Greening Defence

‘Defence’ comprises both the armed forces and their activities, as well as the department of state which governs them, together with the supply base for these institutions.

The defence supply base, which produces goods and services for the military, recognises the need to reduce and minimise the carbon footprint associated with its activities. The use of the equipment and services coming from that supply base also has its own carbon footprint, not least for the power generation associated with military platforms.

The UK Ministry of Defence’s Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach outlines an ambitious vision as to how Defence will achieve national environmental targets, and many related commercial enterprises have started to implement appropriate measures and continue to search for new ways to reduce emissions to meet national Net Zero Strategy requirements.