Sustainability and Systems Acquisition
Sustainability provides the framework necessary to ensure the ability to operate into the future without decline – either in the mission or in the natural and man-made systems that support it. When DoD planners and decision makers incorporate resource sustainability into DoD planning and decision-making, they address current and emerging mission needs and consider future challenges. Sustainability is not an individual Departmental program - it is an organizing paradigm that applies to all DoD mission and programs areas.
Program Managers (PMs) procure or upgrade systems that can last 30 years or longer and may have significant impacts on human health and the environment during their life-cycle. DoD continues to evaluate and implement ways to better integrate the long-term resource, capability, and opportunity costs into acquisition decisions.
The DoD Sustainable Procurement Program (formerly Green Procurement Program) helps implement Executive Order (EO) 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance and EO 13423 Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management requirements to reduce or eliminate acquisition and use of toxic chemicals; increase use of acceptable alternative chemicals and processes as long as performance requirements are met; and procure Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registered electronic products, Energy Star, and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) designated electronic equipment. The Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) is a program that helps Federal purchasers find and evaluate information about green products and services and calculate the costs and benefits of purchasing choices.
The Joint Capabilities Integration Development System (JCIDS) establishes capability requirements for defense systems. The Energy Key Performance Parameter is applicable to all JCIDS documents addressing systems where the provision of energy, including both fuel and electric power to the system, impacts operational reach or requires protection of energy infrastructure or energy resources in the logistics supply chain.
The Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method that can be used to help design more sustainable systems – those which use less resources over the life-cycle and have less impacts on human health and the environment. Use of the LCA can also help reduce Total Ownership Cost of systems. Since this type of analysis supports informed design choices, PMs should use LCA as part of the trade space analysis. DoD developed a tailored, streamlined method of LCA for use in the DoD acquisition process – it is referred to as the Streamlined Life-Cycle Assessment (SLCA) Process for Sustainability in DoD Acquisitions. The approach combines LCA with multi-attribute analysis and provides an approach to compare the impacts and costs of conceptual or detailed design alternatives. The Streamlined LCA may be accomplished even when data may be lacking.
