Federal Network for Sustainability

The Federal Network for Sustainability (FNS) is a new initiative to help agencies across the federal government implement sustainable practices. It functions as a trade group and consists of representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE), EPA, General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Park Service, U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, Bonneville Power Administration, and NASA.

There have been a number of attempts to direct the single largest purchaser of products and services in the world – the U.S. federal government – toward environmental purchasing. The Environmental Preferable Purchasing program launched in 1993 and President Clinton’s 1998 “Greening of Government” Executive Orders have met with only modest success.

Recently, the EPA conducted a study to find out why. They found that surprisingly, federal employees do not perceive the programs as mandates because they were issued government-wide, rather than by top management in their own agencies. Also, few employees understand the “environmentally preferable purchasing” or how to do it. FNS hopes to rectify these problems.

FNS has four initiatives slated for 2001-2002:

1. Electronic Products Stewardship: FNS is supporting EPA’s efforts to develop and promote electronic product stewardship initiatives.

2. Green power: promote the use of renewable energy by Federal agencies in the Western U.S. by training energy procurement officials, and by demonstrating its feasibility. FNS will showcase agency projects as they are completed.
3. Greening the copy paper supply: influence agencies to raise the bar on recycled copy paper from 30% to 60-100 percent post-consumer content and process chlorine-free paper.

4. Environmental Management Systems: integrate into every day activities to manage waste and consumption in agencies. FNS will identify member agencies successfully use EMS and share this information with other agencies.

www.federalsustainability.org