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Institutionalizing Sustainability Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy Volume 27 Issue 1 Symposium on Green Technology and Article 9 Infrastructure 1-1-2013 Institutionalizing Sustainability: Implementation of Executive Order 13,514 and its Impact on the Environmental, Economic, and Social Performance of Pacific orN thwest National Laboratory Sarah Widder Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjlepp Recommended Citation Sarah Widder, Institutionalizing Sustainability: Implementation of Executive Order 13,514 and its Impact on the Environmental, Economic, and Social Performance of Pacific oN rthwest National Laboratory, 27 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 229 (2013). Available at: http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjlepp/vol27/iss1/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy at NDLScholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy by an authorized administrator of NDLScholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. \\jciprod01\productn\N\NDE\27-1\NDE109.txt unknown Seq: 1 19-APR-13 13:05 INSTITUTIONALIZING SUSTAINABILITY: IMPLEMENTATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 13,514 AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY SARAH WIDDER* INTRODUCTION Over the past several decades, companies and institutions in the United States and abroad have recognized the importance of sustainability and accountability in their operations.1 The foun- dation of the modern sustainability movement began with the implementation of discrete programs, such as environmental management and corporate social responsibility programs. The goal of these programs is to improve transparency and environ- mental performance. More recently, corporate and government leaders have recognized that environmental performance or “greenness” alone does not ensure the holistic environmental, economic, and social performance relevant to achieving societal sustainability goals.2 The iconic definition of sustainability derives from a United Nations report on sustainable development entitled, “Our Com- mon Future.”3 The report, issued by the Bruntland Commission in 1987, defined sustainability as “[activities that]. .meet the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the * Research Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory operated by Battelle Memorial Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy. Detailed bio- graphical information is available at http://tpd.pnnl.gov/staff/staff_info.asp? staff_num=1978. 1. See generally J.S. Golden et al., Sustainability and Commerce Trends: Indus- try Consortia as the Drivers for Green Product Design, 15 J. INDUS. ECOLOGY 821 (2011); Adam Lindgreen & Valerie´ Swaen, Corporate Social Responsibility, 12 INT’L J. MGMT. REV. 1 (2010). 2. See Xavier Font & Catherine Harris, Rethinking Standards from Green to Sustainable, 31 ANNALS TOURISM RES. 986, 987–89 (2004); William S. Laufer, Social Accountability and Corporate Greenwashing, 43 J. BUS. ETHICS 253, 255–58 (2003). 3. U.N. WORLD COMM’NON ENV’T. & DEV., OUR COMMON FUTURE, U.N. DOC. A/42/427 (1987), available at http://www.un-documents.net/our-com- mon-future.pdf. 229 \\jciprod01\productn\N\NDE\27-1\NDE109.txt unknown Seq: 2 19-APR-13 13:05 230 NOTRE DAME JOURNAL OF LAW, ETHICS & PUBLIC POLICY [Vol. 27 ability to meet those of the future.”4 The simplicity and breadth of this definition has resulted in its persistence for nearly a quar- ter century. However, the Bruntland Commission’s definition lacked a framework for operationalizing sustainability. Thus, new definitions and metrics have been developed to introduce more practical ways of measuring progress towards that vision. For example, John Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line approach promotes measurement and reporting of institutional metrics that quantify and describe the overall sustainability performance of a company or organization in different areas.5 As the government establishes processes and regulations promoting sustainability and enforcing responsible resource management across industries, it is appropriate and necessary that the government incorporate sustainable management prin- ciples in its own operations. The federal government has taken a leadership role in promoting sustainable operations, including defining and establishing federal sustainability goals, quantifying key metrics to track progress toward those goals, and establishing requirements for sustainability reporting and strategic planning. These efforts have been implemented over the past few decades through a number of legislative and executive mandates. Most recently, Executive Order 13,514 (E.O. 13,514 or the E.O.), “Fed- eral Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Per- formance,” which was issued in 2009 and establishes metrics, goals, programs, and procedures to support more sustainable management practices in the federal sector. This article presents an overview of the E.O. requirements and describes how those requirements have been implemented at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a U.S. Depart- ment of Energy (DOE) national laboratory operated by Battelle Memorial Institute in Richland, Washington. Based on PNNL’s experience, this article discusses the effectiveness of the E.O. construct in reinforcing some of PNNL’s existing broad sus- tainability objectives and encouraging institutional change to embed sustainability decision-making in the PNNL business model. The article concludes with an analysis of the limits of the E.O. and other sustainability models, and the future challenges any large sustainability programs may face. 4. Id. at 39. 5. See generally JOHN ELKINGTON, CANNIBALS WITH FORKS: THE TRIPLE BOT- TOM LINE OF 21ST CENTURY BUSINESS (1997). \\jciprod01\productn\N\NDE\27-1\NDE109.txt unknown Seq: 3 19-APR-13 13:05 2013] INSTITUTIONALIZING SUSTAINABILITY 231 I. BACKGROUND ON E.O. 13,514 AND SUSTAINABILITY POLICY IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT On October 5, 2009, President Barack Obama signed E.O. 13,514, creating roles, responsibilities, and requirements for fed- eral leadership in environmental, energy, and economic per- formance.6 The goal of the E.O. is to establish an integrated sustainability strategy for the federal government that would help create a clean energy economy, promote energy security, safe- guard the health of the environment, and protect and serve tax- payers. The strategy is meant to serve as a model for corporations and institutions across the nation. Fundamentally, E.O. 13,514 requires federal agencies to: 1. Establish a Senior Sustainability Officer, who is responsi- ble for creating and maintaining a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP).7 2. Develop, implement, and annually update the SSPP, which contains scope 1, 2, and 38 greenhouse gas9 annual 6. Exec. Order No. 13,514, 74 Fed. Reg. 52,117 (Oct. 5, 2009). 7. Id. 8. Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gases refer to the relationship of the greenhouse gas emission to specific agency or institution operations. Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions are defined as those that are directly owned or con- trolled by the federal agency, including but not limited to on-site generation of energy through stationary sources, federal fleet vehicular emissions, fugitive emissions (typically refrigerant, methane, or SF6) that escape accidentally from equipment leaks, and process emissions that are released as a result of manufac- turing or laboratory activities. Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions are also referred to as direct emissions. Scope 2 emissions are greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with consumption of electricity, steam, heating, or cooling which is generated offsite and purchased or acquired by the agency. Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions are emissions that are a consequence of the agency’s activities, but are generated outside its organizational boundary, including but not limited to emissions resulting from employee commutes and business travel, solid waste disposal, wastewater treatment, livestock and manure man- agement systems (when these operations exist on federal land but are operated by others), and material and equipment production supply chains. Scope 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions are both referred to as indirect greenhouse gas emissions. COUNCIL ON ENVTL. QUALITY, OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL GREENHOUSE GAS ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING GUIDANCE 15–18 (2012), availa- ble at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/sustainability/fed- ghg. 9. Greenhouse gases are gases that absorb and emit radiation in the ther- mal infrared, which cause the greenhouse effect and contribute to climate change. The primary greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone. There are a number of purely anthropo- genic greenhouse gases, most of which are chlorine-, bromine-, or fluorine-con- taining compounds (also referred to as halocarbons). INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATE CHANGE 2007: SYNTHESIS REPORT 76–89 \\jciprod01\productn\N\NDE\27-1\NDE109.txt unknown Seq: 4 19-APR-13 13:05 232 NOTRE DAME JOURNAL OF LAW, ETHICS & PUBLIC POLICY [Vol. 27 emissions and reduction targets and which must be submit- ted and approved by the Council on Environmental Qual- ity (CEQ) Chair and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).10 3. Improve water use efficiency 2% annually, including potable, industrial, landscaping, and agricultural water use, with the goal of achieving 26% reduction in potable
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