Save Award 2010 Ideas

Government employees should be encouraged to work from home on code red air quality days. This will decrease the amount of pollution emitted, it would decrease overhead costs for the government, and it would protect human health by keeping employees from breathing the poor air quality. This could, in turn, reduce the number of doctor/hospital visits for people who are sensitive to the pollution, which would then save... more »

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 »

Employees whose work does not actually require their physical presence be allowed to telecommute from home. Saves on pollution emissions. Doing everything electronic saves on paper waste, and cost of paper and printers. Working from home the employee pays for the electricity required to run computer instead of government. Employee being at home will also save the government costs of water treatment, and waste water treatment... more »

Commuters should be able to receive transit benefits for bikes in lieu of Metro benefits. These could go towards bike maintenance, or to pay for bike storage lockers at Metro stations. At just $0.55/day for a bike locker, this is a third of what I currently receive to take a bus instead. By encouraging commuters to bike, and making it easier to do so, savings could be realized not just in less SmartBenefits being paid... more »

The federal government should require that locally native plants be used on the grounds of all new federal buildings. Native plants should also be planted as non-native plants die out in existing landscapes. Benefits include reduced costs associated with watering and use of fertilizers; environmental improvements by using less water and reducing polluted runoff; and an increase in the appreciation and use of locally... more »

Why are federal employees required to wear suits and ties during the D.C. summer? The summer dress code for all federal workers should be changed to business casual [including golf shirts] and the ambient indoor temperature of office buildings should be increased to 74 degrees. Employees will be more comfortable at work and commuting on mass transit, no more complaints about overly air conditioned offices, and the government... more »

Install rain barrels on the flat roofs of federal buildings to collect water. This collected water can be used to water the plants or lawns on federal property. The water can also be used for flushing toilets which would save our water resources, the government’s utilities bills and also be good for the environment.

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 »

Provide the same fixed dollar amount to all employees, regardless of how they commute to work. Currently, those who park for "free" often receive a higher financial benefit than those who walk, bike, use transit, or telework. The high cost of parking is absorbed by taxpayers. These "free" parking costs include the market rate for parking, environmental pollution, noise pollution, car accidents, road and bridge maintenance,... more »

Send monthly statements and offer e-statements for Post 9-11 GI Bill payments/benefits instead of a letter ad hoc for each action.

It is estimated that the cost of sending letters to Veterans under the Post 9-11 GI Bill program is nearly $540,000 every month, or $6.48 million/ year, to send out multiple letters on an ad hoc basis to Veterans. This number could be reduced to $180,000, or 2.16 million/ year, or less in... 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 »

The same information is often requested from multiple agencies (name, address, dependents, and income). Where possible combine forms across agencies to consolidate the requests we make of our customers.
Immediate benefits will include:

• Consolidate requests to our customers
(in 2010 we submitted our tax and census requests within weeks of each other)
• Reduce duplicate envelope cost, a more “green” approach
•... more »

Large cost savings could be gained if federal leaders were encouraged to train their employees in the cities they work. Approximately 88% of the Federal Workforce is located outside of Washington D.C.

This is better for the environment and will save the federal government in travel and per diem costs.

Federal training already exists in 28 large cities through the Federal Executive Boards (www.Feb.Gov). FEB sponsored... more »

I suggest we obtain EZ Pass devices for all of our government vehicles (GOVs). We used to have EZ Passes, but they were removed from our GOVs recently due to some kind of micro-funding issue. Now employees have to pay the tolls with their own cash and submit travel vouchers for each trip, incurring an additional $5 Local Travel Claims Transaction Fee for each voucher we submit through E-Travel. Submitting travel vouchers... more »

Implement the program being piloted in OPM in every feasible agency and OPDIV. We already have the tools to do it. The performance monitoring matrices have been developed and implemented. Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) is practical for most if not all office based positions and has increased productivity and reduced cost effectively in the private sector for years. It has also allowed companies to recruit and... more »