Congressional Testimony
Commissioner Winstead Testimony on the Greening of Federal BuildingsSTATEMENT OF Good morning, Chairman Norton, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Subcommittee. My name is David Winstead and I am the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service (PBS) in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss how GSA is leading by example in greening our public buildings, particularly those right here in our nation’s capitol. Today, I would like to talk about our successes in greening the new construction and modernization of our buildings, energy management, and green building operations. Specifically, I would like to describe the ambitious programs in the National Capital Region (NCR) and share with you a number of outstanding examples of their efforts. I will also discuss how we are helping other members of the Federal community in the Washington Metropolitan area in their greening initiatives, as well as describe the challenges of the newly enacted energy legislation, and finally, I will offer a few ideas that may assist the Subcommittee in further promoting green efforts in our public buildings. GSA’s “green” programs nationwide The Federal government is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States. According to the Department of Energy, Federal buildings account for 37% of the government’s energy usage, use as much as 1.5 percent of the Nation’s electricity and emit about 2 percent of all U.S. building-related greenhouse gases. Since 1985, Federal agencies reduced their energy intensity in Federal buildings by 23 percent in 2005 (for standard buildings). Agencies cut their carbon emissions from facility energy use by 3.3 million metric tons in 2005 compared to 1990. At GSA, since 1985, we have cut our energy consumption by 30 percent and carbon emissions by 281 thousand metric tons (comparable to removing 210 thousand vehicles from the road in one year) in our public buildings. We are using green principles and leading by example in the efficient use of energy, water and materials, as well as promoting space that enhances productivity and the work environment. Some of our achievements include:
As the first Federal agency to join the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), GSA plays a major role in the advancement of green building practices. Since 2003, GSA has required all capital projects to use the USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) green building rating system as a design criterion with a goal of a Silver designation. GSA has the most LEED rated buildings of any government organization and uses LEED to measure our success. We currently have 75 projects registered for LEED certification. To date, GSA has earned LEED ratings in 25 buildings – 11 are GSA owned and 14 are GSA leased buildings. In a study of 19 of these buildings, we discovered the following:
In 2006, GSA appointed 15 of America's top experts in sustainable (green) design to its National Register of Peer Professionals to help select design teams and critique design concepts. All of our standards and guidance documents contain sustainable design requirements and expectations. For example, The Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service has integrated specific, and ever increasing, sustainability requirements since 2000. The latest revision places a new emphasis on integrated design and enhanced goals for sustainability and energy efficiency. Scopes of work for architectural/engineering services, commissioning, construction administration, and general contracting also contain new, measurable requirements related to sustainability. As market awareness has grown, GSA has developed new green lease provisions and updated existing provisions to become standard lease requirements in 2007. As of today, GSA realty professionals have delivered 14 LEED certified projects - 7 LEED Gold, 6 LEED Silver and 1 LEED Certified. GSA has a strong record of energy conservation In addition to those above, we have a number of programs nationwide that have been “greened,” including building operation and maintenance, cleaning and recycling. I would now like to describe how the NCR is implementing some of our most forward-thinking programs. GSA’s “green” programs in the NCR NCR manages about 26% of our total portfolio nationwide, or 93 million square feet comprised of 53 million square feet of leased space and 40 million of owned space. In both categories, the NCR has strived to incorporate green features as I will describe below. New construction, modernization and repairs and alterations Green Buildings
Another example of NCR’s green building efforts is the development of the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters facility. It is located on a Brownfield site which had been previously used as a District of Columbia government public works yard containing the ruins of an abandoned railroad trestle. NCR demolished the trestle and remediated 79,000 tons of contaminated soil, which was sanitized for reuse as construction material. New green features include:
Our development of the new headquarters facility for the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) at the White Oak Federal Research Center in suburban Maryland is another outstanding example. When complete in 2012, pending continued Congressional funding, the campus will comprise three million square feet and will house more than 7,700 employees.
The cogeneration facility at White Oak is one of ten projects in the NCR where private sector capital is being leveraged through the Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) or Utility Energy Savings Contract (UESC) programs. Another major project is at the NCR Heating Operation and Transmission District (HOTD). HOTD provides steam and chilled water utility service to government and quasi-government customers.
Building Commissioning Process Green Roofs
Landscapes and Water Conservation At our larger sites, NCR designs and installs high-efficiency irrigation systems. This allows water to be precisely targeted and delivered rather than broadly cast over the landscape. These systems also deliver water according to the predicted need, based on daily downloads of weather information. For sites that are prone to erosion, we add retaining walls and plant soil-binding types of groundcover to reduce runoff. In October 2007, GSA received the very first “Rain Leader Award” from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an innovative low impact demonstration project in one of the EPA headquarters courtyards in the Federal Triangle. GSA and EPA developed this project in partnership to convert an area previously used as a construction project staging area into a beautifully landscaped garden. This is part of our ongoing partnership with EPA to green their headquarters. Other initiatives include a rain garden, permeable pavers to absorb runoff, landscape furnishings made of recycled materials, natural soil supplements to maintain aeration, use of cisterns to supplement the irrigation water supply, and solar lighting. Green Operations GSA’s commitment to Green extends beyond our new construction, modernization, and repair and alteration activities. We seek to operate Green as well. Regional Environmental Management Systems Energy
In addition, in all of our buildings, we conduct energy awareness campaigns, issue seasonal bulletins to help our building managers prepare for the heating and cooling seasons, provide certified energy managers to advise our building managers on conservation techniques, and conduct annual updates of an energy curtailment plan. Recycling Landscape maintenance NCR has reduced its pesticide use on landscapes by 89% since 1995, from 33,000 gallons to 3,700 gallons per year. NCR has an established integrated pest management program in place, and NCR was the first GSA region in the country to ban the use of 2.4-D herbicides and organophosphate insecticides. GSA assists other agencies in the Washington Metropolitan area to green their facilities Through our knowledge and expertise, and the contracts we have in place, GSA-NCR also assists other Federal agencies, who may not be housed in our space, in their greening efforts.
On a national scale, since the issuance of the Executive Order 13423 in January of last year, GSA has formally agreed with three agencies to aid them specifically in meeting their environmental targets. In every transaction, we apply our internal standards for energy conservation, energy efficiency and sustainable design. We have revised our standard solicitation for offers for leasing to incorporate sustainable and energy conserving clauses. We are establishing and staffing the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, newly created by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. We continue our active participation in the Inter-Agency Energy Management Task Force and the Inter-Agency Sustainability Working Group—both of which focus keenly on how agencies can achieve the goals of the new Executive Order and the newly enacted EISA 2007.
The EISA 2007, set challenging goals for the Federal government, and for GSA. For the first time, it requires GSA to reduce consumption of fossil fuel-generated energy in new buildings and major renovations. For new designs, our target is to be 55% below comparable commercial buildings, which may be difficult to achieve using today’s technology. Much more difficult is the goal of using 100 percent non-fossil fuel generated energy by 2030 in new buildings. We are working with a broad and diverse group of organizations both inside and outside the Federal community. This includes the Department of Energy (DOE), EPA, the Department of Defense, ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Alliance to Save Energy, the Commercial Buildings Initiative, Congress, and others—to explore both technology and techniques for achieving the goals in a cost effective way. Further support for GSA’s greening efforts GSA is a national leader in the purchase and use of renewable power from utility companies. In 2006, 4.5 percent of our electricity was generated from renewable sources or bought through renewable energy certificates, compared with the national average of 2.3 percent. If given the authority to extend our utility contracts from 10 to 20 years, in the proposed General Services Enhancement Act, we could achieve even more. Currently, GSA may enter into contracts for public utility services for ten years. However, renewable power plant developers often need an energy purchase contract of up to twenty years in order to finance and develop increased capacity. Without the authority to contract for energy from renewable energy providers for more than ten years, GSA is unable to benefit from the relatively inexpensive energy they would generate and unable to use the government’s purchasing power to spur new renewable energy production. Our proposal currently before Congress would continue to allow GSA to enter into contract for public utility services for periods not more than 10 years, but the provision would also allow GSA to enter into contracts for renewable energy utility services for periods up to 20 years. Conclusion At GSA, we are leading by example in the areas of green building design, construction, and alterations; we have a well-established energy program, and numerous other programs in place that promote the efficient, green management and operation of our facilities. And we have a number of outstanding examples of our efforts right here in the Nation’s Capital. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about GSA's leadership role in this area. I look forward to working with the Subcommittee on this matter of vital interest to our country. Index of Congressional Testimony
Last Reviewed 7/14/2008
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