You can find the document that enumerates the list of savings opportunities in this document published on the The Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) web site.

Going through the list will surely create many a “doh” moment and also makes you wonder how those agencies functioned and alarmed that it needed the President of the Country to come out and ask them to be smart.

Here are some nuggets

• Reduce travel for in-person meetings with tele-conference.  A couple of such instances listed under Department of Agriculture -

“APHIS cancelled a meeting in Australia, saving an estimated $36,000 in travel and per diem. To date, an alternative to a “face to face” meeting has not been determined, although a teleconference is a possibility.”

“USDA used an alternative training method for staff, employing conference calls rather than face-to-face meetings. Specifically, this method was to train new staff in Asia on its Offshore Pest Information program. By using conference calls (with training materials provided in advance), officials saved the expense of conducting traditional face-to-face training. A similar training in 2006, conducted on site in Manila, cost $40 thousand.”

• No repainting of newly purchased vehicles for Forest Services (what?).

USDA proposes $2 million in Forest Service savings for FY 2009, consisting of $1.8 million in no longer repainting newly purchased vehicles and $200,000 in resource management efficiency.

hmm! Nevermind.

• The Department of Commerce will save $131,000 by placing a moratorium on unnecessary office renovations in FY 2009.
• HUD proposes to reduce HUD’s energy consumption by turning off lights during non-working hours, and centralizing the power management of personal computers (PCs).
• Many DOJ computers remain on when not in use for prolonged periods. DOJ is configuring these computers to automatically shut-down, which will reduce power consumption and costs.
• This one takes the cake: A large number of DOJ copiers and printers can be configured to automatically print double-sided. Increasing the frequency of double-sided printing will reduce paper consumption and lower costs.

Across the board one requirement seems to be common – conduct non-critical meetings using teleconference instead of traveling.

It is amazing that in all this time, measures taken by commercial companies to become smarter and efficient was making press, it really did not resonate with people in charge of these agencies to take action.

So to help them in their quest for identifying more cost saving opportunities, here are couple of suggestions from my side (and missing in the list identified)

• Majority of government vehicles are gas guzzlers like SUVs , old American cars. Using the same “cash for clunkers” made available to regular citizens, government agencies should swap their vehicles for new efficient ones.
• Use efficient space planning tools to manage space for offices. I know they buy those tools but upon visiting many government offices, I need a lot of convincing that they do use those tools. Efficiently using those tools might reduce the real space needed.

While prior downturns (technology bust), rising energy costs have driven commercial companies to adopt thrifty measures and optimize every area of operations, federal agencies have gone relatively unscathed all these times merrily spending tax payer dollars.

Now with President taking personal interest and appointing people entrusted with the specific responsibilities, the agencies are now on hook to be thrifty. It remains to be seen given the enormity of the deficits how much this would contribute. But as the saying goes – “Little drops of water make the mighty ocean“.

Here is another piece of suggestion from my side to the President. Make those responsible for these savings a stakeholder in this and stand to gain a percentage of savings as their bonus. That will get the job done.

1. For starters, switch off your computers, printers, monitors when you leave after work. While you are at it switch the room/cube light as well. This in addition to saving energy should also help your company cut costs and hopefully your company stock should go up as well. And it might just reduce some heat that is generated collectively by all the computers that would otherwise be running. My previous employer Oracle had sensors installed at each desk to sense and automatically switch off the monitors and lights in the cubicles. These were installed during the infamous California blackouts few years ago. I am sure many of the Calif based companies did the same.
2. Set your printers to print dual sided print-outs. Most of the newer printers allow you to do print dual sided. If you are not one of those with thick eye-glasses, you can also print more than one pages per sheet. When you are printing those flashy Powerpoint slides for review/as handouts, make sure that you have set the “Color/grayscale” setting to “Pure Black and White”. This will save you from getting those dark slides which will render those documents unreadable and also kill the toner and use more energy on the printer.
3. Here is something I did and so did many of my colleagues. If for some reason you cannot print dual sided or you had one of those runaway jobs that printed a ream of paper that is not useful anymore, use the backside of those sheets of paper for your rough work.
4. I recently read about a company in NY where employees stopped using bottled water and used the tap water instead. Besides cutting costs for the company it also reduced the amount of plastic that was potentially going into the environment. If your company is looking to reduce costs, this is a low hanging fruit.
5. Recycle the cellphone, pager (does anyone use them anymore?), iPod, iPhone, Blackberry batteries when they are used. If you company does not provide locations on campus to dispose the batteries, request your facilities for one (or even better one for each building). I am sure they will be more than happy to provide one.
6. Carpool to work if possible. I know with all the crazy work schedules people follow, it is tough to find someone whose timings match with yours but even if you can carpool few days of the week it would help. Check with your employer to see if you can telecommute atleast on days when you have no meetings and do not have to manage anyone.
7. If you are traveling to a place where there is alternate mode of mass transit like buses and trains, see if you can adjust your work schedule and make use of those modes of transport. This will save you a lot of energy you expend when stuck in traffic getting frustrated. And… You might just be able to review that document that you could not find time for while using the mass transmit. Certain parts of the country have the “Spare the Air” programs on certain days of the year when the mass transit is free. San Francisco has one. http://www.sparetheair.org/. Make use of these opportunities to not drive.

1. Paper Bags: While buying groceries always pack them in paper bags. Paper bags are usually made of recycled paper and easily recyclable themselves. Plastic bags, going into the landfills cause more harm by polluting the soil with all chemicals that went into making plastic. If I was a shop owner, I would have made paper bags free and charge for plastic bags to prevent people from using them and if possible not even have plastic bags
2. Energy Start Appliances: Only buy appliances that are tagged by Energy Star. If you have old refrigerators, Owens, water heaters, dishwashers, washer/dryers that are old and given you the value for the price you paid, consider buying new ones. A lot of innovation has happened in the technology that make up the appliances, from say 5 years ago, so in addition to the new appliances jazzing up your house, they might save you $$. For attic fans, try a solar fan. People in California, Texas, Arizona etc who get sun for more than 2/3 of the year there is no excuse to not try Solar. I am planning to put a Solar powered fan in my attic and from what I have read it seems like panacea.
3. Unplug: Switch off electrical appliances, lights, fans, computers when not in use. They consume electricity (atleast some amount) even when they are not in use. Set the computers to be in Powersave mode so if you don’t want to shut it off atleast it goes into hibernation. Personally, I connect my computer to power till the battery is fully charged and then run it on the batteries till I need recharge.
4. CFL:Try and replace bulbs with compact florescent lamps the next time you replacing one. CFLs not only reduce the carbon dioxide released to the environment it will also save a few dollars in electricity bill. To make it more sweet, these CFLs last 10 times longer than regular bulbs. Note: While replacing bulbs make sure the old bulbs are recycled as they contain mercury which is harmful to the environment, if included in waste.
5. Ceiling FansWithout getting too technical, I am sure all of you know that hot air in a room rises to the ceiling. Having a ceiling fan running with circulate the hot air and will make the entire room warmer.
6. Green: Planting a couple of trees, around your house, that provide shade to your house is another way to reduce heat in the house. No heat in the house – no need for that Air Conditioner or Fan to run.
7. Home Insulation: Try and Insulate your house walls. The benefits of insulation are multifold
   a) It reduces the heat from getting in the house during summer
   b) It stops heat from dissipating out during winter
   c) It reduces the noise from outside
   d) Depending on where you live you might even get rebates from your local utility. We got our walls insulated with cellulose (shredded recycled newspaper) and it made a world of difference during summer not to mention the reduction in noise from outside.
8. Change the filter on your gas heater and clean your heat vents regularly (once a month is great). This would greatly reduce the energy consumption.
9. Recycle: Recycle your batteries, cooking oil. Most waste companies and cities have multiple drop off locations in every city for used oil and used batteries. Re-chargeable batteries, while their life is not great, are still much better than use-and-throw batteries. On a average a rechargeable battery comes for atleast 30-40 charges.
10. Cooking: Use Microwave for cooking most of the food (or preping the food). That is the best and energy effecient way to cook.
11. Insulation: Insulate the water heater and water pipes with insulation. While I have not tried the tankless waterheater due to the design of my house, I have heard people having good experience. So if appropriate it is worth a try.
12. Double Pane windows: While it is not my intent to make you spend more of your hard earned money, I would strongly advice on a double pane window throughout the house. The benefits are same as insulation. Reduces heat dissipation and noise from outside. It pays off within 4-5 years but has a much longer life. So it keeps on giving. The additional noise barrier it provides is a bonus !!
13. Carwash: If you are one of those who washes their own car, make sure you use eco-friendly carwashing solutions. If you are using soap, and letting the water from carwash run into public drainage system, then all you are doing is polluting the ocean where this water ultimately ends up. Try and use a full service carwash nearby. They have water recycling process and they do not let the water from car wash go into the ocean. Alternately, if your kids schools is conducting a car wash to raise funds, use that.
14. Electronic billing: Most companies, utilities, banks, financial services firms, credit card companies provide option to signup for paperless billing. They have pdf based statements. They not just save trees and they also allow you to save space at home. No more filing statements in a file. Download the pdf version on a cd. – a simple document management system for all bills.

All these observations are from personal experience and benefits gained. I will keep this article a working version and keep updating it. Let me know if you know any more tips for homeowners.