Executive Order 13123: Greening the Government Through Efficient Energy Management
President: Bill Clinton
Set federal facility energy, greenhouse-gas and renewable-energy management goals, later revoked in 2007.
Status: Revoked — by EO 13423 in 2007.
Is Executive Order 13123 still in effect? No. EO 13423 revoked it in 2007.
What does Executive Order 13123 do?
EO 13123 directed agencies to improve energy management through cost-effective measures. For standard facilities it set energy-use reductions of 30 percent per gross square foot by 2005 and 35 percent by 2010 against a 1985 baseline; industrial and laboratory facilities had a separate 20 percent and 25 percent schedule against 1990. It also set a 30 percent by 2010 greenhouse-gas reduction goal for emissions attributed to facility energy use compared with 1990. The order encouraged renewable-energy use and required agencies to report. EO 13423 revoked EO 13123 in 2007. The old targets should not be represented as current policy; later statutes and orders created separate requirements.
Before and after
Before the order
EO 12902 and energy statutes supplied earlier facility-efficiency goals.
After the order
Agencies received broader, measurable goals for energy, emissions, water, renewables, construction and procurement.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Federal agencies | Reduce facility energy use through life-cycle cost-effective measures | Historical goals |
| Agencies | Track renewable-energy use and report on progress | Under the order |
| Department of Energy | Issue guidance and support agency implementation | Historical framework |
What happened next
EO 13123 established federal energy-management targets.
EO 13423 revoked the order before its final target year.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
This order set executive-branch management goals and did not itself create a private entitlement. Its revocation did not erase separate energy statutes or determine their current targets.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- GovInfo — EO 13123 (opens in a new tab) Order text
- GovInfo — EO 13423 (opens in a new tab) Order text
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 1, 2026. How we research →