Executive Order 13514 and Sustainability

Written by Mike Long, Accu-Tech's Director of Sustainable Design and Professional Education. Mike coordinates our nationwide LEEDE.R. Seminar Series and is a LEED GA.

The message is clear. As a country, the U.S. must get better at conserving energy and taking care of the planet. How are we going to do this? The idea is that Executive Order 13514 would be a start. Signed by President Obama in October 2009, Executive Order 13514 requires all Federal Agencies to make sustainability a priority in agency operations, and covers all aspects of agency operations from the construction or renovation of facilities to the conduct of daily business. This order simply states that every Federal Agency and organization must create, submit to the White House, and execute a sustainability plan demonstrating how they meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by the year 2020. The reduction of greenhouse gases from Federal activity is one of the primary focuses of the Executive Order. Federal agencies are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under direct control of the agency, emissions created producing energy from the agency, and emissions indirectly related to the agency from sources such as vendors and employee commuting. It also requires Federal Agencies to ensure 95% of new contract actions, including task and delivery orders, for products and services are energy efficient, water efficient, bio-based, environmentally preferable, non-ozone depleting, contain recycled content or are non-toxic or less toxic alternatives. Other sustainability considerations include improved water efficiency, reduced environmental impact from materials used in agency operations and diversion of waste from landfills and incineration facilities.

Many Federal Agencies are using LEED as a tool to achieve the requirements of EO 13514. Though LEED considers the sustainability of the individual buildings, by achieving the requirements of the "LEED for New Construction" or "LEED for Operations and Maintenance" rating systems for buildings agency wide, most Federal agencies are successfully implementing EO 13514. If everyone complies and the order is successful, it is estimated that the U.S. could save between $8 and $11 billion annually on energy costs. The truth is that most of the movement towards these requirements have been going on for quite some time. EO 13514 superseded  Executive Order 13423 - January 24, 2007 ("Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy and Transportation Management").  EO 13423 also requires Federal Agencies to include acquisition of bio-based, environmentally preferable, energy efficient and have recycled content products in agency acquisitions of goods and services. Various laws and parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) require that agencies purchase environmentally sustainable products and services. The applicable laws and parts of the FAR are mentioned in the relevant sections of this plan.

The time is now to "get in the know." Most of our state and local governments are also starting to utilize the body of work the Federal Governmental has laid out for themselves. Many companies in "Corporate America" are building and operating with these Executive Orders in mind. The more we know about what they want and need, the better suited we will be to win the business when the time comes. There are several places to go to obtain more information on EO 13514.  Please look at the websites listed below if you are interested. You can also call your local Accu-Tech Rep and have one of our LEED credentialed professionals assist you with that as well.


www.ceileadership.org

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/regulations/eo13514.html

http://www.everblue.edu/executive-order-13514


Stop by again next month! I will be going over "Sub-Metering" and what it means for a LEED project.