The U.S. government is going to ask its suppliers to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. It’s not going to require it. It won’t happen right away. But this is a big deal.
It’s a big deal because the government is by far the nation’s largest single buyer of goods and services: It occupies nearly 500,000 buildings, operates more than 600,000 vehicles, employs more than 1.8 million civilians, and purchases more than $500 billion per year in goods and services. The General Services Administration, which is more or less the government’s purchasing department, buys more than 12 million products and services–an astonishing number, when you stop and think about it. And almost 600,000 companies are registered to do business with the government. Yes, 600,000!
In any event, although they won’t be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, and although it’s not clear when or how or even if the government will give preference to companies or products with a lower carbon footprint, you can be sure that many, if not most, of those 600,000 companies will soon think seriously about counting carbon. Once they do, they’ll begin to look at opportunities to curb their energy use–by operating more efficiently, opting for greener offices, promoting tele-community, whatever.
To learn more about how this might work, I spoke by phone with Steve Leeds, who is the Senior Counselor to the Administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration as well as the GSA’s senior sustainability officer. [click to continue…]
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