• Army, GSA Win Real Property Innovations Awards!

• Feds Innovate with Property Act Reform

E-Gov And Real Estate

• How Do You Use The Internet?

• GIS Software Is On The Move

• Managing Federal Property and the Internet

• Revamping The Worldwide Inventory

Outreach

• Federal Real Property Professionals To Examine "Real" Issues

Performance Measurement

• What is the Cost to House an Employee?

• Productivity And The Workplace

Alternative Workplaces

• Government Rewards Companies For Teleworkers To Cut Emissions.

• "Work Naked"

• Bridging The Workplace Gap

• The Latest In Telework Data

Sustainability

• Getting Lean And Green

• Environmental Remediation Services Now On Schedule!
• GSA Provides Green Furniture Services

Newsroom

This is the eighteenth issue of REAL PROPERTY POLICYSITE, a quarterly publication of the Office of Real Property (MP), Office of Governmentwide Policy, U.S. General Services Administration, Washington, DC, which is led by Deputy Associate Administrator, David L. Bibb. Our newsletter shares the latest information on public and private sector real estate and workplace initiatives, trends, and best practices. We encourage your input. Contact us to let us know what you think, to contribute articles, or to be placed on our mailing list, by contacting Richard Ornburn, at richard.ornburn@gsa.gov, or (202) 501-2873.

The Department of the Army's "Sustainable Army Communities" is one of the two winners in this year's Award Program, according to the independent panel of judges. The other winner in the fifth annual GSA Achievement Award for Real Property Innovation is GSA PBS's "Linking Budget to Performance."

The four-member jury of distinguished real property professionals, representing both the public and private sectors in the U.S. and Canada, selected the two winning entries from the Best Policy category from among stiff competition this year. Forty-seven entries from the real estate and workplace development arena were submitted by fifteen federal agencies and departments this year.

GSA is also acknowledging for the first time three honorable mention entries:

• U.S. Department of Transportation’s United States Coast Guard’s "Shore Facilities Capital Asset Management,"
• U.S. Postal Service’s "First Straw Bale Post Office," and
• Environmental Protection Agency/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/GSA’s "EPA’s New Sustainable Campus."

The Winning Entries. The teams responsible for the two winning initiatives, both in the Best Policy category, each receive cash awards (increased from $5000 to $10,000 this year for each team) and are being honored in an awards ceremony on October 10, in Washington, DC.

Department of the Army, Facilities Policy Division, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, for the entry, "Sustainable Army Communities." Team members include John J. Krajewski and John A. Scharl, from the Facilities Policy Division, Department of the Army, and Stephen N. Flanders, Harry Goradia, Richard L. Schneider, and Fredrik W. Wiant, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, for the entry,
"Linking Budget to Performance." Team members include:

Rachel M. Avila

Dorothy Baratta

Kenneth R. Barbin

Pamela R. Bell

Richard H. Carlson

Howard M. Chideckel

Paul E. Chistolini

Donna D. Dix

Eric A. Dunham

Joseph S. Estryn

David E. Foley

Peter J. Ford

Frank V. Giblin

John F. Goins

Robin G. Graf

Stephen M. Hochman

Kevin Kampschroer

Chris M. Kerner

George F. Klueber

Karene Lagrone

Louis M. Lozito

Paul M. Lynch

Kathalie J. Marten

Michael A. McNew

Robert A. Nawrocki

Jeffery E. Neely

Marilyn C. O’Hara

Johnson N. Payne

Wayne N. Richardson

Dennis J. Ryan

Joseph F. Schu

Denise R. Seefeldt

Henry J. Singer

Beth A. Smith

Kenneth L. Smith

Lisa A. Stern

John M. Tate

David R. Taylor

Kenneth Tiranno

Thomas R. Tolley

Jan L. Ziegler

These winners are part of the best ideas being used by Federal workers around the country. Working together, we all stand to gain by sharing these ideas in our day-to-day business. Cross-fertilization of ideas and practices is a common thread that binds the work that we do in 2001.

The Sustainable Army Communities initiative will ensure that there is a systematic consideration of current and future impacts of an activity, product or life cycle decision on the environment, energy uses, natural resources, the economy and quality of life of Army bases.

The Army is committed to achieving sustainable communities for today and for future generations by incorporating sustainable design and development practices into all base community planning and facility construction and repair projects.

Results: Key results of this policy will be energy-efficient, durable, functionally-flexible, safe, healthy, and environmentally-livable communities.

Examples include:

• Building Materials Recycle Program -- old building components scheduled for disposal are now recycled for continued use. Forts Know, Kentucky and McCoy, Wisconsin now sell the salvage rights to buildings scheduled for demolition,
• Building Reuse -- Redstone Arsenal in Alabama contracted with a local developer to move housing units to the local community for low-income housing instead of demolishing them, and
• Family Housing Community Showcase Program -- demonstrates sustainable design and development practices in such projects as the 120-home Harrison Villa housing project in Ft. Lee, Virginia.

Challenges: This innovative Army policy and commitment to create Sustainable Communities required a concerted effort to overcome barriers to traditional ways of doing business and to establish a new environment for creative thinking, demonstration and showcase projects, integrated design procedures and a broad buy-in from a diverse group of individuals and agencies. A unique Sustainable Project Rating System was developed to score and rate construction projects.

The goal of the policy is to accomplish a critical National Security mission while improving Quality of Life. The Army policy and lessons-learned adapting Sustainable Design and Development and conserving natural resources, reducing facility life cycle costs and evaluating the impact of today's actions on future generations are directly transferable to all in the facility and community management business.

The Army's commitment to lead and be the stewards responsible for constructing and operating environmentally sustainable, cost efficient Army communities, also compliments and supports the Asset Management Principles developed by GSA's OGP.

For more information, contact John J. Krajewski, Chief, Facilities Policy Division, Headquarters Department of the Army, at (703) 428-6170 or john.krajewski@hqda.army.mil.

Linking Budget to Performance is a nationwide initiative that has significantly changed the culture and dramatically improved the performance of PBS. Under the program, PBS established key business measures referred to as the "Big Nine" (see chart) after the nine performance areas that employees strive to meet or exceed by the end of the fiscal year.

(Sidebar)

Customer Satisfaction

In seeking to meet or exceed these performance goals, employees think more creatively and try innovative ideas to better their performance. PBS regions are rewarded with increased budgets both for program-related needs and to provide awards to staff for meeting or beating targets. A significant portion of PBS's budget ($75 million) is reserved for this purpose.

The emphasis on results and managing to the bottom line is making a major impact on the performance of PBS. Every region has demonstrated substantially improved results since the program began.

PBS is the largest commercial-style real estate organization in the United States, providing about 334 million square feet of workspace in some 8,300 owned and leased buildings. Over 1 million federal employees work in those locations. By wisely and efficiently managing its properties, PBS adds value to these public assets and conserves taxpayer dollars. This initiative has enabled PBS to simultaneously address several major challenges: tighter operating budgets; declining rent revenues; the charge to "reinvent" government; and the need to comply with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).

Although the program is only three years old, it has profoundly changed behavior within PBS. The focus has shifted from day-to-day to longer-term outcomes and accomplishments, as measured by consistent benchmarks.

The results of Linking Budget to Performance are 100% verifiable since they are directly tied to the Big Nine measures. For example, take the all-important benchmark of customer satisfaction, which has risen to PBS's goal of 85% for the very first time. As another example, one third of the space that stood vacant in PBS's portfolio two years ago is now occupied by federal agencies and is producing revenue.

Overall, Linking Budget to Performance has resulted in additional income and saving to PBS of about $650 million since its implementation in mid-1998.

The initiative can be replicated easily by any real estate organization committed to changing its culture. The first step is to form a representative working group charged with:

• Defining desired outcomes that are mission-critical
• Identifying measures that evaluate results rather than processes
• Setting appropriate budget expectations
• Establishing a reward system for performance that exceeds targets

The initiative leverages the Federal Buildings Fund -- the funding mechanism for almost all PBS activities. The Fund receives rental income set at commercially equivalent rates from its federal tenants. PBS's use of performance measures is consistently raising revenues for the Fund. These additional revenues, in turn, are providing for greater investment in maintenance, repair, and renovation of existing Government buildings, as well as for new construction. The level of reinvestment would not have been possible without this genuinely groundbreaking PBS initiative. The initiative represents a whole new way of doing business for PBS and dramatically improved the organization's performance.

Honorable Mention. The honorable mention entries are:

Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard -- Shore Facilities Capital Asset Management

In 1999, one of the objectives stated in the "United States Coast Guard Strategic Plan" was to provide the right facilities at the right time, right place and right cost to achieve the Coast Guard's mission, vision and strategic goals. In order to accomplish this objective, the USCG created the innovative Shore Facilities Capital Asset Management (SFCAM) system.

The new SFCAM system:

• Considers the life-cycle and sustainability of buildings, land and structures when addressing facility engineering and maintenance support requirements

• Utilizes a corporate strategic and mission perspective for facility planning and funding

• Institutionalizes federal asset management principles

• Assists the USCG in complying with the GPRA, Chief Financial Officer Act, and Clinger-Cohen Act.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/

U.S. General Services Administration -- EPA’s New Sustainable Campus Team

The EPA’s new state-of-the-art research center, in Research Park, NC, provides the nation and the world a model for sustainable building. The 1.2 million square foot complex is one of the largest facilities in the country that has incorporated environmental considerations into design and construction.

United States Postal Service, Denver Facilities Service -- Office First Straw Bale Post Office

The United States Postal Service’s Corrales, New Mexico’s "First Straw Bale Post Office is the first modern Post Office constructed using straw bales. Straw is a sustainable, renewable resource and has an insulation factor two to three times better than standard wall construction. With its many conservation measures, the facility serves as a showcase for sustainable development, a test of alternative construction techniques, and a resource-efficient building that fits comfortably into a rural western environment.

The Jury: The winning entries were picked by a panel of distinguished public and private sector real estate experts that include:

• Dr. Martha A. O’Mara, Lecturer, Executive Education and Special Programs,

Harvard Design School

• Ms. Lynda L. Stanley, Director, Federal Facilities Council, National Research Council

• Mr. William L. Yontz, Vice President, Corporate Real Estate, Capital One; representing International Development Research Council

Great Ideas: Through the five years of the Innovation Awards program, over 200 great ideas from throughout the Federal real property community have been generated and shared. Check out the Office of Real Property’s website at --www.gsa.gov/realpropertypolicy -- to see if you can improve your real property functions by using some of these great ideas within your organization.

All of the 2001 entries, as well as best practices from other sources, are available in our "Special Edition" of GSA's POLICYSITE newsletter on our website. Find out more about this program, and start getting ready for next year’s nominations, by contacting Pat Rubino at pat.rubino@gsa.gov!

(by Ron Whitley, Office of Real Property)

For three years the General Services Administration (GSA) has actively pursued reengineering the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (Property Act), to provide Federal agencies with the necessary tools and incentives for efficient and effective asset management.

GSA. At the request of the Office of Management and Budget, GSA transmitted on August 1, 2001, its latest legislative bill, entitled the "Federal Property Asset Management Reform Act of 2001," to bring the policies and business practices by which Federal agencies manage their assets into the 21^st century. GSA’s first bill was introduced in the 106^th Congress as S. 2805 in June 2000, but it was not enacted.

With efforts on various fronts to provide agencies with innovative, better asset management capabilities, the prospect for reform to the over 50-year old Property Act appear to be bright this session of Congress. Most significant and promising is the commitment by the Administrator of General Services, the Associate Administrator for the Office of Governmentwide Policy, and the Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service, to make the bill's passage by Congress a top priority.

The draft bill essentially enhances and builds on reforms to the Property Act by addressing the complete asset's life cycle, and provides incentives for managing Federal property by authorizing agencies to: a) exchange or transfer unneeded property with other Federal agencies; b) sublease unexpired portions of Government-leased property; and c) outlease assets that must remain in Federal ownership. The outleases would be applied to underutilized portions of non-excess government-owned property to ensure full use and optimum asset performance. This could be done by using private capital through partnerships, cooperative ventures, limited liability companies or other business arrangements The bill also allows agencies to retain the proceeds from real property transactions for use in addressing agency capital assets needs. This reform will encourage agencies to change the way they view their real property assets, and improve their asset management decision making.

Department of Defense. In addition, the Department of Defense has drafted and submitted to Congress its own proposal entitled the "Efficient Facilities Initiative." The bill will provide some of the same tools that GSA has advocated in its draft bill. This includes using the public or private sector to provide base support service to improve capital asset management.

General Accounting Office. Also, the General Accounting Office (GAO), in a July 2001 report entitled "Public-Private Partnerships: Pilot Program Needed to Demonstrate the Actual Benefits of Using Partnerships" (GAO-01-906), recommends the use of public-private partnerships as a beneficial property management tool to help maintain and repair older buildings in the government's inventory. GAO further recommends that the Administrator of General Services request authority from Congress to pilot public-private partnerships to assess their overall benefits.

Congress. Moreover, members of Congress remain committed to reforming the Property Act. Representative Pete Sessions has reintroduced his legislative proposal to reform the Property Act to the 107th Congress. H.R. 2710, entitled the "Federal Asset Management Improvement Act of 2001," was introduced on August 1, 2001, and authorizes the use of public-private partnerships to rehabilitate Federal real property. It also provides for performance measures to assess the effectiveness of real property performance. Representative Tom Davis is cosponsoring the Sessions bill. Davis' Congressional Subcommittee also plans to hold a similar hearing on the subject of public-private partnerships as occurred during the 106^th Congress.

Property Act reform is right and the opportunity is now. If our bill is enacted, Federal agencies will have better use of property, see a reduction in property holdings governmentwide, and have accountability in their asset management process.

The Office of Real Property is examining the use of the Internet and web-enabled software in the management of real estate assets in the Federal government. To this end, a survey of Federal agencies is underway. This e-RealEstate Survey will provide useful feedback to the Office of Real Property for determining the level of present and planned uses of Internet applications in Federal Government real estate organizations.

The survey takes approximately three minutes to complete and a roll-up of results is available instantaneously. Contact Dennis Goldstein on (202) 219-0608 for the URL location of the survey and a password necessary to access the survey.

(summarized with permission by Government Computer News (GCN), May 21, 2001)

Geographic information systems (GIS) are becoming more available and less expensive with the growing awareness of the value of geographic information. At the heart of a GIS is the ability to graphically depict relationships between such things as geographic features, animal populations, roads, water tables, telephone pole locations or toxic waste dumps.

GIS collects geographic and other data into a database and sorts it into separate map layers that can be superimposed on each other to provide a single visual image. Used correctly, it can be a critical aid to decision-making in everything from optimum wildlife habitats to national security. Check out the article in the May 21 issue of Government Computer News for more information.

(by Dennis Goldstein, Office of Real Property)

This article defines the concept of a "fully web-enabled, Federal real estate management organization." The concept is based on a discussion in the Gartner Group's Strategic Analysis Report of September 28, 2000, entitled The Net-Liberated Organization: A Philosophy for Post E-Business Survival.

The management of Federal real property assets is in a transitional state. The reliance on in-house, stand-alone software used to track real estate assets is slowly being replaced by software that, although modified for the Government's use, is based on web-enabled software packages. Stand-alone software packages have been used to track construction costs, lease assignments, owned facilities, building occupants, renovation costs, property management costs, etc. As the use of the Internet has become more ubiquitous throughout the Government, these web-enabled software packages have enabled remote users to obtain access to data through the web, and could ultimately be used to provide updates from remote locations to a centralized data tracking real estate system. The transition to a web-enabled environment has been slow and not without problems. Major issues include security, the conversion of legacy systems to the web-enabled systems, lack of management support, and lack of funding. In addition, as the transition to web-enabled software has proceeded, it has done so without a strategic goal that would lead to a full consolidation of the functions necessary to effectively manage a portfolio of real property assets.

The transition to a fully web-enabled real estate management environment requires a reexamination of functions, processes, and business goals that exist in any Federal real estate organization. As such, prior to the relatively simple task of choosing software, Federal real property managers must be willing to enter into the arduous task of examining the goals and structure of the organization.

The above-referenced Gartner Group report states that e-business is today's most hyped IT and business issue. The report notes that much discussion has taken place over the past 5 years about the impact of the Internet on the way business will be conducted in the future. However, it is clear that such examinations serve only to alert the business community that the Internet is engendering changes in the way business will operate. The discussion has not focused on the changes necessary in organizations in order for these organizations to maximize their e-usage with regard to business processes and business models.

The Federal real estate establishment has reacted in a similar manner. The majority of Government real estate organizations are responding to the e-challenge by:

• Proceeding with "business as usual," but tacking web initiatives onto mainstream operations
• Integrating the Internet into their business process, but leaving the present enterprise intact

These approaches are far too simplistic, although they may be an unavoidable first step toward the full integration of the Internet in Government real estate functions. The full use of the Internet and web-enabled applications to manage the Government real estate business requires a much broader approach than the approaches noted above. It requires an organizational review that examines the following issues:

• The business goals of the organization
• The customer base of the organization
• The information flow necessary to manage the organization
• The level of decentralization required; or the amount of centralized control necessary to fulfill the business goals of the organization

• Will be retained within the organization
• Are suitable for public/private collaboration
• Should be fully outsourced

In order for Government real estate organizations to maintain and/or expand their leadership position these organizations must ensure:

• Operational excellence
• Service leadership
• A high level of customer support and satisfaction

The Government real estate organization cannot be a leader in one of this area; but must be a leader in all of these aspects. For more information, contact Dennis Goldstein on (202) 219-0608.

Does the Worldwide Inventory meet the needs of tracking Uncle Sam's real estate portfolio? Not really. The Worldwide Inventory (WWI) is an electronic real property management system of federal real estate that contains summary data (on installations, land, buildings, and other structures) from all federal agencies and is meant for strategic planning by the government. But it has several problems. It is not accurate and the process for collecting data is "broken" and burdensome to federal agencies.

So, GSA plans to conduct a comprehensive study of WWI to "fix" it. GSA wants to establish an effective plan to transition to a technologically enhanced platform for tracking the Federal Government’s real property assets. The enhanced system is expected to provide current information to citizens regarding Federal holdings, in a real-time environment and to assist agencies in managing their stewardship responsibilities.

In an effort to resolve data integrity issues, GSA has hired a contractor to work with each agency to identify the fields for the Worldwide Inventory from the existing agency-specific real property information systems. We hope to identify the fields in agencies' existing databases and develop a methodology for accessing those elements for use in the Worldwide Inventory.

GSA plans to have the new system up and running in FY 2003. Here are a few of the planned system enhancements:

• on-line data updates in a real time environment;

• agency access to real-time agency-specific and government-wide data;

• the ability to structure useful management information reports on-line;

• trend analyses of government-wide real estate ownership, leasing and usage;

• identification of excess property available for alternate uses;

• the addition of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and map displays; and,

• an automated email notification system

Contact Carol Anadale on (202) 208-2970, for more information.

The FRPA Professional Development Conference is designed to:

1) promote the highest professional standards and ethics;

2) provide analysis and evaluation of real property issues;

3) provide a forum for exchange of ideas and information; and,

4) share practical career guidance and educational opportunities.

The FRPA is designed to create, develop, and implement improvements to the management of Federal real property as a national asset. Moreover, this organization tries to achieve mutual education, encouragement, and cooperation for a better understanding between the public and private sectors regarding the management of Federal real property.

For more information about the conference, contact Pamela A. Doyle-Penne, Phone: (703) 604-4727, e-mail: Pamela.Doyle-Penne@osd.mil.

Find out in December, when the Office of Real Property expects to release the Year 2001 edition of Governmentwide Real Property Performance Results.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Office is coordinating a voluntary data call concentrating on cost per square foot owned, vacancy rate, and cost per square foot leased. The Office obtained data from the Federal real property community, as well as the private and international sectors.

This publication will include articles on real property information systems in addition to a wealth of original data and graphs. This information will be useful to Federal real property asset management decision-makers as well as our stakeholders. The publication will also benefit interested professionals in other governments, the private sector, and academia.

Also featured in this edition is the 2001 update for the GSA Cost per Person Model. This model helps estimate the total cost to house an employee including real estate, telecommunications, information technology, furniture, and alternative work environments. Contact Malcolm Saldanha on (202) 208-1366 for more information.

Also included is the GSA Productivity Payback Model, which will challenge the way you analyze your workplace investments and help you plan more effectively for the modern workplace transformations that have the greatest impact on your organizational effectiveness. This study focuses the attention of decision-makers squarely on any organization’s most valuable assets – the people who work there. Contact Malcolm Saldanha on (202) 208-1366 for more information.

(summarized with permission from PCWorld.com, article by David Clarke)

While workers often consider telecommuting a welcome convenience, the National Environmental Policy Institute plans to extend that benefit to the environment by offering financial incentives.

A pilot program announced recently offers a financial incentive to companies that let employees work at home at least one day a week. The Environmental Protection Agency supports the effort and helps fund it.

"Reducing the amount of time workers spend in traffic is a tangible way that each and every one of us can help to improve our environment," says Christie Todd Whitman, EPA Administrator. "It's good for our communities and good for our quality of life."

Using software from Teletrips.com, companies can track the amount of car emissions avoided by employees staying at home. Based on this amount, the National Environmental Policy Institute will award companies a transferable credit. Companies can sell the credits to manufacturers or utilities in the same region, which can use the credits if their plants approach the maximum amount of emissions allowed by the EPA. The National Environmental Policy Institute set the emissions standards and helped create the program.

The program started in May in Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, and Denver.

(summarized with permission by Tess Woods, Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Company)

"Now is the time to free employees to work where and when they are most effective," says Cynthia C. Froggatt, a consultant who has spent the last fifteen years advising Fortune 500 companies on new ways of working--often from the comfort of her bedroom. She knows from first-hand experience with AT&T, Compaq, Mercedes-Benz, Seagram, and many other leading enterprises: "When people have the freedom and support to work from wherever they work best--whether a client site or a backyard garden--individual and organizational performance improves."

In WORK NAKED: Eight Essential Principles for Peak Performance in the Virtual Workplace (Jossey-Bass; June 2001), Froggatt challenges entrenched beliefs about the appropriate time, place, and appearance of productivity. Grounded in simple yet vital principles of today’s knowledge workplace, she shows managers how to peel away old norms to unleash employees’ hidden potential--and get an edge on the competition. She also guides workers to understand their own workstyle--and explore a whole new world of possibilities for excelling at their jobs.

Quoted in The Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio, Cynthia Froggatt is a passionate advocate for liberating workplace alternatives. Backed by case studies from diverse companies, hundreds of interviews with remote and mobile workers, and hard-hitting statistics, she can discuss:

The Payoffs of Working Naked--for Business

• Reduced costs (from turnover to real estate).

(summarized with permission by ITAC Telework News, August 20, 2001 Issue)

What's the latest in telework statistics? Check out the premier edition of the International Telework Association & Council’s newsletter which reports that there has been lots of research/study information relevant to telework issued lately, such as:

• The U.S. Office of Personnel Management counted 45,298 federal employees who teleworked at least one day a week (2.6 percent of the federal workforce). That is nearly double the amount in found in a prior survey conducted in 1998 (only 1.4 percent).

• A pan-European report found that over one third of European employees now have a Cyber Boss, where the boss is frequently absent from the office, opting instead for flexible working solutions. Germany (50%), Austria (47%) and Slovakia (41%) led the pack with the highest number of Cyber-Bosses.

• The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board reported in their 2000 Merit Principles Survey that teleworking helps retain employees. Federal employees who consider teleworking important are more likely to leave Government service when telework is not available (55 percent) than when it is available (44 percent).

(Summarized with permission from Journal of Property Management, July/August 2001 Issue, article by Nancy Pekala)

Real estate organizations are taking a fresh approach to environmental awareness in this era of a declining economy and availability of natural resources. The heightened awareness of environmental concerns, new eco-friendly building codes, and stricter oversight of property development have caused the real estate industry to build and operate more environmentally conscious facilities.

The Department of Energy reports that the 76 million residential and 5 million commercial buildings in the U.S. contribute 49 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions and 35 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. In addition these buildings consume two-thirds of the electricity used in this country.

Green buildings, which are buildings that contain good indoor air quality, are energy and resource efficient, have building durability and recyclability of the structure and its components.

Environmental awareness and the development of green buildings can have a direct impact on the bottom line through increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. Dr. Malcolm Lewis, President of CTG Energetics states that the average cost for employees' salaries is $300 per square foot annually. Increasing the productivity by one percent through reduced absenteeism and improved health and safety will save the company each year $3 per square foot, which is more than the total energy costs in most buildings. The energy improvements will more than pay for themselves in increased productivity. The reduced energy consumption costs add another 50 cents to $1.25 per square foot in savings.

An example of a green building is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Headquarters in Annapolis, MD. The building was constructed on concrete stilts to allow parking underneath, thus preserving more of the surrounding landscaping from being paved over. The building also has numerous recycled materials contained throughout the building.

There are also several companies that have incorporated energy conservation into their buildings. The NY CyberCenter in New York City is a telecommunications facility that has eliminated the need for its tenants to install and operate redundant energy systems. The building has eliminated the need for emergency generators, batteries, UPS, and power conditioning by installing an on-site, privately owned, co-generation system into the mechanical systems.

The article lists several web sites and organizations as resources on environmental issues and their impact on the real estate industry.

• Global Common Inc.com
• Hazardfind.com
• Environ.com
• Blue292.com
• Ehsmanager.com

(By Johanna Roark, General Services Administration)

Remediation was recently added to the Environmental Services Schedule, and the Federal Supply Service now has contractors on schedule to provide the services. Entech Inc., Arthur Langhus Layne LLC, Tetra Tech Inc. and Environmental Management Inc., are the first to be awarded with many more currently under review. Customers can order remediation services such as excavation, removal, transportation, storage, treatment, and/or disposal of hazardous waste; preparation, characterization, field investigation, conservation and closure of site; containment, monitoring and/or reduction of hazardous waste sites; and ordinance removal and support. Visit www.fss.gsa.gov or contact Patricia Finch on (253) 931-7073.

GSA's National Furniture Center (NFC) has been awarding contracts under its new Schedule 71-II-K for Comprehensive Furniture Management Services. Special Item Number (SIN) 712-6 for Assets Maintenance includes a growing list of suppliers of services for restoring, repairing, renovating, reupholstering and cleaning of office furniture and furnishings that can help Government customers extend the life cycle of these products, thus keeping them out of the landfill. Visiting www.fss.gsa.gov for more info. or contact Sharon Booker on (703) 305-6341.

"GRPIS" UPDATE. GSA's innovative Governmentwide Real Property Information Sharing (GRPIS) program enters FY 2002 with 6 Federal communities (Puget Sound, South Florida, New England, Arizona, New Mexico and the greater Kansas City area) having established council/forums and 2 additional communities (Greater Cincinnati and the Denver areas) to be formalized. During FY 2002, the Office of Real Property's GRPIS team is planning on adding three new federal communities to the list of councils/forums already in place. In addition, the team is considering a national forum in the spring to include representatives from each of the active councils, as well as anybody else who might be interested in attending. The team will be soliciting topics of interest for presentation/discussion. For further information contact Sheldon Greenberg at (202) 501-0629.

BASE HOUSING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. Military Housing Privatization Gets Go Ahead. The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Installations and Facilities voted a $10.3 billion measure to improve and maintain military housing and bases. It went into the $329 billion defense authorization bill (H.R. 2586). The "MilCon" measure passed and features a $195 million loan guarantee program to encourage private developers to build, renovate and maintain family housing units for military members. The new funding should generate some 13,000 new or rehabbed units at bases across the country. The privatization initiative was not meant to compete with existing military housing agencies but rather to "supplement and accelerate the expansion and renewal of housing for our service members." The MilCon measure is just part of the much larger authorization bill (H.R. 2586) that is being marked up by the full Armed Services Committee. Find out more in the Government Executive July 31, 2001 issue article.

INTEGRATED WORKPLACE PILOT. GSA To Pilot "IW" Approach for Projects. GSA will be using the Integrated Workplace (IW) approach in pilot projects nationwide. Representatives from GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy and Public Buildings Service (PBS) have formed a steering committee to promote the use of the IW approach. Each GSA region will select two workspace projects and develop them using the IW process. Information on each project is being gathered, and future plans call for an IW training program to support the GSA regions. These pilot projects will be studied to glean positive aspects of the approach that should be used in all workspace developed by the Federal government. Contact Rob Obenreder at (202) 208-1824 for more information.

GSA STREAMLINING REAL ESTATE REGULATIONS. Update to FMR Parts 102-71 to 82. GSA published Final Rule Federal Management Regulation (FMR) Parts 102-71 to -82 in the Federal Register on January 18, 2001, and it became effective on January 18, 2001. This is part of GSA's regulatory improvement initiative. FMR Parts 102-71 to 102-82 describe the current real property policies applicable to GSA and Federal agencies to whom GSA real property authority has been delegated. The publication of this regulation is an important step. Now the Office of Governmentwide Policy will start a new initiative to amend FMR Parts 102-71 to 102-82 to reflect updated policies, such as location policy, outleasing policy, historic preservation policy, and security policy. Also, amending FMR Parts 102-71 to 102-82 will enable GSA to complete the transfer of policy from the Federal Property Management Regulations (FPMR) to the FMR and remove non-regulatory guidance and procedures from regulations. Ultimately, amending these FMR Parts will enable GSA to eliminate a large amount of text from the Code of Federal Regulations. GSA anticipates publishing the interim rule amending the FMR in May 2002. Contact: John D. Thomas (202) 501-0365