White House Honors NASA With GreenGov Presidential Award

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Nov 01, 2011, 03:45 ET

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has won a GreenGov Presidential Award from the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The GreenGov awards celebrate exceptional efforts to promote sustainability in federal agency operations.

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NASA is being recognized in the "Lean, Clean and Green" category for consistently moving toward sustainable and efficient operations by setting exemplary goals in agency-wide energy and water efficiency, reduced emissions, and greater renewable energy usage. Several of NASA's sustainability solutions address the communities where agency facilities are located.

"We are extremely gratified and grateful that NASA has been honored by the White House for its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability," said Olga Dominguez, assistant administrator of the NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure. "NASA's vision has always been to reach new heights, and we'll continue to do that in space exploration and here on Earth in protecting our environment."

GreenGov awards honor federal civilian and military personnel, agency teams, agency projects and facilities, and agency programs that exemplify President Obama's charge to lead by example towards a clean energy economy.

"NASA consistently has been a leader in federal sustainability efforts -- from the work NASA has undertaken in its facilities to its commitment to involve colleagues throughout the organization," said Michelle Moore, the president's federal environmental executive. "The GreenGov Presidential Award recognizes their exemplary performance."

NASA's sustainability policy is to execute the agency's mission without compromising Earth's resources so future generations can meet their needs. Sustainability also involves taking action now to provide a future where the environment and living conditions are protected and enhanced.

"NASA's commitment is exemplified by the collection of centers, such as the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Johnson Space Center in Houston, which have addressed sustainability with creative, lasting and effective methods," according to the White House council.

Kennedy was nominated for its "Propellants North" project, commissioned to replace existing, uninhabitable structures dating to the 1960s. Kennedy also was nominated for its Data Center Consolidation project to unite technology assets across the center's campus. A third KSC nomination, "Building a Sustainable Future," implemented "systematic and deliberate change to weave sustainability throughout the center's entire operations," the award statement said.

NASA Langley was nominated for "Greening NASA Langley through Energy Conservation." The project included construction of a new, energy-efficient administrative building and implementation of several energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects to prevent pollution and assist in meeting federal and center energy and water reduction goals. Langley also was nominated for incorporating the concept of sustainable revitalization into its Master Planning and Environmental Management System.

NASA Johnson was nominated for its "Biobased Coolant Pilot Project," which converted a building and its machinery to biobased alternative fuels and coolants, and dramatically reduced costs. Johnson also was nominated for its electronic waste collection events held in conjunction with its Contractor Environmental Partnership and federal and local community volunteers. Four events have been held since 2008, and the partnership diverted more than 561,500 pounds of e-waste from local landfills.

NASA Ames' new "Sustainability Base" used unique NASA technologies to build a 50,000- square-foot mixed-use facility intended as a sustainability technology demonstration, test-bed and dissemination tool.

Nine NASA projects submitted by four NASA centers and the agency's Headquarters in Washington were nominated for GreenGov Awards.

For more information about the GreenGov awards, visit:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/greengov/presidential-awards

SOURCE NASA