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GSA recognized as a leader in sustainability

GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth gives the keynote address at the 2016 Buildings Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International Conference and Expo in National Harbor, Md.

| Public Buildings Service
Post filed in: Public Buildings Service  |  Sustainability

This week, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) was presented with two sustainability awards at the 2016 Buildings Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International Conference and Expo in National Harbor, Md., recognizing our commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability in commercial buildings. Our agency was named a 2016 Green Lease Leader and recognized for our achievements in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Interior Lighting Campaign.

Green Leasing Leader

GSA’s Public Buildings Service strives to be a leader in sustainability through policy and practice, using technology and innovation to achieve energy efficiency and cost savings. The Green Lease Leaders designation is awarded to organizations that exhibit leadership in energy efficiency and sustainability through implementing green leases. Some of GSA’s key green leasing standards include requirements related to energy efficient heating and cooling systems, indoor and outdoor water conservation, the use of recycled materials, and the use of environmentally friendly building products.

GSA’s mission is to build greener, more efficient spaces for the federal government at the best value to the American people. GSA promotes government-wide efforts to create green, sustainable spaces. To learn more about our green leasing efforts, please visit Green Lease Policies and Procedures.

Interior Lighting Campaign

Last September, GSA signed on as an organizing partner for DOE’s Interior Lighting Campaign (ILC), an initiative designed to encourage building owners and managers in both the public and private sector to take advantage of savings opportunities that result from installing high efficiency interior lighting. The campaign aimed to replace one million standard fluorescent fixtures with high efficiency lighting in buildings across the country by May 2016.

At this week’s BOMA conference the ILC recognized two GSA facilities that made significant contributions to the campaign with exemplary performance in high efficiency lighting:

  • The New Carrollton Federal Building in New Carrollton, Md., received awards for both Highest Absolute Annual Savings and Highest Percentage Annual Savings in the Large Project category. LED retrofits at this building have reduced lighting energy consumption by 82 percent, and save 2.7 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year—the amount of energy consumed by 250 homes.
  • The Byron Rodgers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Denver was recognized with an award for Best Use of Lighting Controls. A full building LED upgrade with dual technology occupancy sensors and daylight harvesting controls have yielded up to 500,000 kWh of electricity savings per year.

GSA continues to increase its investments in energy efficient lighting technologies in its federal facilities. By working with DOE on this campaign, GSA is not only helping DOE achieve their high efficiency interior lighting goal, but making a significant positive impact on the environmental performance of our federal buildings around the nation. To learn more about high efficiency interior lighting, visit the DOE’s Interior Lighting Campaign.