Going green is a popular money-saving idea among feds

Obama administration officials have started sifting through more than 18,000 ideas for making government more efficient, and many of those recommendations have an environmental twist.

The second annual Securing Americans Value and Efficiency contest asked federal employees to submit proposals for how their agency could save money and perform better. A Veterans Affairs Department employee won last year's competition for an idea to let hospital patients take their medications home with them at the end of their stay. This year, energy-efficient solutions were among the most popular suggestions.

A number of employees submitted variations of the recommendation that feds should be required to turn off their computers, monitors, printers and other electronic equipment when they go home. One contestant said simple software programs are capable of shutting down inactive computer monitors at designated times of day.

"By automatically turning these monitors off, entire agencies can reduce power consumption and increase the shelf lives of the equipment," the federal employee wrote. "Less power used and longer life cycles result in saved money across the entire government."

Another employee suggested installing sensors that could tell when an office or cubicle has been unoccupied for a period and shut off lights and electronic equipment.

Another popular recommendation was to cut paper waste by programming printers to automatically use both sides of a page. Employees who wanted to print on a single side would have to change the default.

Other submissions were tailored more specifically. One federal employee suggested rules on qualifying for certain jobs should be changed so professional certificates could be used in lieu of a specific number of credits in an academic discipline. For example, educational requirements for toxicology employees could be met through successful certification by the American Board of Toxicology as a diplomate, the highest level in the field.

"This would allow the federal government to more align with the private sector in qualifying individuals for certain professional positions," the employee wrote.

Another fed suggested the administration cut down on redundant training. The employee said annual training on such topics as sexual harassment and suicide prevention is excessive and a waste of employees' time and taxpayer dollars.

One contestant had an idea to help the U.S. Postal Service out of its financial predicament. The employee suggested allowing advertising on USPS boxes and envelopes: "The USPS could really use the income to offset huge liabilities, and placing a small ad on each mailing would generate a huge amount of money."

This year, federal employees are getting involved in the rating process by evaluating their peers' proposals. The most popular idea, with 46 votes, is to do away with end-of-year spending. The employee who submitted the idea said agencies should be rewarded, not penalized, for not spending every dollar allocated to them. OMB officials will judge submissions on the following criteria:

• Does the idea reduce costs in a way that is concrete and quantifiable?
• Does the idea improve the way government operates by:
  
  - Improving the quality of output at lower costs; or
  
  - Simplifying processes to reduce administrative burden; or
  
  - Improving the speed of government operations for greater efficiency?
• Does the idea have a tangible impact on citizens' lives or environment?
• Is there a clear and practical plan for implementing the idea?
• Will it be possible to realize savings immediately?

OMB officials will choose four finalists and announce them in September. Like last year, the American public then will be able to vote for the best. The winning proposal will be incorporated in the fiscal 2012 budget request.