If the refrigerator in the employee break room sounds like it's powered by a 1975 V-8 engine, and the freezer door won't shut without duct tape, it may be time for you to take the Energy Department's Federal Procurement Challenge.
Managers who take the challenge agree to buy energy efficient products that may initially cost more than similar power-guzzling goods, but over the long run will help reduce Uncle Sam's $8 billion-a-year energy bill.
The Federal Procurement Challenge kicked off in 1995, when 22 agencies agreed to buy products that are rated in the top 25 percent of their products for energy efficiency. The Energy Department's Federal Energy Management Program recommends products that meet the top 25 percent requirement in categories ranging from appliances to office equipment to lighting fixtures.
Now DOE's Federal Procurement Challenge team, headed by program manager Katie Kroehle, is on a mission to get managers charged up about energy efficiency. The team has created a Web site listing recommendations for 23 products, with more recommendations on the way.
If you're going to replace that rickety old refrigerator-freezer, for example, you can check the site to find out how many kilowatt hours per year your new fridge can use to make Energy's efficiency elite list.
The site lists examples of how much money can be saved when managers buy energy efficient products. The standard exit sign racks up a $176 energy bill over its 10-year life span, while the most energy efficient sign would expend only $9 of energy over the same period, the site says.
The energy efficiency team is spreading the word offline as well, working with the General Services Administration and the Defense Logistics Agency to include energy efficiency standards in product catalogs. The group also appears at government trade shows and will host its own show, Energy '98, in August.
The Federal Procurement Challenge is part of a larger effort to reduce the government's energy costs. Under Executive Order 12902, issued by President Clinton in 1994, the federal government must reduce its energy consumption 30 percent from 1985 levels by 2005. The government was halfway there in fiscal 1996, reducing its energy use by 15.2 percent since 1985, according to the Energy Department.
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