Electronics, the Environment, and Public Buildings

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Electronics, the Environment, and Public Buildings
Raheem M. Cash Director, Environment
Program Public Buildings Service General Services
Administration
U.S. General Services Administration Public
Buildings Service (PBS)

• The International Symposium on Electronics and
  the Environment
• 17 May 2005 New Orleans, LA

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Agenda

• What is the Public Buildings Service (PBS)?
• Electronics and PBS
• Current Initiatives
• Future Initiatives

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The Public Buildings Service (PBS)

• Largest and most diversified real estate
  organization in the U.S.
• Design, construct, operate and maintain offices,
  courthouses, labs, and border stations
• Own 1700 buildings lease 6,600 buildings
• 1.1 million Federal workers (tenants)
• 100 Federal agencies (customers)
• 2,000 communities
• 700M Net Income

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PBS and Electronics

• Region 5 FEC Pilot Study
• 3 Federal office buildings
• 32,000 lbs recycled e-scrap
• 130 monitors
• 240 keyboards/mice
• 50 CPUs
• 20 printers
• 5 copiers
• Implications for all of PBS?

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PBS and Electronics

• Approximately 10,000 computers discarded weekly
  by the federal government
• In PBS facilities, these must be managed
  alongside other solid waste and recyclables
• Some tenants dump electronics into PBS hands
• Some tenants store old electronics in conference
  rooms and other rentable space
• Agencies pay same rent regardless of use of space
• PBS must also manage the electronics purchased
  and used by its 6000 employees

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Challenges

• How to handle flow of waste electronics from
  tenants
• How to ensure most effective use of customer
  workspace
• How to manage PBS electronic waste in
  coordination with our customers

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Opportunities

• Potential to provide new service to our customers
• Potential to play major role in helping agencies
  meet the Federal Electronics Challenge

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PBS Initiatives

• Signed FEC MOU
• Created SEAM Team
• (Sustainable Electronics Asset Management)
• Includes headquarters and six regions
• Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco,
  and Washington, DC
• Five regions have formed teams with regional
  Federal Supply Service representatives, building
  managers, and IT managers

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PBS Initiatives

• Purpose of SEAM Team
• Build relationships with Federal Supply Service,
  IT representatives, etc
• Serve as a forum for members to share knowledge
  and experiences
• Ensure efficient use of resources

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Future Initiatives

• Conduct market analysis
• Identify electronics recyclers
• Determine capabilities, costs, etc
• Assess recycling practices
• Identify best auditing practices    
• Estimate current inventory of electronic assets
  for all PBS owned buildings
• Estimate future government electronic waste flows
• Survey customer procurement/disposal practices
• Determine future storage needs
• Conduct logistical analysis to determine best
  collection methods
• Urban, metro areas vs. rural, isolated areas

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Questions?