Obama Advances Energy Efficiency

President Obama signed an Executive Order calling for massive reductions in energy and water use in federal buildings and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from federal fleets. Over the next 10 years, the order will save taxpayers an estimated $18 billion in avoided energy costs, says the administration.

The Executive Order directs Federal agencies to:

• Ensure 25 percent of their total energy consumption is from clean energy sources by 2025.
• Reduce energy use in Federal buildings by 2.5 percent per year, from a 2015 baseline, through 2025.
• Reduce per-mile GHG emissions from Federal fleets by 30 percent by 2025, from a 2014 baseline.
• Reduce water intensity in Federal buildings by 2 percent per year through 2025, from a 2015 baseline.

The President also encouraged commitments from Federal suppliers to cut their GHG emissions. A new Federal Supplier Greenhouse Gas Management Scorecard was released by the Council on Environmental Quality to track and disclose the self-reported emissions of all major Federal suppliers.

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