News Releases from Region 10

Federal Green Challenge Winners in the Pacific Northwest Save Taxpayers’ Money and Promote Efficiency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is recognizing federal facilities in the Pacific Northwest and nationwide for conserving resources and saving taxpayers’ money as part of the Federal Green Challenge. The challenge is a national effort under the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program, which encourages federal agencies to lead by example in reducing the federal government's environmental impact.

“We applaud our federal partners for implementing innovative, sustainable practices,” said Chris Hladick, Regional Administrator for EPA’s Pacific Northwest Region. “The commitment by federal employees to conserve water, reduce waste and be more energy efficient, inspires other facilities to follow their example, and helps protect our environment for years to come.”

In 2018, Federal Green Challenge participants nationally reduced their environmental impact, including:

• Sending more than 235 tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers.
• Reducing transportation costs by more than $23 million.
• Using approximately 536 million fewer gallons of potable water.
• Decreasing paper purchasing by nearly 2,800 pounds.
• Diverting an estimated 675,000 tons of waste from landfills.

EPA is recognizing these top performers with regional Federal Green Challenge awards for their efforts to improve the efficiency of their facilities:

• Waste:  The Department of Energy’s Bonneville Power Administration’s (Portland, Oregon) waste recovery efforts resulted in a 63.5% increase of recycled materials from 2017 to 2018 and a 94% overall diversion rate.
• Electronics:  The Department of Energy’s Bonneville Power Administration’s (Portland, Oregon) undertook a comprehensive replacement of nearly 2,000 units of computer equipment; this effort generated a 97.7% increase in EPEAT silver or higher and Energy Star certified equipment.
• Water:  The U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle, through energy and water monitoring and installing water flow reducers and addressing leaks, reduced its water consumption by 30% resulting in a savings of 2,227,117 gallons of potable water.
• Energy:  The General Services Administration achieved a 57% decrease in natural gas consumption and an overall 25% total energy use reduction by implementing a dynamic ventilation air system in management of the LEED certified Edith Green – Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon.
• Innovation:  The Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District analyzed peak work hours to develop strategies for reducing energy load at the LEED Gold certified Oxbow building in Seattle, Washington which resulted in a 15% reduction of electricity and a 21% reduction in natural gas.

For more information on the Federal Green Challenge and this year’s winners, visit: www.epa.gov/fgc.

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