" />Dan Beard is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the U.S. House of Representatives. For the past year and a half, he has been leading the "Green the Capitol" initiative that aims to reduce the House of Representatives' carbon footprint.

Matter Network's John Gartner spoke with Beard about what he has learned rolling out an organization-wide sustainability directive, including how to communicate with employees and suppliers.

 Listen to the interview here. 

Matter Network: What previous experiences in the private sector helped to prepare you for your work in greening the House of Representatives?

Dan Beard: None. The biggest challenges have been people problems and I don't think there's anything particular about the private sector that prepares you for that. Life experiences prepare you more than anything else. It is also managing people and changing the way they do business. There's an attitudinal problem that people don't like change. We are a fishbowl where there are two sides to every issue -- Republican and Democrat -- and I don't think greening is any different. We've gotten a lot of criticism, and the Republican leader has called for my removal, primarily because we've been leading this greening effort and he doesn't believe that it is a good thing.

MN: Have you learned anything constructive from this criticism about the greening initiative?

DB: Yes, I think one of the most important things is I've learned to speak about the entire exercise in a different way. I've always thought that this was the right thing to do, and I naively assumed that people would agree. Many people don't. So I've learned to speak about it for the positive, measurable impact it will have: Things like the amount of money and energy savings tend to get you further than if you just talk about it being the right thing to do.

MN: Going carbon neutral is an "in" thing these days with many organizations and it makes for a good PR story. What other benefits do you see for organizations that go carbon neutral?

DB: I take issue with people who view going carbon neutral as a PR exercise. Carbon is a measure of what you are doing to perform your daily job. That's the real value of using carbon as a measure. The tangible benefit is that you are saving money and saving energy. If you are working towards the goal of being carbon neutral, that's a real positive value to achieve. I think being carbon neutral has gotten a bad rap.

MN: What about companies that just buy carbon offsets and may not do anything different in terms of conserving energy or using renewable resources? Can they do more to improve the image of carbon neutrality?

DB: There are some people who are trying to game the system. Those of us who are trying to reduce the amount of carbon released into atmosphere shouldn't be viewed as [conducting] a PR stunt. As long as there is a voluntary system, this is the approach we're going to have to take. If I replace 30,000 light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and I save the organization $120,000 a year, is that a stunt? It is irresponsible on my part not to do that ... not to use less energy.

MN: As part of the greening -the-capitol process, you've asked employees to partner with you. What are the best ways of  giving employees incentives to help to make an organization sustainable?

DB: Make greening an integral part of your business at every level ... of what every employee does in [your] organization. I have 700 people in this organization. Rather than asking four people to be responsible for greening, I'm asking every employee. For example, for our procurement person -- we're going to have a greening requirement for those companies who provide products to us.

MN: So is their participation in the greening process now part of every employee's job performance evaluation?

DB: I have only gotten it down to the supervisory level as far as their evaluations, but we'll eventually get it down to every employee. The point is this isn't a 2 X 4 that we are clubbing people over the head with. We are trying to unlock imagination and creativity on the part of our employees. For example, the woman who runs our office supply store -- it was her idea to use 100 percent post consumer recycled paper. She found the companies and she evaluated them and then made the selection.

MN: Another trend in business is the creation of the role of chief sustainability officer. Do you think that distinct role is necessary, or can it be shared among the CTO, CIO, CEO and other executives?

DB: I really like the idea. We don't have one in my organization, and if we did, I guess it would be me. I think it is important, given the role of sustainability in the future of doing business, that you designate someone to have that responsibility. Then, you really have someone who comes to work in the morning, and it's the first thing they think about.

MN: The House, as part of the federal government, can have tremendous influence on suppliers in demanding sustainable products. Are there strategies that other organizations can adopt in negotiating with suppliers?

DB: I think what you're going to see is every business and organization, including federal, state and local governments, begin to make these kind of [sustainable product] requirements on their suppliers, and it will become an integral part of the way we do business. That's how you drive it through the economy.... It's going to create markets.

MN: What has been your biggest frustration so far in the process of greening the House?

DB: The biggest frustration has been the age-old problem that people don't like change. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, "Oh, we don't do it that way," I'd be a rich man.... It's dealing with human nature. Driving that change and dealing with the nature of human beings has been so frustrating because for me it is so obvious that we should be moving in that direction. The biggest lesson I've learned is that I tend to be impatient in making these changes. I have to learn to be more patient in working with people who don't feel as I do about adopting these (sustainable) changes quickly.

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