Sustainability in Action

Great Lakes Region GSA is proud of its efforts to reduce energy and water use, increase use of green processes and products, and increase recycling.  

Refer back to this page often for our latest stories and dashboard statistics tracking our efforts to reach a zero environmental footprint (ZEF).

Top Stories

Bean Center's solar roof wins Indy Sustainability Award

GSA's Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center won the Energy category of the 2012 Sustainability Awards sponsored by the city of Indianapolis.

The Bean's solar roof Recovery Act project was cited for its ability to reduce the 1.6-million-square-foot building's heating bill by nearly $500,000 annually, lowering demand on the local power company and thus reducing pollution.

See the full story with pictures here.

Boiling Ash trees saves wood for Minnesota building renovation
How do you save the wood from Ash trees that are quarantined due to possible Emerald Ash Borer infestation?  You boil them of course... in a really big pot.

With the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, striving for a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design gold rating for its ongoing renovation project, reusing the trees removed from the property will provide key evaluation points.  But before the trees could be converted to wood veneer for the building, they first had to be boiled in a huge trench to kill off any insects.

See the full story with pictures here.

Worms turn cafeteria waste into compost
The U.S. Courthouse in Hammond, Indiana, and the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse are both using worms to both recycle food waste and enrich soil for the buildings' landscaping.

The Hammond Courthouse started with about 2,000 worms and Dirksen with 15,000, both populations having doubled in amount within the past year.  The worms consume scraps from food preparation and left-overs from the salad bar in the buildings' cafeterias, along with shredded office paper, to create compost used in place of fertilizer.  

See the full story with pictures here.