CarbonFeet

Critics of government action which would force corporate attention to focus on environmental change, point to the fact that the federal government does not lead by example. The burgeoning organization is often touted as the country’s largest polluter and seems slow to accept its responsibilities and publish the size of its energy footprint.

There are many hundreds of individual departments and divisions within the government, operating largely independently. Some act with each other and interact regularly, but there is no central approach when it comes to common resource usage and agency emissions continue unabated.

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.

When Pres. Obama came to power promising change, sustainability, energy efficiency and direct action seemed inevitable. One of his first actions was to lead by example and issue an executive order centered on agency emissions. Each agency must calculate the size of its footprint and determine how it would be reduced.

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.

Many forward thinking organizations realize that they must take accountability for their energy use, down to the last detail. They realize that they can have a competitive advantage if they are proactive and show a discerning client base that they are “green.” The federal government will have to determine how to control its own agency emissions even as Congress debates overall legislation.

Daniel Stouffer has a lot of data about agency emissions and how a visit to www.verisae.com can be of use to you.

Through the release of an executive order, energy reform and emission reduction has gained a significant spotlight around the country. President Obama’s latest EO may have been received with little fanfare in the populist media, but is likely to have a very significant effect on overall energy use in the United States.

Pres. Obama has received some criticism for not being more vocal in his support for climate change, for not recognizing that the USA must take a lead in environmental issues. After signing his latest executive order, energy change advocates granted him some credibility for at least taking a step to curb the carbon emissions of the country’s largest polluter, the federal government.

Obama’s predecessor, President Bush, was far from one of the most staunch advocates of climate change and energy restrictions in general. His own executive order on the subject only brushed over the concept of carbon reductions.

Within the details of Obama’s executive order, energy use must be analyzed at the federal level by a comprehensive process of determination. The agencies have been instructed to develop a 10 year plan and determine their own levels of reduction, as indicated by a percentage figure. This will require each agency to devise a system and once approved to ensure that it is initiated.

The details of the executive order, energy reduction concepts and overall reporting requirements pose a significant challenge for agency chiefs. The size of the federal carbon footprint has never been determined before, yet now each agency has to determine the size of its own greenhouse gas inventories.

As the largest consumer of energy in the country, the federal government must take the lead when it comes to reducing greenhouse gases. Due to to the sheer size of the government and its many employees, there is bound to be an additional effect as these measures become widely interpreted and adopted by suppliers and communities.

As indicated by the executive order, agency officials must work with each other to try and establish best practices. The federal government may not be known for its ultimate efficiency and as it will now be necessary to analyze the output of each individual asset, solutions must be sought to assist in the gathering and interpretation of this data.

Copenhagen will be the setting for a gathering of world leaders as a new international climate change protocol is debated. With legislation stalled in the U.S. Congress, Pres. Obama’s new administration and his latest executive order will be closely scrutinized as their stance on overall environmental protection is judged.

Daniel Stouffer has a lot of information about executive order energy issues and how a visit to www.verisae.com will aid you.