Greening the Federal House: Beyond the Water-Energy Nexus

On Monday, May 24, the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE) will present the third of its speaker series on “Beyond the Water-Energy Nexus,” focusing on programs and policies that address the interconnection between water, energy and climate change.

Folks in the DC area should definitely go check this out. The Event is being held at the US Energy Association, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 550, Washington, DC 20004 (Metro: Federal Triangle). Here’s a description of the program and a line-up of the speakers who will be presenting:

This event is designed to bring together top policymakers and industry leaders to discuss the Federal policies and initiatives that enable (or may hinder) adoption of innovative approaches to greening Federal buildings, and present examples of integrated water-energy efficiency approaches at the building scale.

The past two years have seen a dramatic increase in the Federal policymaking activity and contracting initiatives to improve the water conservation, energy efficiency, and overall sustainability – the “greening”—of its buildings and facilities, with direction from Executive Order 13514, funding through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) and other budget items, and initiatives led by individual agencies including Interior, Energy, and EPA.

Many federal policies mandate green standards and practices for water conservation and energy management in new building construction and renovation as well as purchases of products, and new contract vehicles have been created by the General Services Administration (GSA) to make it easier for Federal agencies to “buy green”, and for vendors to reach those buyers. Other policies, standards and regulations may be lagging behind, preventing government buyers from adopting the innovative solutions that they are eager to implement.

How can industry and government identify regulatory changes to let government embrace leading-edge solutions sooner? How can federal policies and contracting mechanisms support green building approaches that integrate water conservation and energy efficiency, providing leadership through activities at federal facilities?

Speakers are:

• Ed Clerico, President, Alliance Environmental, LLC and a leader in water reuse and energy efficiency in urban centers. Ed will present case studies on several projects he has completed in the New York area to provide integrated water-energy solutions to reduce building energy costs and carbon footprint. He will also provide an industry perspective on the current green buying policies and vehicles to support use of integrated water-energy green buildings approaches at federal facilities.

• John Simpson, Sustainable Design Engineer at GSA’s Office of Federal High Performance Green Buildings (OFHPGB), who will highlight Federal policies and initiatives that enable or hinder adoption of innovative approaches to greening federal buildings, and how agencies and service providers can use key contract vehicles in place and under development to meet objectives for “greening the federal house.”

Entrance to this event is free for current WCEE members and student members, and only $15 for non-members. Register to become a member of the WCEE; membership fees are $40 for students and $70 for professionals. Existing members can conform membership details here.