Planning Tips and Resources

Saving Energy through Lighting and Daylighting Strategies

If you’re looking to cut energy costs at your facilities, look at your lighting first – and let daylight be your friend. Lighting accounts for over 20% of the energy used by commercial buildings. New research conducted by GSA and National Renewable Energy Lab at the Fort Carson Army Base outlines strategies to save energy and enhance lighting quality by building in layers of light. See the factsheet or read much more about GSA’s Fort Carson Energy Research Project at: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/195803

EPA Food Waste Assessment Guidebook
The first step toward reducing wasted food is to perform an assessment to identify what is actually being thrown away. Retail, food service, and other food management establishments can use the Food Waste Assessment Guidebook to learn how to do a wasted food assessment. By getting to know what you throw away, you can cut down on disposal costs, reduce purchasing and labor costs, reduce water and energy use associated with food production, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  “A Guide to Conducting and Analyzing a Food Waste Assessment,” released in March 2014, is posted on EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge Website: http://www.epa.gov/foodrecovery/tools/pdfs/r5_fd_wste_guidebk_020615.pdf