Ordinary operations and maintenance work can be a great opportunity to improve sustainability in offices, warehouses, crew quarters, homes, utilities, and other facilities. Many small, incremental changes can make a big difference in sustainability over time without a major capital outlay and can help improve employee satisfaction and service to our customers.

This report explains how to improve sustainability by making small changes in building and site maintenance and operations practices. First, let's look at why sustainability should be improved.

Sustainability Is the Right Thing To Do

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable practices often are referred to as "green" practices because they help protect living things, including green plants. Sustainability is very much in keeping with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service motto, "Caring for the land and serving people." The built environment constructed and maintained by the Forest Service should reflect the values advocated by the agency, particularly the agency's commitment to land stewardship—in other words, sustainability. The built environment should be complementary to the natural environment (figure 1), and constructed using techniques, materials, and equipment that are sustainable.

Figure 1—The materials used in the Red Canyon Visitor Center in
the Powell Ranger District of the Intermountain Region's Dixie
National Forest complement the surrounding red rock canyon.
The visitor center also is designed to be long
lasting and energy efficient.

Sustainability Is Required

Rising energy costs and concerns about global warming and depletion of nonrenewable resources have made sustainability a major issue. The Federal government, the largest energy user in the country, has made a commitment to reduce its energy and water use by switching to renewable energy sources and implementing other sustainable practices.

• Federal regulations requiring energy efficiency or sustainability include the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS65979) and Executive Order 13423, January 2007—Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070124-2.html).
  
  
• USDA Departmental Regulation 5500–001, Facilities Energy and Water Conservation and Utilities Management (http://www.ocio.usda.gov/directives/doc/DR5500-001.htm), sets specific requirements for energy-use reduction, purchase or generation of renewable energy, installation of energy-use tracking equipment, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reduction of water use, and purchase of energy-efficient equipment and appliances. Rangers, forest supervisors, regional foresters, and station directors should be particularly interested in meeting these requirements because progress must be reported and may affect individual job performance ratings.

Sustainability Makes Sense

Making sustainability improvements to existing facilities can save money over time by reducing the maintenance, operations, and energy costs of facilities. The durability of buildings, equipment, and appliances can be increased also. With rising energy costs, reductions in water availability in many parts of the country, and no reasonable expectation of significantly increased funding for maintenance and operations, it makes sense to take advantage of opportunities to reduce future expenses.

Upper Buffalo Wilderness, Ozark National Forest.