Plans and Reports

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Sustainability Performance Office (SPO) plans and reports progress on sustainability metrics set by Executive Order (E.O.) 13514, E.O. 13423, related statutes, and the Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP).

DOE employees and contractors are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the SSPP as well as specific DOE goals and requirements. The following plans and reports are currently available:

Scorecards and Evaluations

The Department of Energy is regularly evaluated on its progress toward meeting sustainability goals. In this third annual public posting of Federal agency scorecards, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 scorecard serves as an important benchmark to see where DOE has been successful in achieving its sustainability goals, reducing emissions, cutting costs, and identifying opportunities for improvement.

The Federal government must lead by example, thus agencies set and strive to meet aggressive targets for saving energy and water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing waste. Based on benchmarks in the FY 2012 scorecard, DOE will update its annual Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan to continue building on accomplishments and find additional ways to meet and exceed its clean energy goals.

In the last year, DOE achieved a number of important successes in its efforts to promote clean energy, reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and lead by example across the Federal government. These successes include:

The Department added 30 buildings to its green building portfolio, nearly doubling its overall High Performance Sustainable Buildings (HPSB) total from FY 2011.
The new biomass cogeneration facility at Savannah River Site became fully operational. The Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) funded project will produce up to 20 megawatts of clean energy, avoid 100,000 tons of GHG emissions each year, and save $35 million in energy and operations and maintenance costs annually. The new facility is a major contributor to the Department's achievement of its interim energy intensity and renewable energy goals.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory also began managing a new 21 megawatt biomass fueled steam plant in July 2012. The ESPC funded project is expected to save $3.8 million and avoid 20,000 tons of GHG emissions annually.
DOE Headquarters installed a photovoltaic solar array at its Germantown facility in July 2012. The photovoltaic array will generate approximately 450,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. The system is a combination of a 318kW ground mounted photovoltaic system along with a 52kW carport mounted solar array. The carport features Level 1 and Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations.

The FY 2012 scorecard shows DOE is making great progress in many areas, but still has room to improve. While newer facilities use world-leading energy efficiency technologies, approximately 25 percent of DOE buildings are more than 50 years old. DOE continues to make significant progress in decommissioning and demolishing inefficient, excess facilities, and will strive to make its existing building stock more energy efficient and sustainable.

The FY 2012 scorecard also shows that DOE reduced petroleum use by 8 percent relative to the FY 2005 baseline. This represents a 3 percent improvement from FY 2011. While this progress did not meet the interim target, the reduction is significant considering DOE's often energy intensive mission activities. Over the past three years, the Department dramatically accelerated the pace and scale of cleanup operations at Cold War nuclear sites, which necessarily rely on petroleum-intensive heavy machinery and construction equipment. As these activities wind down, the Department should see a marked reduction in petroleum use.

Past DOE scorecards:

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

In FY 2010, the Department of Energy and other Federal agencies conducted comprehensive agency greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories. These first-ever agency GHG inventories fulfilled E.O. 13514 requirements.

Climate Change Adaptation

As required by the Federal Agency Climate Change Adaptation Planning Implementation Instructions, DOE released a statement that commits the agency to addressing the impacts climate change may have on operations and assets through adaptation planning.

In addition, DOE issued its first climate change adaptation plan as an appendix to its 2012 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. Public comments on the DOE Climate Change Adaptation Plan will be accepted through April 7, 2013, addressed to:

Jennifer C. MacDonald
Director, DOE Sustainability Performance Office
1000 Independence Avenue SW, 6B-162
Washington, DC 20585
climatechange@hq.doe.gov

Fleet

Fulfilling a requirement of the Energy Policy Acts of 1992 and 2005 and E.O. 13423, DOE prepares an annual Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Acquisition Report. The report summarizes DOE's progress toward meeting the AFV acquisition, petroleum reduction, and alternative fuel use increase requirements set forth through the aforementioned executive order and statutes. View the FY 2008 AFV Acquisition Report.

Contacts and Resources

For additional information on SPO planning and reporting, contact the Sustainability Performance Office at sustainability@hq.doe.gov.