Building a defense against climate change is a matter of national security

Readiness means being prepared for what may come. Strategic planning, training personnel, maintaining equipment, monitoring information, and collecting data may seem like good practices, but to defense agencies, it is an imperative. Most people may not have considered climate change a matter of national security. But imagine climate-change related natural disasters brought down the energy grid or knocked out communications networks or damaged the already fragile state of aging infrastructure—like bridges—on evacuation routes. Social and economic impacts would be felt, potentially creating new vulnerabilities for nefarious acts.   

Preparedness for defense agencies can mean more than developing plans for natural disaster response. In addition to disaster response preparedness, defense agencies should proactively initiate projects that promote sustainability goals.

According to a recent article in Federal News Network, the US Department of Defense (DoD) is prioritizing sustainability projects. The DoD sees how the effects of climate change could compromise logistics and other security matters, and that some of the effects of climate change can be mitigated through thoughtful planning and sustainability goals.

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In the article, Rachel Jacobson, assistant secretary for installations, said, “ … this has to be data-driven. This data has to be rock solid, because we keep having to make the case over and over again, that whatever investments we’re making now will pay off.”

Other examples of sustainability initiatives are being spearheaded by the US Army. The military branch is building solar farms in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, California. The solar farms will help ensure backup energy in the event of power outages and supply energy back to the power grid.

Building vehicles that use alternative fuel is another program underway. This summer, the US Army will be prototyping a hybrid Bradley fighting vehicle against a conventional gas-powered Bradley vehicle.

On June 28, 2022, the UDoD and other government and private business personnel gathered at an event hosted by The Business Council for Sustainable Energy at the REACH at the Kennedy Center to address the critical need to deploy technologies to achieve a more resilient, sustainable, and secure federal government. The agenda included panel discussions on base readiness, decarbonization, a more resilient energy future, and the technology available to help facilitate these changes.

Information about the event stated that now is the time to invest and deploy technology to “ … strengthen the sustainability, resiliency, and security of the federal government,” and that the “ … federal government will be implementing a range of Executive Orders focused on improving the sustainability and resilience of government buildings and energy infrastructure assets.”

For years, many government and defense agencies have used the de facto standard for project planning and scheduling: Oracle Primavera Cloud, the trusted solution to evaluate project priorities, evaluate risk, and maintain the project schedule. In addition to planning tools, Oracle Construction and Engineering’s FedRAMP-authorized cloud application for construction and engineering project management, Oracle Aconex for Defense, enables secure access, file sharing, business process automation, and correspondence and collaboration. This helps defense agency mission stakeholders and their delivery partners with the single source of truth they can trust.

To elevate sustainability goals, defense agencies can look to these Oracle cloud solutions so their projects are completed efficiently all while maintaining high compliance.

Ready to learn more? Check out our resources for Oracle Aconex for Defense, Oracle Aconex, and the Oracle Smart Construction Platform, and stay tuned for more upcoming announcements around our defense-focused offerings.

Oracle Construction and Engineering, the global leader in construction management software and project portfolio management solutions, helps you connect your teams, processes, and data across the project and asset lifecycle. Drive efficiency and control in project delivery with proven solutions for project controls, construction scheduling, BIM/CDE, and more.

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