SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

Institute a parking fee at all federal buildings that currently have free parking for motor vehicles. Parking fees can be patterned after the US Forest Service trail pass fees, where each site would have a self-service permit system for a daily fee, along with a longer term permit fee for yearly use. Fees could be determined using the Forest Services current fee structure - $5 per day or (is it) $30 per year.

Parking... more »

We should pass a law to stop printing W-2s and have them available electronically. If employees or agencies really need them we should charge a fee, except in the cases of handicap or extreme exception.

Eliminate Newspapers Delivery to Federal Offices Each morning all throughout the federal government, offices are receiving thousands of copies of multiple newspapers and magazines. The vast majority of these subscriptions can be eliminated; only the agency public affairs office might possibly require these publications. These public affairs offices in many case already employ the best practice of compiling relevant... more »

The issue with CFL's the environmental factor due to the mercury. It is true that CFL's are energy efficient, however LED's take 50% less energy than CFL's and last 10 times longer. There is no mercury issue to deal with either and LED bulbs work with dimmer switches and are cool to the touch. CFL's take longer to warm up to light up a room and are usually too warm to remove soon after they are turned on. Link the LEDs... more »

There is a paper company I've found here in San Francisco called New Leaf Paper that produces 100% post consumer waste (PCW) paper. We've been using their paper for publications and day to day copying. Why not purchase this sustainable paper. We found they even cost $30 cheaper per box. We've informed the vendor how to get on the Central Contracting Registration, but until then all of the paper we seem to get is only... more »

The State Department should run on a federal holiday staff level for annexes and main government buildings on days that a “Gold Day Alert” is issued. Not only would this save money in operating costs by lowering the bill for electricity for air conditioning, lighting, and computers for a building full of people on a sweltering day, but it also would boost the economy. As our global warming begins to show more and more... more »

Many agencies, including ours at EPA’s Region 9, have moved to digitize documents, making it possible to retrieve reports and forms online. During our internship this summer, we recognized a way to improve government efficiency while reducing waste: making electronic tablets available for rent or checkout at the agency library/communications center.

We are cognizant that people will have different learning styles and... more »

Turn large Federal facilities and bases into self-sustaining power plants using green energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc. This creates jobs, stimulates the local economy for each large facility, stimulate green initiatives, save money and the enviornment. Excess power can be sold back to the local power companies or used to charge an electric Federal fleet of cars.

In order to drastically reduce the amount of carbon emissions from vehicles waiting to enter our national parks and other federal fee areas, we should incorporate radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips into all of the passes in the America the Beautiful pass series. Actually, this idea would provide many benefits: enhanced visitor experience due to quicker entrance; more accurate collection of statistics; improved... more »

Recently I came upon a green way to dispose trash that may help the federal government save money on tipping fees (hauling, disposal, and landfills costs), while helping to generate supplemental electricity and heat for its buildings. There is already a new technology called the Green Energy Machine (GEM), which each unit can process 3 tons of trash daily (wood, paper, cardboard, plastics, food, and agricultural materials)... more »

This is a simple idea, but I think it can make a big impact if implemented across the Federal government. I am a graduate intern and am quite busy right now (work, thesis, etc.) so I have not been able to further research this idea, unfortunately. I think the analysis is worth doing, though, and would happy to assist with such research in the future. So here is my idea:

Water drinking fountains are wasteful; unless... more »

Simple mechanical 7-day timers can be installed on each printer/copier to turn the machines off at 7 pm, on at 7am, and off on the weekends. These devices are available for about $5 (or less) each retail, and are simple to program and install. Even though printer/copiers technically have "sleep" modes, they still use power in those modes, and the mode has to be properly set -- I have found the machines still at full... more »