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Many critics have pointed to inaction and called the federal government hypocritical as it tries to force corporations to focus on environmental issues, while it appears to do nothing itself. This large and unwieldy organization is the biggest energy user in the United States and consequently its largest polluter. It is yet to publish the size of its own footprint.

Within the federal government, hundreds of individual divisions and departments operate largely independently of a central mandate. While many divisions interact with each other, there does not seem to be a central approach to resource usage and agency emissions go largely unchecked.

It has long appeared that the US government puts corporate profits ahead of any responsibility toward the environment. The government’s published position on issues such as the Kyoto Protocol has been that each country must accept its fair share of responsibility or there is no point in any one country doing anything.

Pres. Barack Obama swept to power promising change, including the very thorny issue of sustainability. He fully realized that they have to lead by example and his first executive order focused on agency emissions, requiring each federal agency to work out the size of its carbon footprint and publish plans how to contain it.

No one appears to know the size or scale of agency emissions. Unlike other major organizations around the world, the US federal government has not owned up to the size of its carbon footprint, nor has it issued significant plans to curtail its energy usage. The former administration paid lipservice to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, but this latest executive order is far more focused.

Although the president did not set a specific goal for carbon reduction, he nevertheless made it clear that the position should be calculated and action taken. This will require agencies to scrutinize the performance of each of their assets, understanding all performance implications and raising a question as to whether they will in fact be able to control their own agency emissions.

While the president set a 10 year deadline, agency chiefs will first have to work out how they are going to calculate their emission inventories and how they are going to be able to initiate any significant reductions.

Large organizations around the world now realize that they can eke out a competitive advantage if they take accountability for their energy use. If they can show the important stakeholders and consumers that they are truly “green” they can benefit from the positive feedback. As Congress debates legislation covering the overall issue, the federal government will have to learn how to control its own agency emissions.

Daniel Stouffer has much more information about agency emissions and how a visit to www.verisae.com can benefit you.

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