Betsy Lombardo: February 2008 Archives

An article in the "Metro" Section of today's Washington Post iterated the importance, should there be any debate, of the existence of a well-maintained and administered property management system to account for property from the "cradle to the grave", or procurement to disposal. Two servers belonging to the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, possibly containing personally identifiable information (PII) of D.C. taxpayers, were found in a trash compactor in northwest D.C. It was only a few months ago that this same District office was the focus of the largest corruption scandal in the city, which resulted in the arrests of 10 people for involvement in an alleged embezzlement of over $20 million in property tax refunds.

The million-dollar question now is whether or not those servers were "purposely" disposed of in an incorrect manner (local government offices commonly do not trash large pieces of IT equipment in neighborhood dumpsters) in an effort to hide any information that might be incriminating to those involved in the corruption scandal. Even if that is found not to be the case, this event identifies some serious issues around the accountability for property in government offices. Authorities will need to find out who had access to these servers, what sort of equipment was connected to them, and ultimately, who retained accountability for them. And although a representative from the District's CFO's office maintains that office policy is to wipe confidential data from any drives before giving the machines to another D.C. agency or public school or disposing of them, he can't say whether or not that occurred with these servers, or why their tax office labels were not removed before disposal. The Office of Tax and Revenue may well be able to provide an explanation for the appearance of these items in a trash repository, but it will also need to explain why they seem to have disappeared from the office in a manner that is clearly not in line with standard operating procedures, assuming those procedures actually do exist, and are tightly monitored by property management personnel. 

Due to rising concerns about our country's environmental crisis, environmental initiatives, such a reducing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions, acquiring renewable energy sources, and achieving energy efficiency are becoming focal points in today's public and private sectors. As environmental rules and regulations are intensifying, both government and industry are quickly realizing that implementing change in order to comply with established standards is critical to an organization's political standing, business outcomes, and efficiency, as well as to the future of our planet. In January 2007, The President signed Executive Order 13423 "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management," (EO13423), and in doing so, required Federal Agencies to lead by example in advancing the nation's energy security and environmental performance. EO 13423 identifies several areas in which policies must be implemented as they relate to such things as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency, and preventing pollution, among others.

Property Managers must capitalize on the environmental focus by providing increased accountability for any item that is procured or any process that is implemented in an effort to help an organization be "green". Organizations will begin to realize greater savings as a result of energy efficiency, alternative fuel usage, and effective reutilization programs, all of which will contribute to the organization's efficiency, and in the end, its bottom line. EO 13423 specifically calls out the need for all agencies to implement an Environmental Management System (EMS), which will establish the organization's objectives and targets and ensure the collection, analysis and reporting of data in order to measure an organization's performance towards it's goals. Any organization's goal of meeting environmental standards will only be achieved through the ability to continuously track progress and measure and demonstrate quantifiable results. These tangible results will allow decision makers to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs as well as positively impact purchasing decisions.

Complying with environmental regulations in today's world is crucial, and soon will be mandated for all organizations, public or private. The first step is to effectively implement changes in order to realize energy savings and reduce the carbon footprint, thereby contributing to environmental change for the better. The next, which is equally, if not more, important, is to provide repeatable, auditable methods to demonstrate the benefits of these changes to regulators, executives, stakeholders, and the public. The Property Manager plays a crucial role in that s/he will ensure the proper tracking of methods by which an organization becomes more "green."