Washington - Public Printer Bob Tapella spoke about the successes of the U.S. Government Printing Office's (GPO) sustainable environmental stewardship initiatives at the first GreenGov Symposium.  The White House Council on Environmental Quality invited Tapella to be part of the event which brought together leaders from federal, state and local governments; nonprofit and academic communities; and the private sector to share challenges and best practices in going green.

Among the topics discussed, Tapella emphasized GPO's sustainable paper achievements in the agency's factory and paper options for federal agencies.  GPO employees made history by printing the Congressional Record and Federal Register on 100% recycled newsprint.  This accomplishment was recognized by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  GPO is trying to expand the sustainable paper choices available to federal agencies by testing and validating 100% recycled and sustainable office paper available through the GPO Paper Store.  Some examples of that testing include new office papers that are less bright because they undergo less processing during production and are more easily recycled.  Also, GPO will soon be testing paper made from the pulp extract from sugar cane, which is 100% tree-free and biodegradable.

"I appreciate the White House's invitation to share the green initiatives achieved by GPO employees during the last several years and through their efforts, GPO is becoming a model for sustainable environmental stewardship," said Public Printer Bob Tapella.  "I want to expand the sustainable paper choices for our customers which will allow them to choose the sustainable attributes most important to each agency."

GPO recently completed the installation of a new, highly reflective roofing system.  This new roof includes several bio based layers and reflective coating that increase efficiency and the life expectancy of the roof.  The agency also updated its fleet used to deliver printed products to Congress and federal agencies with alternative flex fuel and hybrid vehicles.