In one of her first official acts as head of the General Services Administration, Martha Johnson announced today that she's elevating the status of a GSA office that promotes green building practices.

The Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings has been transferred from the Public Buildings Service to GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy. By moving to GSA's central policymaking shop, the office will be better positioned to develop environmentally sustainable building strategies that will help all agencies meet President Obama's energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals, Johnson said.

"As part of Governmentwide Policy, the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings will broaden its reach to provide federal agencies with the necessary measurement tools and policies they need to meet their own sustainability mandates," Johnson said in a Feb. 22 statement.

Johnson also named Kevin Kampschroer as permanent director of the office; the veteran GSA employee has served as acting head since the office was created by Congress through the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.

GSA's Public Buildings Service won't be left in the lurch, however, when it comes to greening federal facilities. GSA has created a chief greening officer position to oversee sustainable building practices across GSA's inventory of more than 9,000 owned and leased facilities. The position will report directly to PBS Commissioner Bob Peck.

GSA is actively recruiting for the full-time career position. Scott Conner, director of the Denver Federal Center, will serve in the position on an interim basis until a permanent hire is named, Johnson said.