Using natural energy from the sun is one of the many ways the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fosters sustainability as a way of life. Remediation efforts at the former Nebraska Ordnance Plant, a Superfund site in Mead, Nebraska, incorporate sustainable solutions by using energy-saving technology to treat groundwater at the site and powering operations with renewable energy from the sun.

Moving Toward Net Zero by 2050

By Kristen Fletcher, Faculty Associate-Research, Energy Academic Group

On December 8, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (EO) 14057 on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability, calling for the federal government to achieve a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050.

The EO lays out five specific goals including 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030, 100% zero-emission vehicle acquisitions by 2035, net zero emissions from federal procurement no later than 2050, a net zero emissions building portfolio by 2045 and net zero emissions from overall federal operations by 2050.

The Executive Order, together with the Federal Sustainability Plan that the White House released in December 2021, seeks to mainstream sustainability within the federal workforce, leverage partnerships to accelerate progress, and incentivize companies to develop recyclable, bio-based, and alternative options to those products that utilize and contain PFAS. The EO also directs the federal government to orient its procurement and operations efforts to achieve climate resilient infrastructure and operations and build a climate- and sustainability-focused workforce.

This EO is driving multiple efforts within DoD and the Department of the Navy. Joseph Bryan, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, was redesignated the DoD Chief Sustainability Officer in January in response to the EO. The Pentagon also recently issued a request for information on vendors who can provide carbon-free electricity generation services for the federal government. At NPS, EAG is leading a project entitled Pathways to Net Zero Emissions for the Operation Navy, funded by the Naval Research Program, which will be featured in a Net Zero Briefing Series by the NPS Climate and Security Network in the summer.