Integrity, sustainment: New way to look at the environment Published Dec. 9, 2009 By Bob Fant 21st Civil Engineer Squadron PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Peterson's Environmental Management System rests upon two strong concepts: integrity and sustainment, and it parallels the Air Force core values of integrity, service and excellence. Integrity in the area of the environment includes those who can and do work with or effect the environment -- which includes almost everyone -- and doing what is right for the environment even when no one is looking. "EMS is a system to achieve continual improvement in mission performance by reducing environmental risks and costs," said Dan Rodriguez, 21st SW Asset Management Flight. However, there's a different slant on integrity. This different meaning demonstrates where Peterson's environmental program is going. Merriam-Webster says integrity can also mean "the state of being whole, entire, undiminished," or "a sound, unimpaired or perfect condition." Peterson has an environmental management system which brings all programs now touching on the environment under one umbrella. This EMS brings integrity to the environment; it brings these programs into a sound, undiminished whole. Peterson's EMS, though not perfect, moves us mightily forward in leveraging environmental assets so that the mission can be stronger. A stronger mission, certainly a goal to be met with great enthusiasm, hooks into the second concept of the EMS, sustainment. To paraphrase the traditional definition of sustainment, which comes from the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development Report, sustainment is progress that meets the needs of the current mission without compromising the ability of the future 21st Space Wing to accomplish the mission it will have. What does an EMS do for Peterson? It serves to improve environmental performance. It provides a systematic way of managing an organization's environmental affairs. An EMS gives order and consistency for other organizations, including mission partners, to address environmental concerns through allocation of resources, assignment of responsibility and an ongoing evaluation of practices, procedures and processes, and finally, but not least in importance, EMS focuses on continual improvement. The 21st SW's environmental policy frames the entire wing's goal to protect the environment while accomplishing the mission. "First and foremost, EMS is a system, a cycle that never ends, of continuous improvement," said Lt. Col A.J. Bischoff, 21st Civil Engineer Squadron commander. "It's all about our capabilities, and EMS solidly links the mission of the 21st Space Wing to the environment."