The U.S Government has invested billions in recent years in a range of efforts including — electric vehicles, sustainable construction materials and energy-efficient buildings — designed to reduce the environmental impact of facilities it owns and leases nationwide. Is the effort paying off? Recent evidence suggests it is.
The federal government is on track to meet some of the Biden administration’s upcoming sustainability goals and cutting costs in the process, according to the Federal News Network. An official from the White House Council on Environmental Quality says the federal government saved about $20 billion through energy savings performance and efficiency initiatives over the past two decades, which translates into about $2 billion in annual cost savings.
As part of an?executive order signed three years ago,?agencies could reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across all federal operations by 2050, including a 65 percent reduction by 2030. The official said the federal government is on track to meet those goals.
At the current rate, agencies would achieve a 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, surpassing the administration’s targets. Federal agencies have seen a 40 percent reduction of greenhouse gases, compared to a 2008 baseline.
The federal government invested $12 billion and launched thousands of sustainability projects, including transitioning to electric vehicles, investing in sustainable construction materials and making federal buildings more?energy efficient.
Federal agencies have ordered nearly 82,000 zero-emission vehicles and installed 10,500 charging ports at federal facilities nationwide. Another 52,500 charging ports are in the process of being installed. All told, electric vehicles now make up about 13 percent of the total federal fleet. The official said zero-emission vehicles made up about 20% of the federal government’s light-duty vehicle purchases this year.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
