HHS Sustainability and
Climate Adaptation Planning
CAPTAIN EDWARD A. PFISTER, RS, MSPH
HHS ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM MANAGER
OS/ASA/OFMP
USPHS SCIENTIFIC AND TRAINING SYMPOSIUM
JUNE 19-22, 2012 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND
Introduction
Severn Cullis-Suzuki, started the
Environmental Children’s
Organization (ECO) when she was
9-years-old
At 12-years-old she closed a Plenary Session at the Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro with a speech, the video is now
known as the "The Girl Who Silenced the World for 6
Minutes“
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded
&v=5g8cmWZOX8Q
2
THREE THINGS + 1
1.
HHS Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan
(SSPP)
2. HHS Climate Change Adaptation Plan (Draft)
3. HHS Environmental Justice Strategy
4. Go Green Get Healthy HHS Initiative
3
Part I: HHS Strategic Sustainability Implementation
Plan (SSPP)
Executive Order 13514
 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan
(SSPP) – 2012 is going through the
Departmental review process
 Climate Change Adaptation Plan – new for
2012 and will be out soon through the
Departmental review process
 Oversight by White House Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)
 Publicly available
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/sustainability
/plans
4
HHS Mission
Connection
to HHS
Mission
“To enhance the health and well-being of
Americans by providing for effective health
and human services and by fostering
sound, sustained advances in the sciences
underlying medicine, public health, and
social services.”
Sustainability
“Enduring prosperity of all living things” – American
Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment
“…to create and maintain conditions, under which humans
and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit
fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of
present and future generations;” Executive Order 13514
5
HHS Impact
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Employees ~ 83,000
Buildings ~ 3,800
Vehicles ~591 Owned, 2,150 Leased
Square Feet (gsf) ~52 M
• Owned/Operated ~ 32 M
• Leased ~ 20 M
• Labs ~ 18M gsf (~277 Bldgs)
Operating Budget ~ $854 Billion
Energy Cost (owned) > $ 50 M
Solid Waste ~ 50K Mtons
Recycling Rate ~ 23%
HHS EMPLOYEES BY
OPDIV/STAFFDIV
Source: OPM Dec 2010 Data
CDC
12%
IHS
16%
FDA
18%
OS &
NonLand
holders
31%
NIH
23%
6
Key Players 2012 HHS SSPP
1. Chief Sustainability Officer (ASA)
2. Sustainability Steering Committee (OPDIV Senior
Level Leadership)
2. Sustainability Task Force (OPDIV Sustainability
Officers, SMEs, responsible offices)
3. Eleven working groups aligned with goals (OS lead
with OPDIVs representatives)
4. OPDIV Sustainability Officers (sits on task force & leads
OPDIV workgroup representatives)
7
HHS Strategic Sustainability Performance
Plan – GOALS/WORKGROUPs
8
1. Scope 1 & 2 Greenhouse Gas 6. Reduce Potable Water
Reduction
Intensity
2. Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas
Reduction
7. Pollution Prevention/Waste
Reduction
3. Energy Reduction
8. Sustainable Acquisitions
4. Fleet Petroleum Use
Reduction
9. Electronic Stewardship &
Data Centers
5. Sustainable Design / Green
Buildings
10.Innovation
11. Outreach
8
Reduce Emissions: What is a Greenhouse Gas?
9
HHS Performance Metrics (scorecard)
 Scope 1&2 GHG Emission Reduction Target: GREEN - On track





for a Scope 1&2 GHG Reduction Target of 10.3% by 2020. (8.7% FY11)
Reduction in Energy Intensity: GREEN - Reduced energy
intensity by at least 15 percent and is on track for 30 percent reduction
by 2015. (19% FY11)
Use of Renewable Energy GREEN – Acquire 5 percent electricity
from renewable sources and on track to increase to 7.5% by 2015.
Reduction in Fleet Petroleum Use: GREEN - 20 % reduction by
2015. (27% FY11)
Reduction in Potable Water Intensity: YELLOW - Reduce by at
least 8 and on track to achieve 26% by 2020. (7% Fy11)
Green Buildings: RED - Less than 7 % of building inventory, either
by number or buildings or GSF, over 5,000 GSF meets Federal Guiding
Principles. (4% FY11)
10
Sustainability: Opportunities for Department
Wide Integration
 Affordable Care Act
 ATSDR implemented Community Assistance Panels
 CDC Health Impact Assessment Communities
 Deepwater Horizon/Gulf Coast Recovery
 Environmental Justice Implementation Strategy
 HHS Environmental and National Environmental







Policy Act (NEPA) programs
HHS Climate Change Adaptation Plan - DRAFT
Healthy People 2020
HRSA Community and Rural Health Grants
Let’s Move
National Health Security Strategy
National Prevention Strategy
NIEHS Minority Worker Training Programs
“Every American deserves to
have a clean, safe and healthy
environment. Today, we
understand better than ever
before that our health is not
only dependent on what
happens in the doctor’s office
but is determined by the air we
breathe, the water we drink and
the communities we call home”
HHS EJ Strategy
http://www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice/st
rategy.html
11
PART II: Climate Change Adaptation Plan
 Executive Order (E.O.) 13514, “Federal Leadership in
Environmental, Energy, and Economic
Performance,” requires that each Federal agency
evaluate agency climate change risks and
vulnerabilities to manage both the short and longterm effects of climate change on the agency’s
mission and operations, and prepare a Climate
Change Adaptation Plan (Adaptation Plan).
12
Climate Change Preliminary Vulnerability Analyses
 Protecting the most vulnerable: ensure essential health and human
services in the face of weather extremes and climate threats






Office on Disability
Administration on Community Living/Administration for Children and
Families
Administration on Aging
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Indian Health Service
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
 Incorporating Climate Change Considerations into Regulatory
Decisions

FDA
 Incorporating Climate Change Considerations into Public Health
Practice and Research

CDC, ATSDR, NIH
13
Climate Change Premises
 Warming of the climate systems is clear and





unmistakable - Polar regions are warming more
rapidly than the rest of the earth
Human activity adds GHG to the atmosphere and is
likely responsible for a good part of observed climate
change impacts
Climate changes are occurring and expected to
continue and increase
Stresses to water resources, energy, agriculture
Increased risk of sea level flooding in coastal areas
Threatened ecosystems
14
Climate Change: Adaptation and Mitigation
 Adaptation is a
response, the actions
necessitated by the
actual or anticipated
impacts of climate
change.
 Mitigation is the effort
to stop or slow climate
change, usually by
reducing the GHG
emissions driving the
problem.
Two prongs used in concert: mitigation reduces
impacts, making adaptation easier .
15
“A number of scientific panels, including the U.S.
Global Change Research Program, and
International Panel on Climate Change, have
published data indicating that climate change is
already negatively affecting human health in the
United States, and is likely to continue impacting
human health in the future.”
16
Interagency Climate Change Report
17
“Climate change will
endanger public
health, affecting all
sectors of society, both
domestically and
globally.”
-
Executive Summary,
Report of the Interagency Working Group
on Climate Change and Health.,
Published 2010
A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/docs/climatereport2010.pdf
17
Potential Health Effects of Climate Change
HEAT
SEVERE WEATHER
Climate Change
 Temperature
rise
 Sea level rise
 Hydrologic
extremes
Adapted from J. Patz
AIR POLLUTION
ALLERGIES
VECTOR-BORNE
DISEASES
WATER-BORNE DISEASES
WATER AND FOOD
SUPPLY

Heat stress, cardiovascular
failure
 Injuries, fatalities
Asthma, cardiovascular
 disease

Respiratory allergies, poison
ivy

Malaria, dengue, encephalitis,
hantavirus, Rift Valley fever

Cholera, cryptosporidiosis,
campylobacter, leptospirosis

Malnutrition, diarrhea, harmful
algal blooms
Anxiety, despair, depression,
MENTAL HEALTH
 post-traumatic stress
ENVIRONMENTAL
REFUGEES
 Forced migration, civil conflict18
Key elements of the HHS approach to incorporating
climate change adaptation
 Integrating climate change and environmental impact




considerations into internal management functions and
policies
Collecting, analyzing, and utilizing state of the science
data
Enhancing issue awareness and specialty training for our
employees and the public
Leveraging HHS regional and preparedness programs
and existing healthy community and climate change
initiatives
Enhancing collaboration with other federal agencies,
State, Local, and Tribal governments
19
Key Messages for Climate Change and Human Health
 Changes occurring in the world’s climate are affecting our health and will
have even greater impacts in the future.
 Climate change makes many existing diseases and conditions worse,
although it may also lessen some cold-weather diseases.
 The most vulnerable among us—children, elderly people, those living in
poverty, with underlying health conditions, or in certain geographic areas—
are likely to have less ability to cope or adapt.
 Climate change places stress on our health care systems, public health
infrastructure, and ability to deliver and receive health services.
 We can take steps now to prepare for changes in our climate that will protect
our health, the health of our children, and that of future generations.
 Many actions to address and prepare for climate change will yield co-
benefits for our health, our environment, our economy, and our society.
HHS Climate Change Adaptation Portfolio
“Public Health Effects of Climate Change Remain
Largely Unaddressed.” Howard K. Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health
• CDC Ready States and Cities Initiative (8 states/2 cities) –
assessments, strategic plans, partnerships, co-benefits…
• NIH Population Vulnerability to Climate Change Grants.: research on
the health effects of air pollution and temperature, water quality and quantity,
infectious disease transmission, and mitigation/adaptation actions
• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) and Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
(ASPR) partnering on behavioral health needs during disasters and
public health emergencies.
• CDC and NIEHS leadership on the Climate Change and Human
Health Group, US Global Research Program
21
Co-Benefits: Adaptation/Mitigation
Ancillary benefits related to
reductions in toxic air pollution
For example, transportation policies
that augment the use of public
transportation or provide safer and
more convenient means for
individuals to walk or bicycle
Co-benefits:
•reductions in toxic air pollution
•Increases in physical activity
22
Co-Benefits: Adaptation/Mitigation
23
 Measures needed to improve health resilience for climate change effects
are the same as those needed for preparedness for bioterrorism, pandemic
influenza and other viral infections, and natural disasters.

Examples: improved modeling and assessment capacity, enhanced and integrated
monitoring and surveillance networks, and development of rapid response units.
 Addition to assisting in adaptation to changes in climate to which the
planet is already committed, public health has crucial roles to play in
preventing the more severe impacts of climate change and optimizing the
policy measures implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Research need: Greater understanding of the potential for such synergies between climate
and public health goals is critically needed.
PART III: 2012 Environmental Justice
Strategy n
 Released February 28, 2012 (reinvigoration of 1995 EJ Strategy based
on EO Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations 1994)
 Is a significant step in the advancement of HHS’s commitment to
integrating EJ into our decision-making and health and human
services program activities
 Our vision is:
“A nation that equitably promotes healthy community
environments and protects the health of all people.”
HHS EJ Website: www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice
24
EJ Strategic Elements and Crosscutting Actions




Four Strategic Elements
Subcommittees
Policy Development and
Dissemination
Education and Training
Research and Data
Collection, Analysis, and
Utilization
Services
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Seven Cross Cutting Action
Teams
EJ Award Criteria
Vulnerability Assessment and
Climate Change Adaptation
Strategy
Health-In-All-Policies
EJ Website
EJ Education and Training
Community-Based
Participatory Research
Stakeholder Engagement
Group
25
HHS EJ Resources:
 http://www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice/

2012 HHS Environmental Justice Strategy and
Implementation Plan

2012 HHS Environmental Justice
Implementation Progress Report

Environmental Justice sites across HHS



CDC/OMHD (http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/amh/EJ.htm)
NIH/NIEHS
(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/programs/justice/ )
NIH/NLM
(http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/environmentaljustice.html)
26
Part IV: Go Green Get Healthy HHS
27
INTRANET – Go
Green Get Healthy
HHS
-Tips on Greening
Work and Home
-Sustainability
Awards and Winners
-Sustainability Events
Calendar
http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/gogreen/index.
html
Success at the Non-Landholding OPDIVs
Examples of Sustainability and Good Business
30
• CMS: Medicare & You
•HRSA: IT Asset Donation
Handbook Publication
Database update
Program – responsible end of
life disposition of electronic
devices
• ASFR: upgraded
Departmental Contract
Information System (DCIS) to
track green purchases
•ITIO: established Duplex
•PSC: Parklawn Building –
energy and water savings
•SAMHSA: E85 alternative
Printing Default Policy
fuel/building lighting energy
efficient retrofit
•OS: Humphrey Café Green
• HHS Green Champs
Cafeteria Contract
30
HHS Go GREEN Resources
 HHS Go Green Get Healthy Resources and Green Guide
http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/gogreen/
 HHS@Work http://intranet.hhs.gov/index.html
 CDC Sustainability http://www.cdc.gov/sustainability/
 IHS http://www.ihs.gov/sustainability/index.cfm?module=dsp_evss_resources
 NIH http://nems.nih.gov/Sustainability/Pages/sustainability.aspx
 HHS Green Bag Lunch Presentations
http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/gogreen/gbpresentations.html
 HHS Green Champions


2011 http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/gogreen/2011GreenChampions.html
2010 http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/gogreen/fy2010_champions.html
33
HHS Sustainability Work Group Leaders
Workgroup
Lead
Scope 1 & 2 Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Ted Kozak, Theodore.Kozak@hhs.gov
Jim Kerr (Fleet) Jim.Kerr@hhs.gov
Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Jim Egbert james.egbert@hhs.gov
Sustainable Design /Green Buildings
Regional and Local Planning
Jonathan Herz, Jonathan.Herz@hhs.gov
Climate Change Adaptation
Jonathan Herz, Jonathan.Herz@hhs.gov
John Balbus, John.Balbus@nih.gov
Water Use Efficiency & Management
Ted Kozak, Theodore.Kozak@hhs.gov
Pollution Prevention/Waste Reduction
Ed Pfister, Edward.Pfister@hhs.gov
Sustainable Acquisitions
Kesa Russel, Kesa.Russel@hhs.gov
Electronic Stewardship & Data Centers
Celine Neves, Celine.Neves@hhs.gov
Agency Innovation
Ed Rau, Ed.Rau@nih.gov
Communication/Outreach
Paul Kalinowski PaulKalinowski@hhs.gov
34
THREE THINGS + 1
1.
HHS Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan
(SSPP)
2. HHS Climate Change Adaptation Plan (Draft)
3. HHS Environmental Justice Strategy
4. Go Green Get Healthy HHS Initiative
35
FEEDBACK/DISCUSSION/QUESTIONS
Email: GoGreen@hhs.gov
36