Dan Beard, Chief Administrative Officer for the U.S. House of Representatives, took the stage on the first day of the 2008 Ecocity World Summit. Based on the description in the conference booklet, I thought I could expect to learn about a few initiatives put in place by Nancy Pelosi to "Green the Capitol" of the United States. I never could have imagined that I was about to hear of extensive changes made to the House in order to attain carbon neutral status by December of 2008. Beard started with an impressive explanation of the thought process behind the green changes and never looked back.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set forth the goal of achieving carbon neutral status by the end of the year, and Dan Beard, with collaborators, put forth an action plan in just 30 days. Beard made use of the "best and brightest" resources -- professionals from many different backgrounds who are experts in such projects. The move came for several good reasons. Greening the campus would save taxpayer dollars; between 2004 and 2006, the cost of electricity rose 50%.  Beard said the idea was to turn the House green before asking the same of US citizens, setting an example for environmental stewardship not only in this country, but around the world. 

Inevitably, there were obstacles. The House endures a constant flow of staff, constituents, and guests. An average of 10-15,000 people coming and going every day makes change difficult, Beard said. The only option of retrofitting constantly used buildings became a necessity. Also, given that the oldest House building was constructed in 1793 and the newest in 1965, old infrastructure presents a problem. I was shocked to learn that the old buildings simply didn't have meters to gauge energy use, and the heating and cooling systems ran for 24 hours a day. Lights stayed on at night, and there was no recycling.  

Decreasing energy use as much as possible would lessen the impact of the Capitol power plant, which is already the second largest source of pollution in the District of Columbia. Beard likened the House of Representatives to not one organization, but a group of about 500 small businesses. Partisan conflict and the constant glare of the media put the operation inside a fishbowl.

In spite of these challenges, Beard was able to demonstrate that the project was well-received. He insisted that today's employees support greening; about 200 have volunteered to be a part of Beard's "Green Team," and over 1500 people attended the Capitol's exposition launching its involvement in the Zipcar program which enables staffers to share vehicles when needed during the day so that they can take mass transit to work. It was refreshing to hear that Beard thinks more employees are looking to their employers for direction in greening practices. 

Meeting the goal meant eliminating the House's carbon footprint of 91,000 tons this year through renewable energy purchases and offsets before undertaking the long-term strategy of reducing consumption. By employing wind power, 57,000 tons were eliminated. Natural gas then knocked off another 10,000 tons of carbon. Those two changes have the astonishing combined effect of taking 12,900 cars off the road. What remained totaled 24,000 tons. Beard and his collaborators explored every option to eliminate them. In the end, the decision was made to purchase carbon offsets on the reputable Chicago Climate Exchange. The offsets purchased were permanently retired, used only for domestic projects, and kept anonymous. Beard argued that the purchase of carbon offsets was likely necessary for any organization looking to zero its footprint. 

Beard admirably knocked out the belief that "allows us to make excuses" and discussed the goal to reduce energy consumption by 50% in the next decade. He mentioned one benefit of switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs: saving $1.2 million on energy in the next 10 years. Beard says efforts are underway to reconfigure the lights of the US Capitol Dome, which use a high amount of energy and generate heat. Old computers have been replaced with cooler systems; this reduces electricity use by 40% because air conditioning is no longer required to offset operational heat. 

Hearing about the changes in the House cafeteria made me proud of Congress. Styrofoam and plastic plates and cups were replaced with 100% compostable corn starch and sugar cane products. The House even has a pulper to shred waste for composting, and liquids are pressed out before it's transported to a nearby facility to decompose within 75 to 90 days. Local food is consumed whenever possible, decreasing both transportation costs and emissions at the same time. 

The House's supply store also saw great changes. By selling only 100% post-consumer recycled paper, the House saves 29,000 trees, 3.5 million gallons of water, 400,000 lbs of waste, and eliminates 775,000 pounds of greenhouse gases a year.

Employees were targeted as well. Not only are they encouraged to ride public transit or bike to work, but they will soon have a bike-sharing program at work to promote fitness and greening. Recycling and composting bins are now available in every office.

Beard concluded with some encouraging remarks, saying the technology for making these changes in our own lives is readily available and proven to work. With support from higher-ups (like Nancy Pelosi in his case), he argued that we can all be successful in setting goals and deadlines to reduce our carbon footprints.  

Beard stepped off the stage to a hearty round of applause. Maybe there were other attendees who, like me, were giddy to hear concrete examples of our government demonstrating environmental responsibility. I'm more than excited to have Dan Beard in office. As for Nancy Pelosi, my respect for her is nothing new and I would love to see what she could achieve at an even higher level.