In a recent blog, the Commerce Department and its National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration said 2011 will be remembered as the “Year of Extreme Weather,” citing extremes in drought, heat waves and floods to record-breaking tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and winter storms. Is this the result of climate change? The scientists are still sorting that out, but the impact of these events — a record 12 events each causing more than a $1 billion in damages and staggering losses of life — highlights the very real need for a government that is resilient and adaptive to climate change.

GSA is playing a key role in this effort, driving advances in energy, the environment and economic performance. In that, GSA is helping to identify ways for the government to adapt and respond to potential changes in the environment created by climate change.

For GSA, this will start with including climate factors into risk management to inform agency strategic planning and maintaining an open dialogue with other agencies to share best practices and identify their needs. This positions GSA to create more robust federal facilities and a more resilient supply chain responsive to customer mission continuity demands. In securing its federal property portfolio, critical sites will be equipped with forward-thinking and durable solutions that align with local, state, and regional adaptation plans.

Already, GSA and its federal partners have identified five Climate Change Adaptation Planning Actions for FY 2012:

-Explore the risks to facilities connected with climate change and develop an organizational map to help manage those risks and create concrete solutions. GSA will work in partnership with its customer agencies to discuss vulnerabilities and possible ways to address them.

-Work proactively with those clients that have listed GSA as supplier and acquisition service in their Climate Change Adaptation Task Force.

-Educate GSA and other federal employees about the climate change adaptation challenges and initiatives. GSA is implementing two pilot programs in the National Capital and Heartland regions to test and evaluate various scenarios with support from the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

-Share the results of these pilot efforts and maintain communication with scientific and industry entities to evaluate the future needs of the federal property portfolio.

GSA’s Public Buildings Service and Federal Acquisition Service have also been tasked with action items that include providing robust climate-ready workplaces, determining climate protection levels, and preparing people for behavioral and adaptation changes.

The results of GSA’s commitment to climate change adaptation will ensure customer agencies will ultimately be prepared for whatever lies ahead, and be empowered with the resources, tools and knowledge to move forward and succeed in their operational, technical and mission needs.

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