ARLINGTON, Va., - The Air Guard Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Council recently released a joint Environment, Safety and Occupational Health sustainability statement, outlining a commitment to sustain the ANG mission while preserving it's natural infrastructure and ensuring a safe and healthy working environment for current and future generations.
Each president beginning with the Clinton administration and continuing through the Obama administration has signed executive orders for federal environmental leadership, said Kevin Shupe, an environmental scientist with the Air National Guard.
"The last two executive orders included concepts for sustainability, that are aimed at protecting and conserving our mission, resources, culture and economy are available for future generations through sustainable concepts," he said.
"With the latest executive order, we've had a progression from an environmental policy to a more comprehensive sustainability statement that incorporated safety and occupational health concerns," he said. "Hence this consolidated statement."
Shupe said the current pledge outlines the Air Guard senior leadership's commitment to sustainability in the areas of environmental, safety and occupational health, setting the stage for the Air National Guard as leaders in the federal government, Department of Defense and Air Force.
"The [ESOH] management team is the primary working group of our senior leader ESOH Council consisting of the directors of the Air National Guard Readiness Center," he said. "This team wrote the statement and presented it for review and adoption.
"This is an Air Guard statement that confirms and supplements similar commitments the SECDEF and SECAF."
Shupe said that the ESOH sustainability statement is reviewed annually and as needed includes changes in the leadership of the ANG ESOH Council.