1. EO 13423 Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management
EO Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance
Energy Initiatives Task Force
Army Sustainability Campaign Plan
Office of Energy Initiatives P2
In order to discuss where we’re at and where we’re going, a good starting point would be where we’ve been – that is, why Net Zero? Where did it originate? Some might say Net Zero is just another name for P2 (or Pollution Prevention). Although the two share some of the same goals it’s in the approach that the two initiatives are quite different.
Forces Command or FORSCOM Installations saw a tremendous growth in sustainable practices during the 1990’s – although Army-wide they didn’t quite call it that yet. Pollution Prevention or P2 programs were the driving force behind these initiatives that resulted in reduced pesticide use, a reduction in the quantity and toxicity of hazardous waste generated, improved waste diversion rates and decreased water use.
At the start of the new decade, armed with all their successes and accolades and with help from a few key installations and key staff HQ Forces Command initiated the development of the Installation Sustainability Program. Forward-thinking leadership and the efforts of talented staff at the installation level drove the concept of sustainability from the “bottom-up”. Astute leadership at the Army HQ and DoD level helped to create the concept of sustaining the mission – from the “top-down approach”. Despite all of the successes realized by P2 initiatives, all the money saved and costs avoided and good PR for the Army - there was a growing concern amongst Army leadership about environmental issues and perceived constraints having a negative impact on training missions. The red flag for some was an incident in which community concerns halted training at a National Guard installation. Instead of buckling to the pressure from either side – Army leadership developed an integrated compromise. This compromise – a document which would become the framework for how we view sustainability in the Army today was developed during a Senior Environmental Leadership Conference held in Washington, D.C., entitled An Operational Directive and Campaign Plan. It was signed by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army on November 17, 2000, and mandated “an integrated strategy, with a defined end-state, that ties resources to objectives and engages stakeholders at all levels—to sustain the mission.”
Sustainability really became official when the Army published the ‘Army Strategy for the Environment: Sustain the Mission – Secure the Future’ in late FY04. Since then the goals and strategies have changed – a little – but the underlying theme still and will probably always be to appropriately manage the land and resources the American people have entrusted with the Army in a way that enables the Army to accomplish The Mission now and for future generations.
Net Zero is not a replacement for ‘sustainability’. Sustainability reaches into everything. It is the overarching way of managing and planning for….just about everything in a way that enables future generations to enjoy the same resources. Net Zero is based on that same concept but in a less broader sense. The Army’s Net Zero Initiative (for now) focuses on managing energy and water resources in a sustainable way and taking steps to reduce the sources of waste generation.
The concept of Net Zero Energy was first developed in the context of a typical house – where all energy needs are provided by renewable energy sources generated on, in or near the home. The concept expanded to communities, campuses, and military installations.
Leveraging efforts and progress made with the Department of Energy’s (DOE)s Net Zero Energy Installation (NZEI) Task Force and initiatives, the Army launched the Net Zero Pilot Installation Initiative on 19 April 2011 with the identification of 17 pilot sites. The pilot installations have and will continue to serve as model communities for sustainability and quality of life while the Army takes an even broader approach by decentralizing NZ and applying the NZ concept to all Army Installations.
First Army Sustainability Report
Army Net Zero Initiative
1990s
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
Energy Policy Act of 2005
Army Net Zero Pilot Installation Initiative
An Operational Directive and Campaign Plan
Army Energy Security Implementation Strategy
First DoD SSPP