Pursuing Improved Environmental Performance

In GSA, improved environmental stewardship is good business.  With better and timelier environmental information, better decisions can be made.  Potential problems that can drain financial and human resources can be identified and acted upon earlier, lessening their impact.  Improved environmental management leads to improved business management, which provides value to the taxpayer and ensures a more efficient and effective government.

To meet these environmental and business challenges, GSA’s Public Buildings Service is implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS).  An EMS is a set of management processes and procedures that will allow GSA to analyze, control, and reduce the environmental impact of its activities, products, and services. 

Environmental Management Systems move organizations beyond compliance and the traditional short-term focus on regulatory requirements to a broader view of the interrelated nature of environmental activities.  With an EMS, GSA will ask, "Which of our activities create the greatest environmental impacts, and what steps can be taken to reduce these impacts?"  Under the EMS, GSA will still meet all applicable regulations, but will look beyond meeting the minimum standard set by law.

GSA has adopted the Environmental Protection Agency's Code of Environmental Management Principles (CEMP) as the framework for the development and implementation of its EMS.  The CEMP provides guidance for what makes an effective environmental program.  Following these guidelines will allow GSA to improve its environmental performance across a wide range of areas, including:

• Environmental compliance and stewardship
• Environmental training
• Responsibility, authority, accountability
• Pollution prevention and resource conservation
  
• Continuous environmental improvement

The EMS effort is supported through a Presidential mandate.  Executive Order 13148, "Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management," requires all federal agencies to implement an EMS by December 31, 2005.  GSA is actively pursuing this initiative.

A National-Level EMS

GSA is approaching its EMS differently than many federal agencies.  GSA is developing a nationwide EMS, not focusing on any particular facility or property.  Most GSA properties are office buildings, and in some form or another, all of these properties create environmental impacts.  However, the environmental impacts of an office building in one part of the country are virtually identical to the environmental impacts of an office building in another part of the country.  This similarity makes it more efficient to implement one national-level EMS while the GSA regional offices carry out any specific EMS functions that are relevant to their particular situations.

Integrating Existing Environmental Programs

GSA currently has a number of well-developed environmental programs (e.g., National Environmental Policy Act, Sustainable Design, Recycling, Affirmative Procurement), most of which address a specific legal or regulatory requirement.  The EMS will be able to put all of these programs under one umbrella, ensuring that they are all functioning properly and achieving their established goals.  The EMS will actively link GSA’s existing environmental programs, identifying areas where improvement is possible and/or necessary.

The EMS will ultimately make GSA’s environmental program more effective.