The U.S. federal government lacks resources and leadership needed to truly green its operations, according to a new analysis.
Developed by the Government Business Council (GBC) in conjunction with Deloitte, the survey examines President Obama’s administration’s emphasis on a greener and more sustainable federal government. The results are of particular importance given the significant push the Obama administration has made to drive federal agencies to become greener.
"The study provides some encouraging findings about workforce support for green government mixed with negative perceptions on the level of agency efforts and progress to date," said Bryan Klopack, director of research for GBC. "In sum, federal executives agree that sustainability is a critical goal, but feel they lack the tools necessary to fully achieve it."
Key findings from the study include:
- Support for green government initiatives is high–more than 95% of federal executives consider it important that their agency implements sustainable practices.
- Federal executives do not believe sustainability is receiving the attention it deserves–58% of respondents described the level of effort and resources dedicated to sustainability as "inadequate."
- Executives are critical of the overall progress of the federal government on sustainability, with more than 50% of respondents categorizing progress to-date as "lacking" or "terrible."
- Executives cite better education and training, and more employee engagement, as keys to achieving true sustainability. About half of respondents also identified the need for clearer goals and increased funding.
"The federal government has already made a commitment to sustainability and this survey shows that federal workers are personally on board with those efforts and ready to do more," said David J. Fornari, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and leader of Deloitte’s federal energy management and sustainability practice. "The benefit to fostering a culture of energy savings is the positive impact it will have on agency operating budgets. The savings will allow more money to be made available for agency and department missions."
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