Office of Federal Sustainability

The Office of Federal Sustainability is housed at the White House Council on Environmental Quality which is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The Office of Federal Sustainability. leads and coordinates policy to promote energy and environmental sustainability across all U.S. Federal Government Departments and Agencies. The U.S. Federal Government encompasses more than 350,000 buildings, 600,000 vehicles, and $500 billion in goods and services purchased annually; and is the U.S. economy's largest single energy consumer

The Office of Federal Sustainability was originally entitled the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive. The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive was created in 1993 by Executive Order 12873 https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-09-16/pdf/98-25023.pdf under President Clinton and renamed the Office of Federal Sustainability by Executive Order 13693 under President Obama, and has continuously served Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. The Office of Federal Sustainability is led by a Presidentially-appointed Federal Chief Sustainability Officer.

Formation, History, and Programs

Originally entitled the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, the Office was created by Executive Order 12873 on October 20, 1993, by President Bill Clinton. Subsequently, Executive Order 13101 [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-09-16/pdf/98-25023.pdf] expanded the scope of the Office. Fran McPoland was appointed as the nation's first Federal Environmental Executive and served until the end of President Clinton's term. Waste reduction, including mandating the use of recycled paper products, was a priority focus of the Federal sustainability effort during the Clinton Administration. For example, the implementation of these recycling mandates by the Department of Defense in 1997 was projected to save 150,000 trees per year.

During President George W. Bush's Administration, the scope of the Office was expanded by Executive Order 13423 [https://www.fedcenter.gov/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=6523&destination=ShowItem] to include green buildings, environmental management systems, and electronics waste recycling while also increasing the performance mandates for energy efficiency and water conservation. John Howard led the Office as Federal Environmental Executive, and was followed by Edwin Piñero and Joseph Cascio. Supported by complementary Federal energy performance mandates in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signature accomplishments during this period included implementation of ISO 14000 environmental standards across Federal facilities and mandatory implementation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building System Certification across new construction and major renovation of Federal buildings. Additional accomplishments included the 2004 publication of a major study of the costs and benefits of LEED Certification [https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/pdf/gsaleed.pdf]. These mandates were further reflected the ongoing Greening of the White House effort. Formally initiated under President Clinton, greening efforts under President Bush included installing solar hot water heating for the pool and solar PV on National Park Service facility on the White House grounds

During President Barack Obama's Administration, the scope of the Office was again expanded by Executive Order 13514, which required Federal agencies to measure, monitor, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. As a result, the U.S. Federal government committed to reduce its aggregate greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive subsequently led additional Executive actions based on EO 13514 including Presidential Memoranda requiring the Federal government to reduce energy and create jobs by completing $2 billion in energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) in two years as a part of the Better Buildings Challenge and to derive at least 20% of Federal agency energy use from renewable energy sources. Additional Federal sustainability achievements during this period included doubling the Federal hybrid fleet and completing more than $4 billion in energy savings performance contracts - cutting the Federal governments energy bill by more than $8 billion over 18 years. In 2016, President Obama signed Executive Order 13693 [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-25/pdf/2015-07016.pdf] on Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade which changed the name to the Office of Federal Sustainability. Related greening the White House efforts under the Obama Administration included installing solar panels on the Executive Residence. The installation of solar panels on the White House was announced at the GreenGov Summit in 2010, which was presented by the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive.

Michelle Moore was appointed as the Obama Administration's first Federal Environmental Executive, and was followed by Jon Powers and Kate Brandt. During Kate Brandt's term as Federal Environmental Executive, the title of the position was changed to Federal Chief Sustainability Officer. Christine Harada served as the final Federal Chief Sustainability Officer of the Obama Administration.

In May of 2018, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 13834 on Efficient Federal Options, which repealed Executive Order 13693. The Executive Order preserves Federal government efficiency goals. As of September 2018, the Trump Administration has not appointed a Federal Chief Sustainability Officer.

Presidential Executive Actions on Sustainability The following Presidential Executive Orders and Memoranda on Sustainability set Federal Agency goals and mandates and define the purpose and work of the Federal Office of Sustainability (formerly Office of the Federal Environmental Executive)

Executive Order	Issued By	Date Issued
EO 12873 on Federal Acquisition, Recycling, and Waste Prevention	President Clinton	October 20, 1993
EO 13101 on Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition	President Clinton	September 14, 1998
EO 13423 on Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management	President Bush	January 24, 2007
EO 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance	President Obama	October 5, 2009
Presidential Memorandum on Implementation of Energy Savings Projects and Performance-Based Contracting for Energy Savings	President Obama	December 2, 2011
Presidential Memorandum on Driving Innovation and Creating Jobs in Rural America through Biobased and Sustainable Product Procurement	President Obama	February 12, 2012
Presidential Memorandum on Federal Fleet Performance	President Obama	May 24, 2011
Presidential Memorandum on Federal Leadership on Energy Management	President Obama	December 4, 2013
EO 13693 on Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade	President Obama	March 19, 2015
EO 13834 on Efficient Federal Operations	President Trump	May 17, 2018

Past Heads of the Office of Federal Sustainability (formerly the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, Office renamed by Executive Order 13693 in March 2015)

Name	Title	Appointed By	Term of Service
Fran McPoland	Federal Environmental Executive	President Clinton	1994 - 2000
John Howard	Federal Environmental Executive	President Bush	2000 - 2004
Edwin Piñero	Federal Environmental Executive	President Bush	2004 - 2006
Joseph Cascio	Federal Environmental Executive	President Bush	2006 - 2009
Michelle Moore	Federal Environmental Executive	President Obama	2009 - 2012
Jon Powers	Federal Environmental Executive	President Obama	2012 - 2014
Kate Brandt	Federal Chief Sustainability Officer	President Obama	2014 - 2015
Christine Harada	Federal Chief Sustainability Officer	President Obama	2015 - 2016

Presidential Awards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Performance (GreenGov Awards)

Established by President Bush in Executive Order 13423 in 2007 and dubbed the GreenGov Presidential Awards during the Obama Administration, these annual Presidential Awards are presented for extraordinary achievement in energy and environmental performance to leading Federal agencies, facilities, and teams. A comprehensive listing of Presidential Award winners is available at FedCenter.com [https://www.fedcenter.gov/opportunities/awards/greengovpresidentialawards/].

Federal Agency Scorecards Measure and Report Sustainability Performance

The White House Office of Management and Budget oversees the development and publication of "Scorecards" that measure and report Federal agency performance against sustainability goals defined by Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum. Aggregate and individual agency performance is published publicly by OMB [https://www.sustainability.gov/performance.html].

Guidance and Implementing Instructions

The Office of Federal Sustainability, formerly the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, is charged with developing implementing instructions and guidance to the agencies about how to achieve the goals set forth by Executive Action. Implementing instructions and guidance development by the Office of Federal Sustainability is issued to the Agencies by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Direct of the Office of Management and Budget. FedCenter.gov, a Federal interagency resource managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, publishes comprehensive implementing instructions and guidance alongside additional Federal resources, inclusive of historic archived data. [https://www.fedcenter.gov]

Federal Interagency Sustainability Steering Committee

The Federal Interagency Sustainability Steering Committee (Steering Committee) is jointly overseen by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and it is chaired and convened by the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer. The Steering Committee is composed of a Senior Agency Official from each Federal Department and Agency who serves as the Agency Chief Sustainability Officer. Additional interagency working groups that advise and inform the work of the Office of Federal Sustainability include the Interagency Energy Management Working Group and the Interagency Sustainability Working Group

References

This article "Office of Federal Sustainability" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Office of Federal Sustainability. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---