Environmental Protection Agency officials will spend in excess of $8 billion this year, but they will apparently do so without a working definition of “savings/cost avoidances” or a way of calculating if they’ve achieved any,” according to the agency’s Inspector-General.

“EPA does not have a policy describing what constitutes savings/cost avoidances and the methodology for calculating them,” the IG said in a new report. “Without effective policies and procedures for estimating savings and cost avoidances, EPA will not be able to accurately report the results of its efficiency initiatives and influence internal and external management decisions.”