United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Administration and Resources Management's Newsletter on Energy Conservation
and Sustainable Facilities
April 2007
EPA Recognizes 2006
Sustainability Leaders
Btu Buster Award
• Rick Dreisch
• Rodney Booth
Energy Partner of the
Year-Field
• Steve Dorer
Green Thumb Award
• Mid-Continent Ecology
Division Laboratory
H2Overachiever Award
•Linda Donahue
• Robert Manos
• Stephanie Bailey
• Bob Beane
Leading Edge Award
• Russell Ahlgren
• Mark Tagliabue
• Chet McLaughlin
• Region 7 Emergency Response
Facility Relocation Team
Lifetime Achievement Award
• Gail Miller Wray
P2 Partners of the Year
• Ruth Schenk
• Dorothy Branham
Reporter of the Year
•Fred Childers
Reporter of the Year-Honorable
Mention
• Art Zimmerman
Senior Management Advocates
for Sustainability
• Chris Grundler
•Martha Cuppy
Sustainable Partner of the Year
• Cathy Berlow
For more details about EPA's
2006 Sustainability award win-
ners, please visit
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ENERGIZING EPA April 2007 | page 2
Energy Intensity Drops 5 Percent at EPA Laboratories
Thanks to concerted efforts to im-
prove building efficiency and
conserve energy in fiscal year
(FY) 2006, EPA reduced its energy inten-
sity by 5 percent compared to FY 2005.
The achievement is an important first
step as the Agency prepares to meet
new, aggressive federal energy efficiency
requirements.
EPA is required by law to report en-
ergy use at 30 of its laboratories to the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and
the Office of Management and Budget.
In FY 2006, the overall energy intensity
(a measure of total energy use in Btu
per gross square feet [GSF]) of EPA's re-
porting laboratories was 340,112
Btu/GSF—5 percent below FY 2005.
This reduction alone was nearly
enough to meet EPA's energy efficiency
goal under the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (EPAct 2005), which requires all
federal facilities to reduce energy inten-
sity by 2 percent annually compared to
an FY 2003 baseline (see Figure 1). In FY
2006, DOE allowed agencies to deduct
green power purchases from overall en-
ergy use, so with EPA's extensive green
power purchases netted out, the
Agency actually reduced energy inten-
sity in FY 2006 by more than 40 percent
compared to its FY 2003 baseline.
Fig
380,000
360,00&
CO
o
m
,ure 1: EPA Energy Intensity (FY 2003 to FY 2015)
Historical Energy Intensity — Projected Energy Intensity with Identified Projects
EPAct 2005 Targets Projected Energy Intensity with Identified & Potential Projects
— E.O. 13423 Targets (assuming FY 2007 effective date)
"N. FY 2006 Year-end:
~£f_ _S^ 340,112
FY 2003 Year -end ^T~--— ^
346,518 '''»r^ ^^
EPM 2005 and FY 2006 EPAct SOW. »>^
E.O. 13423 Baseline Target: 339,588 '••**••. ^**^^ ^~~^«^
^ EPAct 2005
, "' ^^-••^^ """-^^^^^^^^FY 2015 Target:
NOTE: Green power is not netted out
^*^1
'"" ^***^^
E.O. 13423
FY 2015 Target:
242,563
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
2012 2013 2014 2015
Nearly two-thirds of EPA's laborato-
ries reduced energy use in FY 2006,
making this accomplishment possible.
Significant savings at some of the
Agency's largest laboratories led the
way, including continued progress at
the Research Triangle Park (RTP) cam-
pus in North Carolina, where the largest
absolute energy savings occurred. EPA's
RTP facilities comprise about half of the
Agency's overall annual energy use and
approximately 60 percent of the
Agency's total energy reduction in FY
2006. Extensive re-commissioning ef-
forts, improved operations and mainte-
nance (O&M), and mechanical upgrades
contributed to a combined reduction of
more than 34 billion Btu at the RTP lab-
oratories, with additional savings ex-
pected in FY 2007.
Another big saver, EPA's National
Vehicle Fuel and Emissions Laboratory
in Ann Arbor, Michigan, reduced annu-
al energy use by 24 percent compared
to FY 2005 by working closely with the
onsite contractor to optimize building
continued on page 3
New Executive Order Strengthens Federal Sustainability Mandate
On January 24, 2007, President
George W. Bush signed Executive
Order (E.O.) 13423: "Strengthening Fed-
eral Environmental, Energy, and Trans-
portation Management," which
mandates new sustainability goals for
the federal government that match or
exceed previous statutory and execu-
tive order requirements.
These requirements include:
• Energy Efficiency: Reduce energy
intensity by 30 percent by 2015. This
goal seeks to achieve in 10 years the
same level of improvement that fed-
eral agencies achieved in the last 20
years, and is 50 percent more strin-
gent than the goal in EPAct 2005.
• Renewable Power: At least 50 per-
cent of current renewable energy
purchases must come from new re-
newable sources. While EPAct 2005
set a renewable energy goal, this
executive order establishes the first
requirement for a percentage of re-
newable energy to come from new
sources.
Water Consumption: Reduce water
consumption intensity by 2 percent
annually through 2015. This is the
first executive order to include
mandatory water conservation.
E.O. 13423 consolidates and
strengthens five previous executive
orders (13101,13123,13134,13148,
and 13149) and includes implemen-
tation of two memoranda of under-
standing, one on high-performance
facilities and the other on electronics
stewardship.
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ENERGIZING EPA April 2007 | page 3
Gail Miller Wray Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
fter 10 years with EPA, one of the
Agency's most dedicated em-
ployees, Gail Miller Wray, is retir-
ing. For all of her efforts and successes in
advancing recycling and pollution pre-
vention across the Agency and the fed-
eral government, Gail was recently
awarded a special Lifetime Achievement
Award, presented by EPA's Sustainable
Facilities Practices Branch (SFPB).
Gail first joined EPA in 1989 as the
Agency's recycling coordinator. In 1991,
President George Bush signed Executive
Order 12780, "Federal Agency Recycling
and the Council on Federal Recycling and
Procurement Policy" Under this order, Gail
was appointed head of the council as
the federal recycling coordinator, the
first federal-wide environmental execu-
tive position. During this time, Gail
forged new programs and partnerships
among agencies across the federal gov-
ernment and helped to organize the first
federal agency recycling conference.
Energy Intensity
continued from page 2
performance after a series of extensive
upgrades financed by an energy sav-
ings performance contract. Many other
facilities, including EPA's Environmental
Science Center in Fort Meade, Mary-
land, achieved significant energy sav-
ings through proactive facility
management and an increased focus
on O&M practices.
Progress made in FY 2006 is valuable
as the Agency prepares to meet new re-
quirements outlined in Executive Order
13423 (see box on page 2), issued in
January 2007. Continued efforts to en-
hance O&M and upgrade facilities with
energy-efficient building systems will be
critical as EPA works to meet these new
energy efficiency goals.
"Gail helped turn the spot-
light on both recycling collec-
tion and buy-recycled
programs, launching a decade
of awareness and action," said
Terry Grist of EPA's Office of
Solid Waste.
After some time outside the
federal government, Gail re-
turned to EPA in 2001 to work
for the Office of Solid Waste; in
2004, she joined SFPB as the
headquarters recycling coordi-
nator and reinvigorated the
Agency's national pollution
prevention effort. Supported by the Of-
fice of Solid Waste and Emergency Re-
sponse, Gail worked diligently to create
a standardized recycling campaign
across all EPA facilities. Among other ac-
complishments, she implemented a
comprehensive recycling assessment
program for all the Agency's facilities
and a wide-reaching communications
strategy made familiar to EPA employees
through the recycling mascot "Slim Bin."
During her time at EPA, Gail convert-
ed to being a hybrid car owner, piloted
vermicomposting (worm composting)
at EPA Headquarters, and organized
EPA's single-largest collection of tech-
notrash to date—helping the Office of
Solid Waste's Green Team recycle 700
Gail Miller Wray wraps up a decade at EPA with a smile.
pounds of CDs, diskettes, and other of-
fice supplies during its recent move
from Crystal City to the Potomac Yard
area of Arlington, Virginia. Gail helped
the Agency "walk the talk" and worked
with some very committed employees
along the way.
Through her work at EPA and
throughout her career, Gail has helped to
stimulate the environmental movement
we see today. When asked about the fu-
ture, Gail replied, "I hope that EPA will
continue to live its message by support-
ing the implementers." Through the out-
standing EPA employees truly taking
strides to help the Agency protect the en-
vironment through its own actions, the
legacy of Gail Miller Wray will continue.
Green Design at Denver Headquarters
continued from page 1
gency power to its Emergency Response
Center, in case of an area-wide power
failure. Water-saving plumbing fixtures
include low-flow faucet devices, water-
less urinals in men's restrooms, and dual-
flush toilets in all of the restrooms, which
will cut the facility's water use by nearly
40 percent.
During construction, the builders
used low volatile organic compound in-
terior adhesives, paints, caulks, and
sealants to improve indoor air quality
for building occupants. EPA also used
sustainable and renewable building
materials and recycled 80 percent of its
construction waste.
For more information, visit EPA's
Region 8 Office Web page at
or contact Cathy
Berlow at or
(202) 564-3739.
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ENERGIZING EPA April 2007 | page 4
Ten Things You Can Do to Celebrate Earth Day
arth Day was first celebrated on
April 22, 1970, by 20 million
people across America. Now it is
celebrated annually by more than 500
million people in 180 different coun-
tries as they take actions, big and small,
to protect the environment.
While it goes without saying that EPA
employees work to protect the environ-
ment when at the office, maybe it's time
to bring your work home. Inspired by
the environmental management sys-
tems (EMS) at various EPA facilities, here
are 10 things you can do at home, on
Earth Day, and every day to continue to
help protect the environment.
1. Leave Your Car at Home. Carpool,
walk, bike, or take mass transit. Trav-
eling 20 miles a week by alternative
transport reduces the average
American's car use by 10 percent, re-
ducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emis-
sions by more than 1,000 pounds
per year.
2. Turn It Off. Turn off your TV and un-
plug cell phone chargers and mi-
crowaves when they are not in use.
Energy consumed by electrical ap-
pliances on standby (sometimes
called "energy vampires") has been
estimated to, on average, account
for 9 percent of total annual electric-
ity use in American homes, costing
nearly $100 for each home per year.
3. Eat Fresh and Local. Fresh food re-
quires 10 times less energy to pro-
duce than frozen. Likewise, buying
locally produced items will help
avoid the 1,200 miles, on average,
that food travels from the farm to
the plate, as well as the associated
air emissions.
4. Use Less Hot Water. Using a more
efficient showerhead allows one
person to avoid emitting about 350
pounds of CO2 each year. Washing
clothes in warm or cold water, in-
stead of hot, can help avoid anoth-
er 500 pounds of CO2 emissions
annually.
5. Screw in a Compact Fluorescent. Re-
placing one standard incandescent
bulb with a compact fluorescent
light bulb prevents the emission of
approximately 1,250 pounds of CO2
and saves $25 over the lifetime of
that bulb.
6. Recycle. Compared to products
made from virgin materials, those
made from recycled materials re-
quire much less energy to produce.
For example, recycling one alu-
minum can saves enough energy to
power a 100-watt incandescent bulb
for 20 hours or a compact fluores-
cent light bulb of equivalent bright-
ness for up to 100 hours.
7. Fix Those Leaks. On average, plumb-
ing leaks in the home can account
for 11,000 gallons of water wasted
each year, which is enough to fill a
backyard swimming pool.
8. Shop Sustainably. Look for products
labeled by ENERGY STAR8, Wa-
terSenseSM, the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative, and USDA's Organic Pro-
gram. Also try to make sustainable
seafood choices and consider test-
driving a hybrid car. Most environ-
mentally preferable products on the
market actually save the user money
over the course of the product's life-
time.
9. Install High-Efficiency Toilets. Re-
placing a pre-1994 toilet with a new
model labeled by EPA's WaterSense
program can save about 16 percent
of total indoor water use. For a typi-
cal household, that would save
more than 10,000 gallons and $60
per year.
10. Purchase Green Power. Get it
straight from the source or through
renewable energy certificates to help
reduce the amount of air pollution as-
sociated with your energy use. Visit
EPA's Green Power Locator at
to learn more about options for elec-
tricity generated from renewable en-
ergy sources in your area.
To learn more about Earth Day and
actions you can take to protect the envi-
ronment, go to .
EPA also has its own Web site dedicated
to Earth Day at .
Events Not to Miss!
National Conference on Building
Commissioning
May 2-4, 2007
Chicago, Illinois
www.peci.org/ncbc/ncbc.htm
Energy 2007
August 5-8, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana
www.govenergy.com
World Energy Engineering
Congress (WEEC)
August 15-17, 2007
Atlanta, Georgia
www.energycongress.com
Labs21 2007 Annual Conference
October 2-4, 2007
Charleston, South Carolina
www.labs21 century.gov/conf
Contact Us
For more information about
Energizing EPA or the activities
of EPA's Sustainable Facilities
Practices Branch in the Facilities
Management and Services
Division, please contact:
Stephen T. Fields
E-mail: fields.stephen@epa.gov
Phone:(202)564-2418
Web Site: www.epa.gov/greeningepa
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