Sustainability in Defence
As the UK’s Net Zero deadline draws closer, the defence sector stands at a crucial point in time to decarbonise its operations whilst also maintaining operational excellence and keeping to tight budgets.
The MoD Sustainability Objectives
In 2020, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) represented 50% of the central Government’s carbon emissions (source).
The MoD has set out an initial plan, including four objectives with a 2030 target of making UK defence more sustainable.
The MoD reports against these objectives, providing an insight into areas for improvement. However, it is not just the MoD that needs to decarbonise. The wider defence supply chain also needs to look at creating a more sustainable sector.
Achieving the MOD's sustainability objectives is critical not only for meeting the UK's legally binding Net Zero commitments, but also for ensuring the long-term operational resilience of our Armed Forces, protecting national security interests, and demonstrating leadership in sustainable practices across government and the wider defence supply chain.
The four sustainability objectives are as follows:
Objective 1: To have ensured all environmental, social and economic challenges, impacts and opportunities are fully taken into account in defence decisions.
Objective 2: To have significantly reduced the Armed Forces’ reliance on fossil fuels to provide operational energy.
Objective 3: To have significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions from defence infrastructure to ensure delivery of its Net Zero requirements.
Objective 4: To have significantly reduced waste production, and increased waste recovery, to enable the sector to become a zero waste to landfill organisation. (source)
Solutions for sustainability-led defence operations
Net Zero and sustainability go hand-in-hand with the defence sector’s ultimate priority of keeping the UK safe, as only by modernising defence estates and making them ready for Net Zero will the sector be resilient in the face of climate challenges.
Adopting a circular economy
The traditional linear model of production and consumption has long since been proven to be disastrous for our planet. The defence sector consumes a substantial amount of fuel, water and materials, which is why adopting a circular economy principle based on the reuse and regeneration of materials, is critical. By embedding the circular economy approach into the defence sector, waste materials can be turned back into resources when they are reintroduced to the production cycle. Similarly, circular approaches to energy and water management ensure nothing is wasted, and defence estates can operate at maximum efficiency while improving their self-sufficiency.
Increasing the sector’s resource efficiency is particularly important in the face of a volatile global landscape. When it comes to energy, reducing reliance on external sources can make a significant contribution to the MoD’s resilience, by safeguarding its energy production capabilities.
Protecting Biodiversity
A crucial part of building a more climate-resilient defence estate lies in protecting and enhancing biodiversity. Animals, plants, bacteria and other microorganisms make up our planet’s carefully balanced ecosystem, providing resources that are vital for the population’s health including oxygen, food, water and medicines.
The MoD aims to optimise opportunities to protect wildlife, conservation and agriculture. Part of this is developing and implementing policies to minimise the environmental impact of military activities on local ecosystems. This could include creating biodiversity action plans for defence estates and incorporating nature-based solutions in land management practices to encourage wildlife, increase pollinators and contribute to clean air.
Implementing Environmental Reporting
Establishing a regular, transparent reporting mechanism allows you to track progress and identify areas for improvement, which informs better decision-making related to environmental issues. A robust reporting structure also improves efficiency by measuring and tracking operational performance, as the MoD can identify areas for optimisation improvements and implement strategies to reduce waste and energy consumption, addressing environmental impact as well as cost efficiencies.
How Veolia can help the defence sector achieve its sustainability goals
Choosing the right partner is of the utmost importance to support the defence sector’s sustainability ambitions. Veolia delivers solutions for the sector’s essential needs, with innovative water, waste, energy, and facilities management solutions that can be tailored to the defence estate’s specific requirements. Our range of solutions and expertise allow us to handle complex defence projects with the highest level of safety, security, and environmental compliance. This includes the following services:
- Facilities Management (FM)
- Energy and Decarbonisation
- Decommissioning
- Waste Management
- Hazardous Waste Management
- Nuclear Services
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
These solutions provide self-sufficiency and resilience, as well as ensuring environmental and policy compliance, infrastructure upgrades, improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Creating a sustainable defence sector is crucial for a safer, secure future for the UK. It not only helps to achieve the 2050 Net Zero target, but helps the sector be more resilient and self-sufficient. With Veolia’s support, implementing key changes such as a circular economy, biodiversity protection and environmental reporting, can have a huge impact on creating a sustainable defence sector. Coupled with effective waste and hazardous waste management, decommissioning, energy, FM, nuclear services and water treatment, the sector can be strengthened to achieve climate-resilience.
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