NARA Releases Sustainability Plan Reduces Energy Consumption by 28%
Press Release · Friday, September 10, 2010

Washington, DC

The National Archives and Records Administration has released its Agency Sustainability Plan pursuant to Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, signed by President Obama on October 5, 2009. The goal of the Executive Order is to establish an integrated strategy towards sustainability in the Federal Government and to make reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a priority for Federal agencies.

Although the National Archives is a small agency with limited resources, it strove to meet the intent and spirit of the Executive Order on energy and environment. While the overwhelming proportion of its square footage is dedicated to the energy-intensive process of storing the nation’s records and treasures within strict temperature and humidity ranges, it was able to reduce its energy consumption by an impressive 28% compared to its 2003 baseline numbers. Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero said, “We are proud of our record, having won a 2008 Presidential Award for Leadership in energy management, the Green Award by the City of College Park for excellence in energy and environmental management, and achieving LEED-EB Platinum at the Clinton Presidential Library (the first existing government building to do so).”

Building on these successes, the plan outlines a new and expanded set of sustainability goals for the National Archives. It will renew its focus on greenhouse gas reduction, water conservation and green building. In addition, the Archives will expand the scope of its sustainability goals to include regional and local planning, pollution prevention and waste elimination, sustainable acquisition, and electronic stewardship and data centers.

In order to implement this plan, the National Archives intends to undertake the following major projects during the 2010 financial year:

• Continue and expand efforts to conserve energy at all facilities;
• Expand energy generation via renewable and other on-site sources;
• Expand existing internal energy audit procedure to cover all sustainability goals;.

These projects indicate a new level of commitment from the National Archives which is necessary to meet the intent of Executive Order 13514. In addition, these initiatives will help improve the agency’s operations and, if leveraged appropriately, could help attract additional visitors and further strengthen the National Archives reputation as a leader in sustainability.

A copy of the plan is available online. [http://www.archives.gov/about/plans-reports/sustainability/]

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For press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at 202-357-5300.

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