Overview | About the Series | Event Dates & Topics | 2010-11 Sessions
Learn about specific Georgetown Public Policy Institute Dialogue Series event dates and topics:
Reducing Cost and Increasing Operational Efficiency: Techniques Used by Federal Agencies to Improve Effectiveness
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Read about session details
Turning Insights into Action: How Agencies Are Using Analytics to Improve Service
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Read about session details
Thursday, June 16, 2011
While many citizens and businesses around the world have embraced sustainability, there are few other entities with an operational footprint as large as the U.S. government. Federal organizations collectively employ nearly 4.5 million civilian and military employees, manage nearly 500,000 buildings, operate more than 600,000 vehicles, and spend more than $500 billion each year on procurement, including more than $25 billion a year on energy production. Although some federal agencies pursued sustainability early on for the environmental considerations, almost all organizations now realize that adopting sustainable practices allows them to do more with less, producing a broad array of financial, operational, environmental, and even health benefits for both taxpayers and society at large.
As a result, many federal organizations are on a path toward sustainability. Already, the government has cut its energy consumption in buildings by 23 percent per square foot since 1985 – saving taxpayers $1.4 billion annually – and is reducing the number of its physical locations across the country. However, the potential exists for much larger savings in the future if federal agencies implement their Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans, continue to rationalize IT infrastructure and move to cloud computing, and encourage private sector suppliers to follow their lead.
GPPI and Accenture will bring together a panel of senior government executives to discuss their approaches and successes in integrating sustainable practices into their organizations’ strategies, operations and functions.
Moderator
Michelle Moore
Federal Environmental Executive, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, Council on Environmental Quality
Executive Office of the President
Panelists
Shannon Cunniff
Director, Chemical & Material Risk Management
Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment)
U.S. Department of Defense
Jay Hoffman
Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Energy
Jennifer MacDonald
Director, Sustainability Performance Office
U.S. Department of Energy
Cynthia Vallina
Senior Budget Analyst
Office of Management and Budget
Executive Office of the President
Location
National Press Club – Holeman Lounge
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Listen to remarks made by panelists:
Podcast 1 – Integrating Sustainability into Agency Missions
Shannon Cunniff, Director of Chemical & Material Risk Management for the U.S. Department of Defense, talks about how integrating sustainability into agency missions helps drive change.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 2 – Department of Energy’s Efforts toward Renewable Energy
Jennifer MacDonald, Director of Sustainability Performance for the U.S. Department of Energy, discusses how DOE is working with local utilities to produce renewable energy.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 3 – Collaboration within the Federal Government
Jennifer MacDonald, Director of Sustainability Performance for the U.S. Department of Energy, talks about how Federal organizations are sharing their best practices on sustainability.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 4 – Funding Future Breakthroughs
Jay Hoffman, Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation for the U.S. Department of Energy, discusses how DOE is providing seed money to a range of R&D projects both inside and outside government in hopes that some produce big breakthroughs.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 5 – Leveraging ESPCs and Data Transparency
Cynthia Vallina, Senior Budget Analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, discusses how Federal organizations are using ESPCs and UESCs to implement energy-saving projects without any upfront investment. Michelle Moore, the Federal Environmental Executive for the Obama Administration, adds that it’s important to lead by example through transparency.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 6 – Factoring Sustainability into the Acquisition Process
Shannon Cunniff, Director of Chemical & Material Risk Management for the U.S. Department of Defense, talks about how the Pentagon is starting to consider sustainability in the design of new weapon systems.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 7 – Sustainable Practices for Communities
Our panelists discuss the challenges—and opportunities—at implementing sustainable practices at large installations, such as military bases and research labs. Commenting, in order, are:
- Michelle Moore, the Federal Environmental Executive for the Obama Administration;
- Cynthia Vallina of the Office of Management and Budget;
- Jennifer MacDonald from the U.S. Department of Energy; and
- Shannon Cunniff from the U.S. Department of Defense
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Podcast 8 – The “Sputnik Moment” for Sustainability
Jay Hoffman, Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation for the U.S. Department of Energy, talks about the nation’s energy challenges, which President Obama has said requires a Sputnik-style response.
Listen to the audio podcast | Read the transcript
Past Events
2010-2011 Dialogue Series sessions
2009-2010 Dialogue Series sessions
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