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Executive Order on Agency Emissions
Executive Order 13514 Focuses on Federal Agency Emissions
Federal agencies received a sharp reminder of the new broom that is being wielded by Pres. Obama as he seeks to change the focus of attention within government departments. President Bush was not known for his support of climate related issues in general and Obama's new executive order now places the issue of agency emissions front the center.
The order, routinely tagged as 13514, specifies that each agency must produce a plan and submit to the executive branch in short order. The plan calls for the declaration of a percentage reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 years. Obama has left it up to each head to analyze its own agency emissions and to decide what percentage reduction is most appropriate. This will call for a considerable effort by the agency management, as it is widely believed that the government does not have a clear idea of the size of its carbon footprint to start off with.
Federal agencies received a sharp reminder of the new broom that is being wielded by Pres. Obama as he seeks to change the focus of attention within government departments. President Bush was not known for his support of climate related issues in general and Obama's new executive order now places the issue of agency emissions front the center.
The United States government is believed to be the largest user of energy within the entire country and thus can be accused of being the biggest polluter in terms of agency emissions. This is a weighty problem to carry around and one which must be addressed, even as Congress debates introducing far-reaching legislation to force commerce and industry itself to comply.
A Full Life Cycle Analysis Will Help Any Organization Get the Grips of the Cost of Its Assets and Achieve Sustainability at the Same Time
While there is some doubt as to when or whether such legislation may pass, or whether indeed it might be watered down or not, Obama recognized that he could implement change by himself in areas over which he has direct control.
In order for agency emissions levels to be completely understood, each agency and department within must conduct a full lifecycle analysis and get to grips with the true cost of each asset within its control. It will no longer be permissible to let the “status quo” remain in place, as if an asset is not operating at peak efficiency there can be no hope of achieving true sustainability.
Executive Order 13514 is On of Obama’s Breakthrough in Addressing Carbon Emissions Reduction
Agency management must look to the introduction of specifically tailored software solutions and systems to help them comply with the terminology of this latest executive order. In a relatively short space of time, agency chiefs must gather the information necessary to enable them to compile a greenhouse gas inventory, judge the size of their carbon footprint and work out how they are going to reduce agency emissions over the next decade.
Executive Order 13514 will surely come to be known as one of Obama's most significant during his tenure at the White House. It remains to be seen how successful each agency is in its quest to become a good citizen and to do its bit for environmental protection and climate change. At the very least, the executive order will bring additional and considerable attention to the overall problem.
About Verisae
Verisae helps measure, manage and reduce equipment and energy costs including the related business and environmental impacts of carbon emissions. The Sustainability Resource Planning (“SRP”) software platform improves operational efficiency, protects brand integrity and helps ensure regulatory compliance for distributed enterprises across many industries. Verisae delivers a broad range of sustainability solutions to dozens of clients globally with thousands of daily users including an extended network of third-party suppliers. Verisae’s integrated sustainability platform actively tracks millions of assets across thousands of sites worldwide.
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