For more than 20 years, federal agencies have pursued ambitious goals for energy efficiency through executive orders and mandates. These efforts have reduced energy use, saved costs and provided a driving force for technology advancement, but the efficiency projects themselves did not always enhance the missions of the agencies or strengthen resilience of their critical systems.
Senior leaders now have begun to focus on how energy programs support operational effectiveness, and we are seeing amazing results. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has made stronger energy programs one of his primary objectives in large part because of the direct tie to operational effectiveness. Ships with improved energy efficiency and resilience operate independently for longer periods; command centers ashore are more resilient and remain operational in the wake of a devastating hurricane like Katrina or Sandy.