Frequently asked questions (faqS) - General
- Why is sustainability important for the United States Army?
- What is the Army policy on sustainability?
- I am assigned to the staff of a garrison, division, corps, or other Army entity. What can I do to get a sustainability initiative moving within my organization?
- What commercially available books discuss sustainability?
- Which Army installations have begun sustainability efforts?
- What non-military organizations or communities have implemented sustainability principles?
- What can I do to initiate a sustainability project in my organization?
- What is the trade-off between sustainability for long-term viability of the U.S. Army and availability of training areas upon which to maintain combat efficiency?
- What does sustainability have to do with protecting the environment?
- If I have a great idea for sustainability in the Army, to whom do I take it?
- How does EMS support the concept of sustainability?
Why is sustainability important for the United States Army?
Sustainability is important to the United States Army because it is the methodology whereby the Army will remain viable as a security force into the future.
What is the Army policy on sustainability?
To date, an official Army policy document has not been issued. However, the Army Strategy for the Environment discusses Sustainability.
The following are facets to Army sustainability:
- Sustainability is a concept; not a program, process or system.
- Sustainability is focused on the mission and its link to the natural and built environments and includes land management, operations and infrastructure.
- It involves a cross functional approach including all stakeholders - inside and outside the fence line.
- Installation Sustainability, like safety, is everyone's business.
I am assigned to the staff of a garrison, division, corps, or other Army entity. What can I do to get a sustainability initiative moving within my organization?
Most sustainability efforts got their start by the formation of a working group to explore topics in sustainability. Many started as book clubs to read and discuss the aspects of sustainability found in existing books. After an initial exploration period, most groups then decide to initiate some type of sustainability effort. An excellent book discussing sustainability is Dancing with the Tiger by Brian Natrass and Mary Altomore, New Society Publishers, 2002.
What commercially available books discuss sustainability?
There are quite a number of books available to get you started. The following five books are considered "must reads" for the sustainability novice. They are all commercially available.
- Believing Cassandra: An Optimist Looks at a Pessimist's World, by Alan AtKisson, 1999, Chelsea Green Publishing Company
- Cool Companies: How the Best Businesses Boost Profits and Productivity by Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions, by Joseph Romm, 1999, Island Press
- Natural Capitalism, by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins, 1999, Little, Brown and Company
- Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future, by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows and Jorgen Randers, 1993, Chelsea Green Publishing Company
- State of the World 2003, by the Worldwatch Institute, 2003, W.W. Norton & Company
For a complete list, go to: http://www.envquest.com/read.asp
Which Army installations have begun sustainability efforts?
Click here to view a map.
What non-military organizations or communities have implemented sustainability principles?
Two well-known ones are Sustainable Seattle, WA, and the Resort Community of Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. To learn more about each, go to the following URLs:
- Seattle, Washington: http://www.seattle.gov/environment/
- Whistler, BC: http://www.whistler.ca/Sustainability/
What can I do to initiate a sustainability project in my organization?
Do not be discouraged. Many sustainability efforts, which today are widely known, got started because someone had an idea and wanted to explore it further. There are several actions you should take:
- Educate yourself about sustainability. The Internet has lots of information on sustainability. This web site is a good place to start.
- Form a study group of some kind so the members can explore sustainability together. Many organizations have formed book clubs to discuss sustainability from particular books. The book Dancing with the Tiger by Brain Natress and Mary A. Natress gives case studies which explain how this was done in several large corporations.
- After enough study time for the members to have a grasp on sustainability, formulate some project where the members of the organization can participate in some kind of sustainability project. Some examples of sustainability projects are recycling, green procurement, sustainable design and development and sustainable ranges.
What is the trade-off between sustainability for long-term viability of the U.S. Army and availability of training areas upon which to maintain combat efficiency?
The Army must train to maintain its combat efficiency and individual soldier skills. Most training requires training lands and ranges. To have training lands and ranges into the future years requires some type of effort to preserve the environment. Sustainability promises to be the method to ensure training lands and ranges, as well as comfortable quarters and acceptable quality of life for soldiers and family members, continue to exist.
What does sustainability have to do with protecting the environment?
"Sustainability" is an overarching term which includes protection for the environment. Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of today without leaving an environmental bill for the next generation to pay. By conducting Army business sustainability, the Army remains viable for the next thirty to fifty years. You cannot accomplish that goal without also protecting the environment because the environment is vital to the Army.
If I have a great idea for sustainability in the Army, to whom do I take it?
You have several options. If your unit or organization has a sustainability officer or an environmental officer, take your suggestions in written form to that person and ask that he/she submit it to HQDA. If you are located on an Army installation, see you Plans, Analysis and Integration Office (PAIO) or Master Planner on the Garrison Staff, or go see the official who operates the Environmental Management System (EMS) for the installation. If those options do not work for you, submit your idea to this website. Click on "Contact Us" at the bottom of the any page.
How does EMS support the concept of sustainability?
Traditional belief was that effective environmental management involved the implementation of programs to meet regulatory requirements and helped an organization avoid negative consequences. The new philosophy is effective environmental management, using EMS can help support mission accomplishment and sustainability, while integrating environmental goals throughout the entire Army culture. EMS is an ongoing and systematic process of establishing priorities, managing and reducing environmental impacts, achieving continual improvement, and ultimately increasing readiness. The EMS approach to environmental protection requires collective responsibility of every employee on the installation. It can instill an environmental ethic throughout the workforce similar to the manner in which responsibility for safety has become a part of every day life. This broad culture change will take time and an active, consistent leadership commitment, but will ultimately allow the Army to make systematic management of environmental activities a tool for mission accomplishment and to foster an ethic of sustainability throughout the Army.