HHS Sustainability

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) focuses on sustainable and efficient operations to uphold the HHS mission of protecting the health and well-being of all Americans.

What does Sustainability mean?

Sustainability means living in such a way now that does not sacrifice the well-being of future generations; that is, to meet the needs in the present within the Earth's closed system, while restoring, protecting, and maintaining the natural systems, services, and resources that make life possible, including clean air, clean water, and clean soil. Sustainability goes hand-in-hand with the HHS mission to protect the health of all Americans.

Sustainability Reports & Progress Data

HHS outlines its path towards sustainable operations and efficiency in the 2020 HHS Sustainability Report and Implementaion Plan.

The previous year's HHS Sustainability Report and Implementation Plan is available for viewing at 2019 HHS Sustainability Report and Implementation Plan.

This plan puts forth specific HHS sustainability goals to improve operations efficiency, while increasing productivity and transparency. As specific program areas work toward these goals, it is important to note that becoming more sustainable is up to all of us.

By statute, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) publishes agency progress and scorecards on Federal agency performance on energy efficiency and sustainability. The HHS FY 2019 OMB Scorecard for Efficient Federal Operations/Management can be viewed at HHS FY2019 OMB Scorecard for Efficient Federal Operations Management.pdf.

The Office of Federal Sustainability, housed within the White House Council on Environmental Quality, graphs HHS progress toward energy and sustainability goals in the following categories: facility energy use, water use, renewable electricity, facility efficiency investments, high performance sustainable buildings, fleet petroleum and alternative fuel, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Additional Resources

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Sustainability:
https://www.cdc.gov/sustainability/index.htm

Indian Health Service (IHS) Environmental Sustainability:
https://www.ihs.gov/sustainability/

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sustainability:
https://nems.nih.gov/Sustainability/Pages/sustainability.aspx

National Institute of Environmental Health Services, Climate and Human Health (NIEHS):
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/climatechange/index.cfm