GAO: Defense Department falling short on net-zero environmental directives

The Government Accountability Office released a study this week that found the Department of Defense (DOD) has yet to establish a net-zero policy, or a strategy to achieve net-zero efficiency.

Achieving net zero within the Department of Defense (DOD) is defined by producing as much energy from renewable energy sources as is consumed by an installation; limiting the consumption of water to avoid depleting the local watershed; or reusing, reducing and recovering waste streams to ensure no waste enters landfills.

In its defense, DOD said that until recently, there had been no statutory directives on net zero. DOD officials said the agency is working to implement goals set out in Executive Order 13693, "Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, issued last March. DOD expects to issue its implementation strategy this month.

None of the military branches has designated net zero as a funded program yet, and they only have general net-zero goals laid out currently. The Army has established a Net Zero Initiative, but Army officials have said this generally is an “awareness campaign” intended to generate interest in sustainability and conservation.

To date, DOD has not fully detailed estimated costs of implementing net-zero initiatives. The only funds DOD has spent on net-zero initiatives so involve studies to assess the feasibility and costs of net zero at DOD installations and to establish baselines. Service officials have told GAO that they believe full compliance with net zero is unrealistic due to costs, but they said promoting general awareness in conservation and sustainability should lead to projects that ultimately would support net-zero goals.

House Report 114-102, accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, included a provision for GAO to review DOD’s progress and savings from net-zero installation initiatives. The resulting report details the extent to which DOD “developed policies and goals for an integrated net-zero strategy for energy, water and waste management at its military installations” and “has identified the potential costs and benefits of implementing net-zero initiatives.”

As part of the report, GAO requested information or interviewed officials within DOD, seeking information about funding, monitoring, potential costs and benefits. GAO also reviewed federal mandates, statutes, and DOD- and service-specific policies and reports to determine DOD’s net-zero strategy and related goals for energy, water and waste management.

GAO visited Fort Carson, Colorado, one of two installations the Army identified as having pilot programs in place for energy, water and waste management. From there, the GAO contacted a sample of 10 Army installations, selected based on their progressive efforts toward energy, water and solid-waste diversion goals in fiscal year 2014 to garner information on policies, goals, potential costs and benefits of implementing net-zero initiatives.

After completion of the report, GAO chose not to make any recommendations at this time.