FACT SHEET: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Federal Government and Across the Supply Chain

The President is committed to addressing the climate change threat – both by taking action here at home and showing leadership on the world stage. As part of his commitment to lead by example to curb the emissions that are driving climate change, today President Obama will issue an Executive Order that will cut the Federal Government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 40 percent over the next decade from 2008 levels -- saving taxpayers up to $18 billion in avoided energy costs -- and increase the share of electricity the Federal Government consumes from renewable sources to 30 percent. Complementing this effort, several major Federal suppliers are announcing commitments to cut their own GHG emissions. Today, the Administration is hosting a roundtable that will bring some of these large Federal suppliers together to discuss the benefits of their GHG reduction targets or to make their first-ever corporate commitments to disclose emissions and set new reduction goals.

Together, the combined results of the Federal Government actions and new supplier commitments will reduce GHG emissions by 26 million metric tons by 2025 from 2008 levels, the equivalent of taking nearly 5.5 million cars off the road for a year. And to encourage continued progress across the Federal supply chain, the Administration is releasing a new scorecard to publicly track self-reported emissions disclosure and progress for all major Federal suppliers, who together represent more than $187 billion in Federal spending and account for more than 40 percent of all Federal contract dollars.

Since the Federal Government is the single largest consumer of energy in the Nation, Federal emissions reductions and progress across the supply chain will have broad impacts.  The new commitments announced today support the United States’ international commitment to cut net GHG emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, which President Obama first announced in November 2014 as part of an historic agreement with China. Additionally, the goals build on the strong progress made by Federal agencies during the first six years of the Administration under President Obama’s 2009 Executive Order on Federal Leadership on Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance, including reducing Federal GHG emissions by 17 percent — which helped Federal agencies avoid $1.8 billion in cumulative energy costs — and increasing the share of renewable energy consumption to 9 percent.  

Leading by example in the Federal Government

With a footprint that includes 360,000 buildings, 650,000 fleet vehicles, and $445 billion spent annually on goods and services, the Federal Government’s actions to reduce pollution, support renewable energy, and operate more efficiently can make a significant impact on national emissions. The President’s action today will build on the Federal Government’s significant progress in reducing emissions to drive further sustainability actions through the next decade. In addition to cutting emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy, the Executive Order outlines a number of additional measures to make the Federal Government’s operations more sustainable, efficient and energy-secure while saving taxpayer dollars. Specifically, the Executive Order directs Federal agencies to:

• Ensure 25 percent of their total energy (electric and thermal) consumption is from clean energy sources by 2025.
• Reduce energy use in Federal buildings by 2.5 percent per year between 2015 and 2025.
• Reduce per-mile GHG emissions from Federal fleets by 30 percent from 2014 levels by 2025, and increase the percentage of zero emission and plug in hybrid vehicles in Federal fleets. 
• Reduce water intensity in Federal buildings by 2 percent per year through 2025.

Encouraging progress across the supply chain

In addition to setting aggressive new efficiency standards for Federal agencies, the Administration is engaging with major Federal suppliers to encourage them to adopt similar practices.  Today, the Administration is hosting a roundtable that will bring some of the largest Federal suppliers together to discuss the benefits of their GHG emission reduction targets or to make their first-ever corporate commitments to disclose emissions and set new reduction goals. The companies attending this roundtable each do more than $1 billion a year in business with the U.S. Government and together account for about $45 billion in Federal contract spending.  Combined, they bring a total GHG reduction commitment of 5 million metric tons between 2008 and 2020, and have made the following specific commitments:

IBM
IBM, one of the world’s largest providers of IT services and solutions, today announced two new goals:

• Reduce CO2 emissions associated with IBM's energy consumption 35 percent by year-end 2020 against base year 2005 adjusted for acquisitions and divestitures.  This represents an additional 20 percent reduction from year-end 2012 to year-end 2020 over the reductions achieved from 2005 to 2012 under the company’s second generation goal.
• Procure electricity from renewable sources for 20 percent of IBM's annual electricity consumption by 2020. IBM will contract over 800,000 megawatt-hours per year of renewable electricity -- an amount that can power a city of 100,000 people. The company will match its purchased renewable electricity directly to its operations as opposed to purchasing renewable energy certificates as offsets, making a clear connection between purchases and consumption.  

IBM has been working on reducing GHG emissions and reporting results for 25 years, avoiding 3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions through conservation actions between 1990 and 2005 -- an amount equal to 40 percent of its 1990 emissions. With today’s announcement, IBM is embarking on its third generation goal.  

GE
GE, a global infrastructure and finance company, launched a line of environmentally responsible products in 2005 to accelerate innovation and growth in a resource constrained world through efficient and intelligent solutions. By the end of 2014, GE had invested $15 billion in R&D to develop more efficient technologies and generated approximately $200 billion in revenue from these products. In addition GE committed in 2005 to reduce its water use and GHG emissions -- by the end of 2013, GE had reduced its global GHG emissions by 34 percent from 2004 and water use by 45 percent from 2006. To continue this progress, GE has announced 2020 commitments to invest a cumulative $25 billion in R&D and reduce water and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from a 2011 baseline.

Honeywell
Honeywell, a global technology and manufacturing company, today announced its third public goal to reduce GHG emissions throughout its global business operations. Honeywell exceeded its first public goal to reduce GHGs by more than 30 percent from a 2004 baseline in 2011, and then achieved an additional 15 percent per dollar of revenue reduction from 2011 levels by 2014, three years earlier than originally planned.  Because of this progress, the company set its latest five-year goal earlier than anticipated; by 2019 Honeywell expects to achieve an additional 10 percent per dollar of revenue reduction from 2013 levels.  Honeywell also has exceeded goals to increase energy efficiency in its businesses.  The company’s facilities have implemented more than 2,100 energy efficiency projects including building automation/controls, lighting, and mechanical upgrades since 2010.

SRA International
SRA International, a provider of IT solutions and professional services to government organizations, today announced a goal to reduce its GHG emissions by 35 percent by FY 2020 relative to a FY 2007 baseline. SRA’s FY 2007 Scope 1 and 2 GHG goal baseline is 6,267.9 metric tons CO2-equivalent (MTCO2e). SRA has further committed to reduce paper use by 75 percent per person (from FY 2007 use) and to achieve a 90 percent recycling rate by FY 2020.  SRA has committed to conducting its operations in an environmentally responsible manner and minimizing its environmental impacts. In 2007, SRA launched its Go Green initiative. Since then, the company has applied sustainability practices to many of its business operations and has identified, assessed and implemented initiatives to help it operate more efficiently and with a lighter environmental footprint.

Humana
Humana Inc., a health and well-being company, announced today that it will work to reduce its GHG emissions by 5 percent from 2015 through 2017, from a 2013 baseline.  In 2012, Humana announced energy-saving goals, identifying and investing in a variety of energy-efficiency initiatives, primarily focused on owned real estate.  By the end of 2012, the company achieved a 6 percent reduction in energy consumption.  During 2013, the company realized an 8 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 3 percent reduction in GHG emissions (approximately 3,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide) from a 2009 baseline. Humana’s facilities represent one of the company’s biggest opportunities to increase efficiencies and reduce emissions.  Humana will continue to invest in capital projects to support improvements in various owned and leased sites, including its data centers, adopting LED lighting standards, expanding waste-reduction programs, and continuing to explore renewable energy options.  In addition, Humana acknowledges that its employees play an important role in achieving a healthy planet, and pledges to continue enhancing engagement efforts with associates, helping them become better stewards of the environment in the workplace and at home.

CSC
CSC, a next-generation information technology (IT) services and solutions provider, today confirmed its intention to meet an absolute global greenhouse gas reduction target of 18 percent by 2018 (baseline 2012). Through implementing best practices in data center power and cooling, employee education and real estate footprint consolidation, CSC has already achieved 8.7 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in one year and eliminated 30,472 tons of Scope 1 (Direct), Scope 2 (Indirect) CO2e and Scope 3 (Travel) emissions across the business.  

AECOM
AECOM, a global infrastructure design, build, finance and operating services firm, today announced it will identify the GHG issues relevant to its operations by October 2015 and set reduction targets for 2018.  The firm will report progress toward those targets and the strategies employed will be reported in its annual enterprise sustainability report each year starting in 2016. Given the nature of AECOM’s business, the firm will report on GHG issues related to the energy consumed (conditioning, water and waste) in the spaces it occupies — in conjunction with its landlords — as well as in areas related to travel, purchasing and printing.

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) 
SAIC, a technology integrator for government and select commercial customers, announced today that it plans to publicly disclose its GHG emissions for calendar year 2014 to establish a baseline for emissions and to set a goal for a new GHG reduction target by March 2016. SAIC’s GHG emissions for the first three months of operations (October – December 2013) were 4,814 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. SAIC recognizes that GHG emissions are an important metric in gauging an organization’s overall environmental impact and corporate commitment to mitigate negative impacts.   

HP
HP, one of the world’s largest providers of information technology infrastructure, software, services, and solutions, is committed to reducing GHGs across its entire value chain. HP was the first global IT company to publish and verify its complete carbon footprint and take action to reduce its GHG emissions across all three parts of its value chain: operations, supply chain and products. HP set a goal to reduce total GHG emissions from its operations (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 2010 levels. This built on the company’s previous goal of a 20 percent carbon reduction, which HP achieved in 2011—two years early. In 2013, HP set the industry’s first supply chain GHG emissions reduction goal: a 20 percent decrease in first-tier manufacturing and product transportation-related GHG emissions intensity by 2020, compared with 2010. In 2014, HP set a new goal to reduce the emissions intensity of its product portfolio by 40 percent by 2020 from a 2010 baseline, which will help HP and its customers worldwide reduce carbon impacts.

Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation, a global security company, is committed to environmental sustainability leadership. Northrop Grumman has announced its 2020 environmental sustainability goals: to reduce absolute GHG emissions 30 percent from 2010 levels; to reduce water consumption by 20 percent from 2014 levels; and to achieve a 70 percent solid waste diversion rate. As of year-end 2013, Northrop Grumman reduced its GHG emissions intensity by 26.5 percent relative to sales from 2008 levels and achieved its inaugural GHG reduction goal two years early. This performance resulted in the reduction of more than 260,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

United Technologies
United Technologies Corporation (UTC), a global aerospace and commercial building industries company, has reduced GHG emissions in its own operations by more than 30 percent since 2007. On the product side, the company’s Carrier business calculates that installations of its high-efficiency heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems since 2000 have avoided the release of more than 164 million metrics tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. And UTC’s Pratt & Whitney business’s innovative PurePower jet engine cuts carbon emissions by over 3,600 metric tons per aircraft per year – equal to planting more than 900,000 trees. UTC is committed to continuing its absolute GHG reduction and later this year will release new goals to be achieved by 2020.

CH2MHill
CH2M HILL, an employee-owned global consulting firm, set an absolute GHG reduction goal of 25 percent between 2012 and 2017 for global operations and is well over halfway toward meeting the 2017 target. The company’s emissions have declined through reduced energy consumption and GHG emissions for vehicles and buildings; improved efficiency of four LEED- and ENERGY STAR-certified headquarter buildings; and office energy conservation programs. Looking forward, CH2M HILL plans to continue its energy management efforts, renewable energy investments, sourcing of high-quality carbon offsets, and additional actions for management of its Scope 3 carbon footprint. In February, CH2M HILL received the Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management—Goal Setting certificate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with the Association of Climate Change Officers, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and The Climate Registry at the fourth annual Climate Leadership Awards. CH2M HILL was one of the first in its sector to publish a sustainability report in 2005.

ADS Inc
ADS Inc., one of the largest providers of operational equipment, procurement, and logistics solutions to the Department of Defense and various Federal agencies, announced today that it plans to rapidly expand its environmentally friendly product offering and to actively begin promoting green technologies such as flex-fuel and hybrid power generation, micro grid systems, solar and wind fuel systems. Furthermore, ADS plans to benchmark its internal energy and fuel consumption and put forth a reduction plan in 2015.

Battelle:
Battelle, a leading nonprofit research and development organization, announced today that it is committed to reporting GHG emissions beginning in 2016. Battelle is also setting a goal to reduce GHG emissions by 25 percent by the year 2025. Battelle has been participating in a continuous energy improvement program and will use the statistical model established in 2013 as the baseline. Battelle is committed to managing and operating corporate facilities in a sustainable manner. In harmony with reporting and reducing GHG emissions, Battelle will make every effort to apply strategies for sustainable buildings, pollution prevention, waste reduction, electronic stewardship, sustainable acquisition, renewable energy, and water efficiency. Battelle has already made significant investments in sustainability including a net-zero energy building, energy efficiency, and environmental protection.