The GreenGov Challenge: Turning Ideas into Action

Last fall, President Obama asked all Federal and military personnel to join in the GreenGov Challenge to share their ideas on how we can lead by example, green the government, and meet the goals of the Executive Order on Federal Sustainability.  Today, the President is calling on us to turn those ideas into action to put the Federal Government on the path to a clean energy future, and to meet our greenhouse gas pollution reduction target of 28% by 2020.

The GreenGov Challenge gathered more than 5,300 ideas and 165,000 votes from thousands of our colleagues in the Federal and military community from every agency, across America and around the globe.

The top ideas are summarized in the GreenGov Final Report.  Among the most popular ones were expanding teleworking, landscaping with native plants that require less watering, making use of digital signatures to reduce printing documents, replacing non-recyclable materials with biobased cups and other service items in Federal cafeterias, and installing solar panels of Federal buildings. An initial summary of the GreenGov Challenge was presented to the Steering Committee on Federal Sustainability at a recent meeting, and each Federal Agency’s Senior Sustainability Officer is already working to incorporate your suggestions into their annual Sustainability Plans.

Today President Obama is issuing a new challenge to Federal and military personnel to put these ideas to work. To get started, check out the GreenGov Challenge Final Report and pick an idea you can champion in your workplace. Then sign up for the GreenGov Collaborative to work with colleagues across the government to put your ideas into action. You’ll be able to share your strategies, ask questions, and create a “green team” in this online community.

You answered the GreenGov challenge, now be part of the GreenGov transformation.

Nancy Sutley is the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality