Sustainability Awards

2017 Headquarters Honor Award for Team Excellence –

Outstanding Efforts Integrating Sustainability Principles across the Mission and Institution of NASA

The Headquarters Sustainability Working Group received a 2017 Headquarters Honor Award for Team Excellence, in recognition of an “outstanding team achievement that improved the efficiency and effectiveness or resulted in a significant contribution to the mission of Headquarters.” The Team was feted at a Headquarters Honor Awards Ceremony on October 25, 2017 in the James E. Webb Auditorium. Many colleagues and family members were on hand to cheer the award recipients.

The NASA Headquarters Sustainability Working Group (SWG) began meeting in 2013, after the NASA Administrator formally adopted sustainability principles in a NASA Policy Directive (8500.1), which states that “NASA will execute its mission without compromising our planet’s resources so that future generations can meet their needs.” The very nature of sustainability requires an interdisciplinary approach, so the SWG includes representatives from environmental, facilities, logistics, procurement, information technology, finance, and other functional specialties. Together, these team members have tackled policies and projects to mainstream sustainability principles into “the way NASA business is done.” Topics cover a diverse range, including reduced energy and fuel usage, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, more high-performance buildings, reduced water usage, more efficient data center management, and improved climate change resilience. The SWG’s persistent leadership over the years has yielded tangible benefits that support the mission. And because these sustainability principles are now institutionalized at NASA, the improvements will continue to provide benefits for years to come.