U.S. Office of Personnel Management www.opm.gov - Recruiting, Retaining and Honoring a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People

Welcome to our Green Portal. Here you'll find our activities in support of sustaining the planet.

As the largest employer in the United States (U.S.), the Federal government has a unique opportunity to influence our country's ecological and financial future. Here at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) we are excited to play a part in the worldwide sustainability movement. As the agency whose goal it is to recruit, retain, and honor a world-class workforce for the American people we believe honoring government employees and all Americans by helping ensure their communities are healthy is a great idea.

Read the Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans:
     2011 [1.4 MB]
     2010 [2.3 MB]

In accordance with President Obama's commitment to transparent government, OPM joins other Federal agencies in the public posting of the annual Sustainability/Energy Scorecard conducted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Scorecard is a rating of the agency's performance in several categories of environmental stewardship. Along with the already posted Sustainability Performance Plan, the Scorecard provides the public with a measure of accountability to ensure that OPM is working toward reducing the Federal impact on the environment. During the course of the last year, a number of sustainability efforts have begun which will positively impact OPM's Scorecard in the coming years:

• American Recovery and Renovation Act (ARRA) modernization project: OPM is in the midst of a major renovation project at our Headquarters facility which includes HVAC/mechanical systems modernization, installation of low-water flow toilets, lighting upgrades throughout the building and garage, improved window insulation, and photovoltaic panels on the roof to provide electricity for daily use. These efforts will decrease our electrical energy and potable water usage while reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions.
• Purchase of Renewable Energy: Our Headquarters and Macon, GA facilities are now purchasing 5% renewable energy and we have recently expanded this program to include our Federal Executive Institute campus.
• Energy and Water Audits: We are in the process of conducting energy and water audits at all three OPM delegated facilities and will implement strategies to reduce usage based on the data developed.
• Sub-Metering: We are implementing sub-metering for all energy/water intensive operations at our delegated facilities to more critically track usage and set appropriate reduction targets.
• Fleet Oversight: We are implementing an agency-wide policy to reduce petroleum usage through required acquisition of higher fuel economy vehicles, increased usage of alternative fuels, and “right sizing” of the agency's fleet.

The Scorecard shows an increase in fleet petroleum use of 81.9% over 2005 data; however, this data must be viewed in context. In late FY 2005, the background investigation program was transferred from DoD to OPM. With this functional transfer, OPM absorbed a large fleet that currently represents 97% of the total vehicles in OPM's inventory. During the initial years of the program at OPM, OPM investigative staff worked to clear a significant backlog of cases which was transferred from DOD. Since this backlog has been cleared, OPM investigators have increased their investigative caseload by 30%. The majority of these cases are the higher-level cases in which investigators in the field logged more miles to conduct interviews associated with the increased caseload. It is important to note that petroleum usage from FY 10 - FY 11 increased by only 2.7%.

Furthermore, the Scorecard reflects a 40.8% increase in potable water intensity. We attribute this increase to the implementation of a new fire sprinkler protection system throughout our Headquarters facility that required daily draining of the existing fire sprinkler system each evening so the new work could be completed. In addition, a faulty water meter at our Macon, GA facility resulted in under-reporting of water consumption. The utility company replaced all water meters serving the facility, thus there was a significant increase in the recorded water usage over baseline data.

With regards to the 7.5% increase in energy intensity, we note that the ARRA modernization program at our Headquarters facility has necessitated significant construction and renovation to occur during the off-hours, so as not to interfere with daily operations. As a result, we have experience higher than normal energy usage, which we anticipate decreasing in early 2013 with the completion of the ARRA projects.

While overall OPM has made progress in key areas of sustainability, we still have areas of improvement, including increasing the percentage of sustainable green buildings. We anticipate working closely with the General Services Administration, as our primary owner/lessor of OPM properties, to jointly address these issues. OPM remains committed to achieving sustainability goals and will continue to integrate sustainability into our agency culture and operations.

OPM Executive Fleet

OPM Adaptation Policy

On June 3, 2011, OPM released its Climate Change Adaptation Policy Statement [749 KB]. This plan complies with the requirements outlined by the Council of Environmental Quality's Climate Change Adaptation Task Force earlier this year. Through adaptation planning, OPM will address climate change's impact to its operations and assets around the world.

While the scope, severity and pace of future climate change impacts are difficult to predict, potential climatic changes could have significant effect upon OPM's primary mission essential function; Providing critical human capital services to ensure the Federal Government has the necessary civilian workforce (2009 OPM Headquarters Continuity of Operations Plan). In particular, these climate change impacts could necessitate critical OPM decision-making on the operating status of the Federal government.

How will this policy be implemented?

OPM's adaptation policy will be an OPM-wide directive to integrate climate change adaptation planning and actions into OPM programs, policies, and operations. Furthermore, regional Federal Executive Boards will be encouraged to develop similar policies with their Federal, local, state, and private sector partners to propagate effective strategies at the local and regional levels regarding operating status decisions.

Adaptation planning complements mitigation efforts already being taken throughout the Federal government to reduce the impact of climate change. Through adaptation planning, OPM will achieve the following goals and objectives:

Goals:

1. Develop and publish an OPM-wide climate change adaptation plan by June 2012 [or earlier] and update it regularly.
2. Through climate change adaptation planning, contribute to the Federal Government's leadership role in sustainability and pursue a vision of a resilient, healthy, and prosperous nation in the face of a changing climate.

Objectives:

1. Identify how climate change is likely to impact our ability to achieve our mission-essential functions, operate our facilities, and meet our policy and program objectives.
2. Consider potential climate change impacts when engaging in long-term planning, setting priorities for making decisions affecting OPM resources, programs, policies, and operations.
3. Develop, prioritize, implement, and evaluate actions to moderate climate change risks and exploit any new opportunities that climate change may bring
4. Integrate climate change adaptation strategies into our programs and operations to remain effective and provide more efficient use of taxpayer resources
5. Establish strong partnerships with local, state, and regional entities to develop policies that enhance adaptability, minimize risk to Federal workers and property, and ensure adequate response to situations caused by the pronounced effects of climate change

What's Next?

In June of 2012, OPM will release its adaptation plan, which accomplishes the goals and objectives outlined above, as a component of its FY 2013 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan. With the release of its' Adaptation Policy statement, OPM continues to lead the way towards becoming a truly sustainable and adaptable organization.