WASHINGTON — The White House complex and the federal government are going green — and not just with Christmas trees and holly.

As President Obama meets with world leaders at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen today, the government he runs at home is quietly engaged in an unprecedented effort to reduce its carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, conserve water, cut waste and more.

In the complex that includes the White House, that means more efficient heating and cooling systems as well as organic paint, low-flow toilets and lights that turn off by themselves. Even the 800 Christmas ornaments adorning the 18-foot tree in the White House Blue Room were recycled from previous administrations in a nod to the environment and the bad economy.

In many of the federal government's other 500,000 buildings, the effort to go green includes cutting the amount of garbage produced in half and installing more efficient lights.

"This is a big leap forward for the federal government," says Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of Obama's White House Council on Environmental Quality. And the effort will be "sustainable itself beyond this president."

Sutley says the federal government is the country's single largest energy consumer, using 1.6% of all the power used nationwide, so reducing energy consumption will mean big savings.

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