“Beetle Kill Wall” at DOE Colorado Campus

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Robert Hash

Working at CEIL, you get exposed to a lot of really interesting and innovative methods for sustainability and environmental innovation. But, I have to say, the “Beetle Kill Wall” at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Research Support Facility (RSF) located on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus in Colorado might take the cake.

Since the mid-1990′s, beetles have killed pine trees on more than 3.5 million acres in Colorado. For the architects and designers working on the RSF, the bark beetle infestation meant an abundant source of wood close to the construction site that fit numerous project constraints.

“The designers specifically looked for regional materials that allowed for creative expression within the RSF and were within the budget of this project,” Philip Macey, RSF project manager for Haselden Construction, said.

Check out this amazing video to see how architects turned what could’ve been a huge environmental tragedy into a sustainable work of art.

Read the entire news release here: http://www.nrel.gov/features/20100524_sustainable.html

The Secret Greening of the Federal Government

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Ann Seltz

Or so it seems to me. I’m new to the government space, and just started following the federal government’s green effort with the signing of Executive Order 13514 last fall. So maybe I am just seeing everything through uneducated eyes. But I don’t believe the general public has any idea of how much progress the federal government has made toward greening, and how much more will be made as a result of the Executive Order.

This is a good news story. As I’ve visited with different agencies and learned about the progress being made to use less, conserve more and rethink conventional approaches to building and managing facilities, I’ve been impressed with the commitment, energy and innovation from the government professionals I meet with. The Executive Order requires a lot to happen in a relatively short time–the first Sustainability Plans from each agency are due in June–but agencies are reaching across jurisdictional lines to gather the information and establish the benchmarks required for the plans.

The Center for Environmental Innovation and Leadership’s mission is to facilitate communication about the greening of the federal government, helping government professionals connect through groups and forums at www.CEILeadership.org, posting success stories in the news section and also helping vendors, contractors and service providers understand what agencies need to meet the mandates of EO 13514. Send us your news! And look forward to our programming at our upcoming GOVGREEN Conference and Exposition in November in Washington, D.C.

The Postal Service’s Green Roof

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Robert Hash

Did you know that the mail sorting facility in midtown Manhatten has a huge green roof?

Built in 1933, the 2.2 million square foot facility located in midtown Manhattan became a historic landmark in 1986. Its roof was constructed originally to serve as an additional mail processing location, supporting 200 pounds per square foot. When the roof was scheduled for replacement in 2007, it was deemed strong enough to support the weight of the soil, vegetation and other requirements of a green roof.

USPS has a great time-lapse video available so that you can watch the construction process.

You can also check out a video of the finished product here:

The roof will last up to 50 years, twice as long as the roof it replaced. It will also reduce the amount of contaminants in storm water runoff flowing into New York’s municipal water system. The agency projects the reduction of polluted runoff to be as much as 75 percent in the summer, and up to 35 percent during the winter months.

Introduction to EO 13514

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Robert Hash

Many visitors to the CEIL website find us while searching for news, information and resources related to Executive Order 13514. The Executive Order is ambitious. It calls for agencies to make significant changes and upgrades to their environmental, energy and economic practices.

The Executive Order also requires agencies to meet a very specific number of energy, water, and waste reduction targets, including:

30% reduction in vehicle fleet petroleum use by 2020;
26% improvement in water efficiency by 2020;
50% recycling and waste diversion by 2015;
95% of all applicable contracts will meet sustainability requirements;
Implementation of the 2030 net-zero-energy building requirement;
Implementation of the stormwater provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, section 438; and
Development of guidance for sustainable Federal building locations in alignment with the Livability Principles put forward by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

CEIL was founded in late 2009 to serve as a resource for agencies making changes in order to reach these goals. Now, in addition to our extensive and comprehensive news feeds, we’re excited to announce the lauch of this blog. We’ll post a few times each week to share the latest news, commentary and media related to EO 13514.

If you’re just starting out, we recommend checking out the Federal Energy Management Program’s (FEMP) First Thursdays Seminar series.