The Sustainable Support Strategy (SSS) is Defence Support’s (DefSp) initial response to the challenges climate change poses. It outlines how we plan to reduce our emissions and increase the sustainability of our operations and how we can maximise the opportunities presented through novel approaches and technology.

 

 It also explains how we will identify and reduce our vulnerabilities and the risks we face in delivering our activity. These vulnerabilities and risks include, for example, how the changing weather and environment could affect our ability to deliver logistics support owing to rising temperatures or sea level.

 

The emissions that are directly attributable to DefSp under the Government’s ‘sectoral’ definitions have not been determined but are expected to be relatively small. However, the emissions over which DefSp has influence are high, including those related to fuel, maintenance, distribution, food and general commodities. This strategy addresses the environmental impact of those activities, in coordination with the Front-Line Commands and Enabling Organisations. 

 

When developing the strategy our analysis identified six strategic initiatives:

1. Sustainable delivery of platform availability

2. Operational energy in the global transition

3. Resilience of the global Strategic Base

4. Self-sustainment of operations

5. Impact of Defence commodities

6. Impact of deployed food  

 

These six initiatives are areas within DefSp’s direct sphere of influence and cover Support activity across Defence. They represent opportunities to address structural factors that can yield significant climate change and sustainability benefits. 

Epoch 1 ambitions Defence Support will:

• use the refreshed Climate Change & Sustainability (CC&S) scenarios that Defence’s CC&S directorate are developing, to fully consider the demands of the future environments in which we will be operating and maintaining equipment and platforms;  

• evaluate and champion new technology that can drive improvements in emissions and sustainability targets.  

• change Defence processes to ensure sustainability is considered when platforms are designed and procured as well as for their in-service support activity. 

 

Click here to read the full Sustainable Support Strategy.