Save Award 2010 Ideas

I constantly see papers sitting by the printers and copiers throughout this agency that no one claims. I'm sure this contributes to many wasted dollars and is not environmentally conscious. I think that agencies should require government employees to enter a unique individual or office access code before utilizing printers and copiers. A sense of accountability can encourage employees to think twice before hitting the... more »

Make government publications such as the Federal Register, CFRs, rules, regulations, newsletters, patent updates, export administration regulations available only as online versions. Printing hard copies every 3-4 months because rules and regulations change regularly are a complete waste of tax payers’ money. The hard copies are obsolete within a few months. If an organization wants a hard copy, they can download and... more »

Hand dryers should be placed in all government facilities as an option to dry hands. Hand dryers can cut costs by as much as 90%, when compared to paper towels. Paper towels need continuous refilling and waste removed. The switch would result in thousands of trees being saved per year. Additionally, landfill waste would be reduced as well. Furthermore, to produce the paper towels thousands of gallons of water and chemicals... more »

Provide awareness training to mitigate the excessive use of resources. A lot of people are either ignorant or just plain don't care that they are using tons of resources on a daily basis while on the job. It is easy for a government employee to become complacement in regards to their energy use because they never see the bill (except at tax season). Educating and creating a better awareness of environmental impact would... more »

Start recycling plastic containers used for lab experiments. While there is a biohazard concern, the CDC has developed a SOP to properly sterilize the plastics so they no longer pose a safety threat. In one year the CDC/ATSDR laboratory recycling pilot led to the diversion of approximately 1,500 pounds of solid plastic waste from two laboratories. Recycling saves money as many vendors will pay for recycled materials.... more »

I work in a beautiful LEED-certified building on the CDC campus in Atlanta, but the A/C is turned on so high in the summer that we have to wear sweaters and gloves. We could save a LOT of money on electricity, and improve the comfort of our workplaces, by turning the A/C up to at least 78 degrees. I believe there was a Presidential Order in 2009 to set the temperature at 78 degrees in the summer, but it does not seem... more »

Create more green jobs. Have more enviromental diplomas from cleaners to scientist. Have a greener planet for a better planet. Educate Green.

Practice conservation in the workplace! Make it the way of life.
- Install energy efficient appliances and light bulbs in government facilities.
- Provide hybrid vehicles for commuting to meetings and around town.
- Install alternative energy generating devices on government buildings – solar panels and wind turbines.
By saving energy – we are saving money as well as paving the way for the reduction of our reliance... more »

The National Park Service should go solar. If we can use all renewable energy in all National Park Service buildings and facilities, it will save lots of money in the long run (though it would be an investment at first). Plus we'd be effecting the environment in a positive way, and leading by example.

In GSA contracts to manage/lease offic building facilities, include a default requirement that all rooms be equpped with motion sensors for lighting, with controls. People tend to leave lights on when they leave, and often there is no way to turn off hallway lights for occupants. By having sensors as a default, the lights will automatically go out on nights and weekends. With a dial to adjust the amount of time until... more »

Save a million trees...For FREE

Minimize Paper Waste, Increase Security and Efficiency with Electronic Filing as Primary File System

The Government has already paid for systems (so technically free) specifically designed to scan virtually all of our documents into so that we have copies of important files on hand at all times, we don't "lose" hundreds of files every year and we don't have to keep thousands of pages... more »

I suggest you switch to the use of full-height (floor to ceiling and fully enclosed) cubicle environments in order to facilitate a quieter work environment and increased productivity. Also, discontinue the use of "quads", where 4+ people share a cubicle environment, when such an environment is not required. Software developers and other office workers who perform a large amount of effort mentally, often require higher... more »

portibilityProvide portability of documents by providing government employees with netbooks/iPads to download documents to read remotely, take to meetings etc. This would reduce the need for printing, and print products (paper, toner, repair service) as well as related items such as notebooks. The cost would be reduced as well as potentially improving the environment.

Create green space gardens on top of federal buildings, much like has been done in Chicago. This will help reduce the Federal government's energy costs while producing vegetables that can be distributed to area schools for use in the school lunch or WIC programs, or to be distrubuted to families located in areas considered food deserts.

Save travel costs, energy costs, go green, and increase health of federal employees by providing low cost non-motorized vehicle reimbursements rather than only providing the current high cost motorized vehicle use rates. If as an example, just 2% of the federal employees would use bicycles that could be reimbursed at 10 cents per mile instead of 50 cents/mile for automobile use -- many millions of dollars would be saved... more »