Goals We have adopted the following goals in order to achieve an enduring Army enabled by sustainable operations, installations, systems, and communities. These are the building blocks of Army sustainability, and they spring from the internal processes in the Army’s Strategic Readiness System. These goals create the structure to provide a clear linkage between the Army’s strategic objectives and the actions needed to achieve those objectives as envisioned and directed under the Government Performance and Results Act and the Chief Financial Officers Act.   These are long-term goals. They will not be realized in the short-term. They will guide the Army into the future. These goals require policy, planning, programming, implementation, and time to bring us closer to the promise and benefits embodied herein.   Goal: Foster A Sustainability Ethic Foster an ethic within the Army that takes us beyond environmental compliance to sustainability.   Strategically, a sustainable Army is an innovative Army that can rapidly adapt to future challenges, and an Army that has the support of the Nation it defends, whether in war or peace. In essence, the foundation for such a sustainability ethic is already embedded in the Army core values that inspire us to act with integrity: doing what is right — legally and morally. We are protectors of freedom, and we are warriors with integrity.   Achieving and maintaining this ethic of sustainability requires that Army leaders foster a climate in which the Army community embraces the reality that the Earth’s resources, while essential to military operations, are not inexhaustible. Such a mind-set protects military readiness, advances sustainability, and builds trust.   Through education and setting the example, we inspire each other to take proactive measures and achieve excellence. The Army will provide the necessary training in sustainable environmental principles and practices to better use our resources. We must comply with all laws and continually build the trust of the American public by responsibly addressing past and present contamination resulting from unsustainable practices. Our Army’s future mandates that we have the foresight to continue addressing yesterday’s problems while respecting today’s assets for tomorrow.   Goal: Strengthen Army Operations Strengthen Army operational capability by reducing our environmental footprint through more sustainable practices.   The Army will employ sustainable practices such as water conservation, and fuel and energy efficiency to minimize our logistical tail. This will enable us to deploy faster, travel farther, and sustain as long as required. Zero emissions – heat, light, noise, waste – reduce the operational signature, environmental footprint, and logistical support tail.   “Doing the right thing is good. Doing the right thing for the right reason and with the right intention is even better.” – Army Leadership Manual   Situational awareness includes human health and environmental conditions on and beyond the battlefield. We will have the capability to assess the total environment before deployment, to monitor and protect during deployment, and to leave a positive legacy upon redeployment. Protecting our Soldiers from environmental harm is a vital component of protecting the force.   Goal: Meet, Test, Training and Mission Requirements Meet current and future training, testing, and other mission requirements by sustaining land, air, and water resources.   Our Army, as a part of the Joint Force, is committed to providing relevant and ready land power capabilities to the Combatant Commanders. We train Soldiers, grow leaders, and forge them into cohesive units through tough, realistic training in a multitude of climates and conditions. Sustaining our diverse environmental resources is a critical component of maintaining Soldier readiness. The Army will sustain its ranges so that they are always available to meet our mission requirements. The Army will sustain our test and training lands’ natural resource base in quantity, quality, and configuration to meet current and future requirements. The Army will manage range activities to maintain the resiliency and buffering needed to protect the environment and the surrounding communities from impacts of training and testing.   We will apply an ecosystem-based approach to manage natural resources and will collaborate with stakeholders to protect ecosystems. We will be a leader in sustainability — this is crucial to the success of our mission as we meet current and future challenges.   Goal: Minimize Impacts and Total Ownership Costs Minimize impacts and total ownership costs of Army systems, materiel, facilities, and operations by integrating the principles and practices of sustainability.   The Army will reduce impacts on the environment and the true cost of doing business. Many of our costs are hidden or transparent while others are not yet internalized or quantified. These life cycle costs, which include impacts on resources and the environment, occur from concept through use to regeneration or disposal. We will more effectively and efficiently manage by integrating sustainable practices into our systems, materiel, facilities, and operations.   We will integrate sustainability into all activities by using the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard as a framework to improve performance and compliance. We will leverage our purchasing power to favor environmentally sustainable products that lower total ownership costs, and employ other tools to continually improve effectiveness and better manage total ownership costs. We will also expect the same ethics and business practices of sustainability from our support contractors and corporate partners.   “Learning organizations operate in the sunshine, sharing their work with a broad network and rapidly processing feedback as it is received.They actively seek views and suggestions from industry and intelligentsia, private citizens, and politicians, thereby creating a constructive, two-way communication process.” – BG David A. Fastabend,Training and Doctrine Command Futures Center, Adapt or Die   Goal: Enhance Well-Being Enhance the well-being of our Soldiers, civilians, families, neighbors and communities through leadership in sustainability.   The Army will honor our commitment to the American people and to future generations. We will sustain our natural resources for our Soldiers, their families, Army civilians, our contract workforce, and our neighbors. We will celebrate our heritage through responsible management of our cultural resources. We will honor our treaty and trust responsibilities to Indian tribes, native Alaskans and Hawaiians, and our obligations abroad.   The sustainable futures of our installations and our communities are inextricably connected. We are active members in our communities, promoting the well-being of Army families and our neighbors, worldwide.   The public has a collaborative stake in our decisions, and we value their involvement as partners in sustain-ability and environmental stewardship. The Army will foster open relationships to increase understanding by all. We will communicate the Army’s readiness requirements and environmental initiatives, while at the same time, listening to our neighbors’ needs and concerns to build win-win situations together. We will ensure fair treatment and meaningful involvement for all.   We will strengthen and build new community partnerships to achieve sustained and sound environmental stewardship and a ready military force through communication, coordination, consultation, and collaboration.   Goal: Drive Innovation Use innovative technology and the principles of sustainability to meet user needs and anticipate future Army challenges.   The Army’s ability to seize opportunities afforded by technology depends upon a culture of shared purpose, mission, vision, and a commitment to innovation. The Army will match its capability to innovate and adapt with its need to do so in order to train, equip, sustain, and operate. This requires that we accelerate the transfer of technologies in a timely and cost effective manner to meet current and future requirements. The Army will seek solutions and tools that improve efficiency and reduce cost while protecting human health and the environment.   To achieve this goal, the Army will need professionals in all fields who are familiar with the principles of sustainability, including a capable environmental science base. We will develop partnerships with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and international organizations to further leverage our environmental science and technology base to mitigate current and future impacts on the Army.   Implementation of Our Strategy The Army Strategy for the Environment is designed to guide the Army well into the 21st Century. To implement the aggressive goals of this Strategy, the Army will initiate an integrated planning process that identifies objectives, initiatives, monitoring and assessment tools, while making the necessary procedural changes to assure progress toward these aggressive goals.Where tools and management initiatives already exist, they will be applied; where they do not, we will develop them. An accompanying funding policy – based on those core principles of sustainability outlined in this Strategy – will replace the current, reactive-type funding approach. By doing so, commensurate with other Army requirements, the Army will plan, program, budget, and execute to better support the Army mission through more sustainable operations, installations, systems, and communities.   Implementation of this Strategy is vital to the Army’s continued relevance, especially in support of the Army Campaign Plan. Our readiness and security are at stake.We will Sustain the Mission – Secure the Future!