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The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced earlier this month the winners of the Sustainability Awards for 2011 to recognize employees, teams, and organizations who have helped achieve cost-reducing initiatives for the DOE to cut energy, water, and paper use and save taxpayer money. These Sustainability Awards are part of the Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) established by the DOE Sustainability Performance Office in response to President Obama’s Executive Order on Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance.
Awards went out for a variety of activities. Here are some of the highlights:
- Installation of a cool roof on the DOE’s headquarters.
- Installation of renewable energy systems on government buildings.
- Retrofitting lighting with high efficiency LEDs and other lighting technologies.
- Establishing demand response programs to cut demand for energy during peak summer months.
- Creating a sustainability website and idea exchange.
- Spearheading employee green commuting competitions.
- Combining and upgrading IT facilities to reduce energy consumption by 2.7 billion Btus annually.
- Launching a biodiesel pilot program to introduce employees to alternative fuels.
- Upgrading water systems to reduce water consumption.
- Cost savings of more than $4 million in 2010 FY alone.
- Reductions in energy consumption of 18.4%.
- Water consumption savings of 12.2% per square foot from FY 2007.
- Eligible renewable electricity equivalent to 9.2% of total electricity consumption.
The Deputy Secretary of Energy and Senior Sustainability Officer Daniel Poneman congratulated the winners, saying, “Today’s Sustainability Award winners are leading by example, showing what’s possible when employees bring creativity, innovation, and dedication to their efforts to make the Department of Energy more sustainable. The efforts undertaken by these individuals and teams are helping the Department to deliver on President Obama’s sustainability goals, while inspiring others both inside and outside of government to start investing in cost-saving clean energy technologies.”
