The federal facilities inventory contains a diverse portfolio of assets that are used for a wide variety of missions. According to the fiscal year 2001 financial statements of the U.S. government, the federal government’s real property assets—including land— are worth about $328 billion. In terms of facilities, the latest available governmentwide data from GSA indicated that as of September 30, 2000, the federal government owned and leased approximately 3.3 billion square feet of building floor area worldwide. As shown in figure 1, the Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Postal Service (USPS), General Services Administration (GSA), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hold the majority of the owned facility space. Figure 1 also shows that DOD, the Department of State (State), GSA, and USPS lease the most space. A set of federal laws, regulations, executive orders, and executive memorandums direct federal facility managers to reduce the energy and environmental impacts of the buildings they manage. In enacting the Federal Energy Management Improvement Act of 1988 (FEMIA), Congress recognized, among other things, that the federal government is the largest single energy consumer in the nation, and that the cost of meeting the federal government’s energy requirements is substantial. The purpose of FEMIA, as amended, is “to promote the conservation and the efficient use of energy and water and the use of renewable energy sources by the federal government.” FEMIA, as amended, sets forth energy performance requirements for federal buildings, establishes the use of life cycle methods and procedures for application of energy conservation measures, and establishes an interagency energy management task force to coordinate the activities of the federal government in promoting energy conservation. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) was intended to further enhance federal energy management practices. In this regard, it requires the GSA Administrator to hold biennial conference workshops in each of the federal regions on energy management, conservation, efficiency, and planning strategy; requires agencies to conduct energy management training; requires the establishment of energy audit teams to perform energy audits of federal facilities; and requires agencies to identify energy efficient products in carrying out their procurement and supply functions. Several executive orders direct agencies to employ green practices in facility and fleet management, and executive memorandums encourage agencies to use energy saving performance contracts and environmentally friendly landscaping practices. In addition to facilities-related initiatives, EPACT establishes a minimum number of alternative fuel vehicles for federal agencies beginning in fiscal year 1993 and requires the Secretary of Energy to carry out an alterative fuel vehicle program. According to the most recently available data from GSA, the federal government operated 596,114 vehicles in fiscal year 2001. Alternative fuels include ethanol, methanol, natural gas, propane, and electricity. Alternative fuel vehicles operate on these fuels, although some of them can operate on gasoline. In total, the Energy Information Administration estimated that the federal government operated 68,890 alternative fuel vehicles in 2002. The primary program for promoting energy efficiency in the federal government is DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). Established in 1973, FEMP works to reduce the energy cost and environmental impact of federal government practices by advancing energy efficiency and water conservation, promoting the use of distributed and renewable energy, and improving utility management decisions at federal sites. FEMP provides a range of services to federal agencies aimed at helping facility managers achieve greater energy efficiency and cost- effectiveness in areas such as new construction, building retrofits, equipment procurement, and utility management. FEMP also advises agencies on establishing partnerships with the private sector to improve energy efficiency, using innovative technologies, and addressing energy- related policy matters as they pertain to federal facilities. For example, one way that FEMP helps agencies become more energy efficient is through utility energy services contracts. In these contracts, the utility company typically arranges financing and constructs the necessary capital improvements to the agencies’ building systems. In return, the utility is repaid over the term of the contract from the cost savings generated by the newly installed, energy-efficient improvements. This allows agencies to become more energy efficient while minimizing the up-front costs of the capital improvements. According to DOE, since 1995 more than 45 electric and gas utilities have provided project financing for energy and water efficiency upgrades at federal facilities, investing more than $600 million through these contracts. As part of its central management responsibilities in federal real property, GSA encourages agencies to use green or sustainable design approaches in federal construction and renovation projects. The objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of nonrenewable resources, minimize waste and impact on the environment, optimize site potential, minimize nonrenewable energy consumption, use environmentally preferable products, protect and conserve water, enhance indoor environmental quality, and optimize operational and maintenance practices. The end result of a sustainable design is a healthier working environment that costs less to maintain over time than traditional methods and is better for the environment. To measure sustainability efforts, GSA and other agencies have begun using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. The U.S. Green Building Council—a coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work—developed LEED to help apply principles of sustainable design and development to facilities projects. According to information from GSA, by using LEED, agencies can gauge the impact of design decisions on energy efficiency and other sustainability factors. By using the principles of sustainable, green design, agencies are trying to improve energy efficiency, reduce life-cycle costs, and reduce environmental impacts in the design, construction, and operation of federal facilities. Some examples of facilities where these approaches have been applied are the White House, the Pentagon, and the Zion Canyon National Park Visitor Center. According to information from DOE, in 1993 a team of experts from several federal agencies and private organizations helped create a “greening plan” for the White House to be implemented as part of ongoing facility maintenance and operation. Measures taken included changes to the building envelope to reduce energy loss through the roof, windows, and walls; and modifications to the lighting systems to increase efficiency and maximize natural lighting. In 1999, DOE estimated that these and other efforts resulted in cost savings of approximately $300,000 annually through reductions in energy, water, landscaping, and waste removal costs. More recently, according to information from the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, the White House installed its first-ever solar electric system in late 2002. This included putting solar panels on the roof of the complex’s primary maintenance building and installing two solar thermal systems to heat the pool and spa and provide domestic hot water. According to information from DOE, DOD developed and implemented plans to reduce building energy use and incorporate environmentally sensitive materials, including materials that require the least energy to produce and that can be recycled after use, as part of an extensive $1.1 billion renovation of the Pentagon. As part of these efforts, DOD constructed a new state-of-the-art heating and ventilation plant, modified and insulated the building envelope to increase energy efficiency, and built irrigation systems that use water from the nearby Potomac River to irrigate areas around the building. DOD also built two solar electric systems to demonstrate the reliability and feasibility of using solar energy. One of the goals of the renovation project is to cut energy costs by up to 30 percent by fiscal year 2005, which according to DOD officials could save between $4 million and $5 million each year. Energy efficient design was used, according to information from DOE, in constructing the new Zion National Park Visitor Center and Transportation Center at Zion National Park in Utah that opened in May 2000. According to DOE, the National Park Service worked with DOE to create a design that preserves the natural beauty of the park while saving energy and money. Innovative features included systems that work to naturally cool or heat the facility, electricity producing solar panels, and efficient landscaping that complements the building and reduces the need for irrigation. Overall, DOE predicts that these features will save about $14,000 a year. Figure 2 shows the new Zion National Park Center. In addition to these examples, our work at the Government Printing Office (GPO) and GSA in recent years illustrated the potential cost benefits of investing in energy efficiency. For example: At GPO, the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) estimated that GPO could save over $400,000 a year on energy and maintenance costs by replacing its outdated air conditioning chillers with new, more energy efficient chillers. We also reported that PEPCO had recommended that GPO consider upgrading its energy inefficient lighting at an estimated cost of $1.6 million to achieve an estimated $800,000 in annual energy savings. According to GPO, it plans to have the chiller project completed in April 2003 and the lighting upgrade completed by May 2003. In our work on the backlog of repair and alteration needs in GSA- controlled federal buildings, we found that 44 buildings in GSA’s inventory each had $20 million or more in repair and alteration backlogs. Many of the repair and alteration needs in these buildings had a direct impact on the energy efficiency of the buildings, including aging and inefficient plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. For example, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Building in Washington, D.C., had a repair and alteration backlog of $216 million, which included the need to address the building’s antiquated air conditioning system. GSA officials said that this system, which uses about 250 individual window units, is outdated and not efficient in cooling the building or conserving energy. Figure 3 shows an individual air-conditioning unit in a window in the Eisenhower building. Despite the possible benefits of using energy efficient, green approaches in federal construction and renovation projects, available data indicate that some agencies believe they face significant obstacles in implementing these approaches.