Presidio Trust wins Federal Green Challenge

​​​​​​​​​Local winners save resources and taxpayers’ money

SAN FRANCISCO – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the Presidio Trust, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the U.S. Forest Service for conserving resources and saving taxpayers’ money as part of the Federal Green Challenge (FGC). These federal agencies were part of a national effort that resulted in approximately $22 million in cost savings in the last year.

“Federal agencies nationwide challenge themselves to improve efficiency and minimize environmental impact, and their achievements are saving American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

In 2017, FGC participants reduced the federal government’s environmental impact by reducing fuel oil consumption by more than 206,000 gallons, sending nearly 300 tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers, using almost 59 million fewer gallons of industrial, landscaping and agricultural water, and diverting over 422,000 tons of waste from landfills. Participants also prevented more than 840 tons of food from being landfilled through food donation and composting efforts.

“We applaud these agencies implementing innovative, sustainable practices,” said Mike Stoker, Regional Administrator for EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “The commitment by federal employees to reduce waste and be more energy efficient inspires other facilities to follow their example, and is of statewide benefit.”

EPA is recognizing the following participants for improving the efficiency of their facilities in the following categories in 2017:

• Leadership: Presidio Trust, San Francisco, Calif.
  The Presidio Trust conducted waste audits across the site, including daily audits at locations with the most significant waste diversion challenges. Based on their findings, the Presidio Trust made changes at 11 buildings, including downsizing containers or waste hauling service, increasing diversion from landfill, and correcting the size or service for chronic bin overflow. The Presidio Trust also installed customized signage at the Rob Hill Campground to engage the public in recycling efforts. From 2016 to 2017, the Presidio Trust increased its reuse of materials by 47 percent and its composting by 30 percent.
• Innovation: Forest Service, Vallejo, Calif.
  The Forest Service Sustainability and Energy Team completed the Southern California Energy Savings Performance Contract ENABLE Project, a streamlined procurement process allowing aggregation of small projects across multiple federal facilities to install energy conservation measures and renewable energy systems more efficiently. The project included a combination of lighting upgrades, HVAC controls, one-for-one HVAC replacements, and small-scale photovoltaic systems at nine sites across the Los Padres and San Bernardino National Forests in Southern California. It will reduce energy use by 80 percent across the sites and save about 4,893 million BTU of energy and $225,000 in energy costs annually.
• Energy: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.
  The Golden Gate National Recreation Area made substantial achievements to reduce its carbon footprint with the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral park. Their key accomplishment was purchasing 100 percent renewable energy for all park buildings. The achievement was made through a combination of the use of on-site renewables, participation in community choice programs, and the purchase of renewable energy certificates.

FGC efforts across the federal government further the goals of President Trump’s May 17, 2018, Executive Order 13834 Regarding Efficient Federal Operations. The executive order directs agencies to prioritize reducing waste, cutting costs and enhancing the resiliency of federal infrastructure and operations, and to track reductions to ensure accountability.

The FGC is a voluntary, yearlong commitment under EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program, in which participants focus on efficiently managing their resources to reduce the costs of building operations, maintenance, and supplies.

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

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