Federal Green Challenge - Linking to your EMS

Getting started

You can successfully achieve the Federal Green Challenge by following a familiar Plan, Do, Check, Act formula from your Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation. Following these steps helps to ensure that:

Your work can be seamlessly integrated into your EMS;
You are getting maximum benefit from your activities;
You are measuring your outcomes; and
Your work becomes an integrated part of your operational systems.

Your EMS gives you the framework. We provide specific information and ideas on how to successfully reduce your carbon footprint in the Federal Green Challenge’s four target areas.

Federal Green Challenge

We have specific tools developed for: Energy | Transportation | Waste | Water

More information about the Plan, Do, Check, Act model is available on the National EPA EMS webpage. More information about Region 10's EMS is available on the Region 10 EMS webpage.

Plan

Planning, including identifying environmental aspects and establishing goals.

Designate a project leader. The project leader is responsible for setting goals, tracking progress, and promoting your environmental management system.
Establish project team. The project team should include the project leader and key decision makers and stakeholders. A team with representatives from key management functions can identify and assess issues, opportunities, and existing processes. Include contractors, suppliers or other external parties as part of the project team, where appropriate. The team will need to meet regularly, especially in the early stages of the project. A cross-functional team can help to ensure that procedures are practical and effective and can build commitment to and "ownership" of your environmental management system.
Adopt an environmental policy. The environmental policy should state an objective, establish accountability, ensure continuous improvement, and promote goals. Examples: EPA Region 10 EMS Policy | EPA Region 9 EMS Policy
Assess current performance and establish your baseline in each of your chosen target areas: Energy | Transportation | Waste | Water
Set goals. Identify areas in which you see opportunities for improvement. When you assessed your current performance and established your baseline, you likely noticed items that could be improved. Evaluate whether these improvement options under consideration are economically and operationally feasible. The Federal Green Challenge and Executive Order 13423 sets out goals for agencies. Set goals in: Energy | Transportation | Waste | Water
Create action plan. Define the actions you will need to take to achieve your goals, define performance targets for each goal, and determine roles and resources.
- Define the actions that you will need to take to achieve your goals in: Energy | Transportation | Waste | Water
- Define performance targets for each goal. Set timelines for actions, including regular checks on progress. Use a tracking system to track and monitor progress on action items, targets, and goals.
- Determine roles and resources. Assess who needs to be involved, internally and externally, to achieve goals. Define and secure resources for internal staff, external assistance, and capital projects.

Do

Implementing, including training and operational controls.

Create a communication plan. Identify the key audiences, determine the information that they need, and adapt your message appropriately for each one.
Raise awareness. Increase awareness among employees, managers, and other stakeholders. Some ideas to raise awareness include: launch a poster campaign, hold an Earth Day event (April 22nd) where you can promote your facility’s environmental goals and activities, include environmental performance news in internal publications, and provide periodic updates to management on performance. Ask for ideas from employees, customers and partners on how meet your goals.
Build capacity. Provide training and access to information. Some Ideas to build capacity are: include training on environmental goals and activities in new employee orientation programs and use intranet or internet sites to provide training on environmental goals and activities.
Motivate. Offer incentives to achieve environmental goals. Ideas on ways to motivate employee are: use environmental messages to promote a sense of environmental and social responsibility and establish an employee adoption program. An employee adoption program encourages employees to live green. It should create incentives, provide information, set milestones, and recognize individual achievements.

Check

Checking, including monitoring and corrective action.

Measure and track results. Compare current performance to established goals in: Energy | Transportation | Waste | Water

Act

Reviewing, including progress reviews and acting to make needed changes to the EMS.

Review action plan. Determine what worked well and what didn’t. Identify best practices for your facility. Use your lessons learned to periodically revise your action plan.
Recognize achievements. Provide internal recognition to individuals, teams, and departments for outstanding performance. Ideas for internal recognition include honoring employees with plaques or other awards, recognize employee efforts through newsletters or office displays, and organize competitions between different departments or facilities and present awards to winners. Receive external recognition from third parties in: Energy | Transportation | Waste | Water
Be sure to get recognition for your Federal Green Challenge activities.

Federal Green Challenge - Linking to your EMS

Federal Green Challenge

Local Navigation