ACCO is an organization of top officials from corporations, universities, non-profit organizations and government which works to establish a forum for collaboration on sustainability and climate change. This year’s theme was, “Building Resilience and Ide
Mr. Addison (Tad) Davis, Chief Executive of the U.S. Army Reserve Command recently delivered a keynote address to the Association of Climate Change Officers’ (ACCO) annual Defense, National Security and Climate Change Workshop in Washington, highlighting the Reserve’s cutting edge work in energy and sustainability.
ACCO is an organization of top officials from corporations, universities, non-profit organizations and government which works to establish a forum for collaboration on sustainability and climate change. This year’s theme was, “Building Resilience and Identifying Opportunities Related to Water, Energy and Extreme Events.”
Speaking to the conference, Mr. Davis reminded attendees that energy supply will be critical to future missions, noting that “As we deploy forces overseas or at home, we’ve got to be able to sustain ourselves. Efforts like [pursuing renewable energy production] will teach us how to accomplish that.”
To date, the Army Reserve is pursuing projects using solar power, wind, hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid vehicles, as well as researching operational energy strategies.
But producing energy is only half of the equation. Reducing consumption is vital too.
“The most important element we’re trying to establish is accountability,” said Mr. Davis. Metering systems, which monitor energy usage on installations, are a major part of the Army Reserve’s sustainability strategy “We’re embarking on an effort to involve communities,” Davis stated, noting that community partners are essential. He highlighted Lake Park, Florida, where the Reserve is engaging with the local community to build a new reserve center that will improve the local economy and be LEED certified for low environmental impact. The center will be completed in 2013, and will serve as a new home to over 600 Soldiers in five Army Reserve units.
Davis ended by quoting Led Zeppelin, “Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on.” The push for renewable energy and sustainability, he said, is a long-term one. “It’s not going to happen overnight,” Davis remarked, “but teamwork—working together—will get us there.”