NASA LaRC has been on the path to achieving long-term sustainability goals for many years through numerous efforts in energy conservation, recycling, water management, pollution prevention, design and construction, maintenance and operations, master planning, and electronic stewardship. And one of the ways LaRC builds on its sustainability program is by supporting NASA Headquarters in executing the Agency’s sustainability policy and in meeting the goals set by federal regulations or Executive Orders.
Executive Order 13834, Efficient Federal Operations, was issued in 2018 and affirmed that “agencies shall meet such statutory requirements in a manner that increases efficiency, optimizes performance, eliminates unnecessary use of resources, and protects the environment.” The Council of Environmental Quality recently finalized the EO’s official Implementing Instructions, which provide agencies with instructions regarding planning and reporting requirements. Additionally, NASA Headquarters recently issued the agency’s internal progress milestones for the EO goals for FY19 and FY20.
LaRC will continue to actively support the agency by planning and reporting on the Center’s progress towards these goals and milestones going forward:
sustainability goals set by Executive Order 13834, Efficient Federal Operations
LaRC’s employees are a key factor in growing and advancing sustainability at LaRC, and we do that by ensuring we:
- minimize and mitigate environmental impacts during the earliest phases of our projects;
- enhance project efficiency through implementation of sustainable processes, such as reuse of water and air in closed systems and reducing the use of energy and hazardous materials;
- maximize our use of green engineering principles, such as applying life cycle assessment techniques on products/processes, utilizing them in multiple applications; and ensuring sound disposal (taking responsibility from cradle-to-grave); and
- inspire our coworkers to adopt and utilize sustainable methodologies and tools.
