, under E.O. 13123, the goal called for reducing the amount of emissions by 30 percent by 2010 compared to a 1990 baseline. E.O. 13423 significantly changed how the federal government measures progress toward this goal. Now, the greenhouse gas emissions direction is measured using energy intensity against a 2003 baseline. Figure 8 shows the details of these changes. Performance against the greenhouse gas emissions goal may be compared from 2000 to 2006, when E.O. 13123 remained in place and the goal was measured in the same way. However, the key change in E.O. 13423 from greenhouse gas emissions to energy intensity means that it is problematic to compare agency performance in 2007—when all but 1 agency met the greenhouse gas emissions goal—with performance in 2005—when only 7 of 21 agencies were on track to meet the goal. For example, VA actually increased its greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 by 20.3 percent from its 1990 level, and was far from meeting the greenhouse gas emissions goal of a 30 percent reduction by 2010. In 2007, however, it met the emissions goal because it exceeded the energy efficiency goal. E.O. 13423 states that agencies are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy intensity. However, a reduction in energy intensity does not track directly with lower greenhouse gas emissions for two reasons. First, if an agency’s energy consumption increases but square footage increases at a greater rate, then energy intensity is reduced while greenhouse gas emissions will increase, assuming all else remains unchanged. Second, the level of greenhouse gas emissions depends on the type of fuel used to generate energy.