Federal Sustainability Update: Weekly Letter from CEIL’s President

Report from E2S. The National Defense Industrial Association held its annual Environment, Energy Security & Sustainability (E2S2) Symposium & Exhibition last week. Here’s a brief overview provided by one of our advisors, Lt. Col. Howard Snow (Ret.). The Department of Defense defines energy as a strategic resource that includes energy security, energy efficiency and environmental stewardship and is creating a plan that includes all energy efforts—strategic, operational, tactical and shore based. Programs underway or recommended include:

• Making energy conservation personal as well as institutional—from turning off lights and powering down computers to conserving water;
• Reducing life-cycle costs through low-flow toilets and showerheads, waterless urinals and high speed, energy efficient hand dryers;
• Purchasing Energy Star computer and office equipment and requiring an end of service life safety, security and destruction user plan;
• Producing renewable energy by duplicating successes like the China Lake geothermal powerplant;
• Incorporating master planning into new and rehab construction. One of the most ambitious projects is the new Guam construction, which will be a series of buildings built to achieve LEED Silver. The base opens in 2014 and will be home to 8,000 Marines. Guam will be the first military base to incorporate sustainable practices from baseline to operational.
• Tactically, services are developing alternative fuel-powered ships, planes and ground equipment and developing solar-powered equipment for Forward Operating Bases.

These programs will show what works and how money is being saved and make it easy for the rest of the country to adopt sustainable practices.

HOWARD SNOW
Federal Business Strategies and Solutions
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy
(Installations/Facilities/Energy)

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