The Massachusetts Leading by Example Program (LBE) was established in 2007 by Executive Order No. 484 and is housed in the Department of Energy Resources. Working strategically and collaboratively with various partner agencies, including the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and Operational Services Division (OSD), LBE works to meet aggressive energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets resulting from state government operations. This includes a 40% reduction target in GHG emissions from 2002 and a 35% reduction in energy use intensity from 2004 by 2020.

The LBE Program works with all of Massachusetts' executive agencies and public institutions of higher education, comprising more than 80 million square feet of buildings and 8,000 vehicles and employing over 65,000 people. In addition, the LBE Program promotes other sustainability activities within state government including waste reduction, water conservation, green buildings, alternative fuels, efficient transportation, sustainable landscaping, and recycling.

In addition to the many energy projects recently completed and currently underway at millions of square feet of state buildings, the Commonwealth's Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) has initiated the Accelerated Energy Plan (AEP) that has evaluated, initiated, and/or implemented energy efficiency efforts at 58 million square feet of buildings, or 700 state sites. Concurrent with these wide-ranging energy efficiency efforts, both the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and DCAMM are working closely with electric and gas utilities to develop comprehensive and streamlined audit and incentive processes that will address energy use in state buildings as well as other areas, such as outdoor lighting, tunnel lighting and ventilation, skating rinks, traffic lights, etc.

Additionally, both DOER and DCAMM work collaboratively to ensure that new buildings meet the “Mass. LEED Plus” Standard, established by the 2007 Executive Order, that requires all buildings larger than 20,000 square feet to be LEED certified and exceed the Massachusetts energy code requirements by 20%. Currently there are more than 60 LEED certified buildings in the Commonwealth’s portfolio, 62% of which are certified at the two highest Gold and Platinum levels. Massachusetts has also built five buildings designed to meet the zero net energy building standard.

DOER continues to promote plug-load management efforts, including the implementation of the state's Computer Power Management Standards across all agency computers. Through the Commonwealth Building Energy Intelligence program, a real-time metering and analytics initiative a at hundreds of state agency and higher-education buildings across more than 20 million square feet, the Commonwealth is working to improve day to day management of energy use through operational efficiencies, such as optimizing building start times and ensuring night and weekend schedules are consistent, resulting in significant energy reductions. And lastly, DOER continues to explore the use of new and innovative technologies designed to reduce energy use and coordinates with DCAMM efforts to install such technologies in state retrofit and/or construction projects.