Department of Defense Says ‘Going Green is Not Going Soft’

After successful performance evaluations, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has officially introduced soy biobased penetrating lubricants and a spill sorbent into the federal buying system.

Now DLA customers can easily identify and buy these soy biobased products as an alternative to petroleum-based counterparts with the knowledge that they meet DoD product specifications and performance requirements.

On behalf of DLA Aviation, the National Defense Center for Energy and Environment (NDCEE) operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), evaluated the products as part of the Green Product Evaluation and Demonstration Program. The evaluation included two soy-based penetrating lubricants and a soy-containing spill absorbent:

• Renewable Lubricants’ Bio-Blast™ penetrating lubricant
• Terresolve Technologies’EnviroLogic® 38 penetrating lubricant
• Nature’s Broom spill absorbent

“The products were tested in 2010 and 2011 at eight Tri-Service DoD installations and achieved equal to, or better performance, ratings than the existing petroleum-based products,” reports CTC’s Director of Green Programs George C. Handy II, who oversaw the NDCEE’s field demonstrations.

“The two product categories fit very nicely into the DoD ‘Go Green’ initiative,” says  DLA Aviation Chief Calvin Lee of the Hazardous Minimization and Green Products Branch. “The participating maintenance activities within the installations found the biobased sorbent and penetrating lubricants to be acceptable alternatives to the currently used non-green or petroleum-based products.

“These biobased products meet Federal Acquisition Regulations, Executive Order’s (EOs), DoD’s Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) directives and the BioPreferred Program requirements as well as provide enhanced health and safety benefits to the warfighter,” says Lee.”They also support DoD mission goals of minimizing waste streams, reducing dependence on foreign petroleum and sustaining U.S. industry.” says Lee.

Both penetrating lubricants and spill sorbents are officially designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the preferential purchasing program for biobased products created in the 2002 Farm Bill.

The NDCEE is in the process of evaluating biobased hydraulic fluid and food service ware for possible future inclusion in the DLA system.

The Green Product Evaluation and Demonstration Program supports DoD-wide efforts to use more renewable and sustainable materials. The program identifies, evaluates, and demonstrates “green” and biobased products for potential use as alternatives to petroleum-based products currently used by DoD. The objective is to build support for and create awareness of green procurement by showing that there are alternative products that meet the military’s performance requirements while at the same time reducing environmental impacts, protecting workers, and lessening dependence on imported petroleum.

One of the keys to the success of the demonstration and evaluation program was the hands-on field demonstrations. According to David Asiello, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment, “By putting the potential alternatives in the hands of the warfighters and allowing them to use the products in their day-to-day activities, we were able to demonstrate that they really work in an operational environment.”

In recognition of their work, DoD, DLA and NDCEE received the 2011 Center for Environmental Innovation and Leadership (CEIL) “Achievement in Inauguration” Award for the Green Product Evaluation and Demonstration Program. The award showcases the great idea and recent successes of public sector innovations.

DoD Video Tells Why Going Green is Not Going Soft

The DoD “The Easy Way to Go Green” video above is an informative, 5-minute video that explains why the military is “going green.”

“Going green is not ‘going soft’ because these products really work, provide more choices, and are safer to use,” says Staff Sergeant Daniel T. Moore, 628^thLogistical Readiness Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, SC.

New National Stock Numbers Assigned for Biobased Products

DLA Aviation has established a biobased class of penetrating lubricants under the Commercial Item Description A-A-50493 (Class A Biobased Penetrating Lubricants).   Four new National Stock Numbers (NSNs) are established and assigned for biobased penetrating lubricants:

Company	Product	Size/Type	NSN
Renewable Lubricants	Bio-Blast	11 oz Aerosol Can	9150-01-591-4274
		12 oz. Spray Bottle	9150-01-598-9606
		1 Gallon	9150-01-591-4247
		55 Gal Drum	9150-01-591-4281

 

Company	Product	Size/Type	NSN
Terresolve Technologies	EnviroLogic 38	11 oz Aerosol Can	9150-01-591-4274
		12 oz. Spray Bottle	9150-01-598-9606
		1 Gallon	9150-01-591-4247
		55 Gal Drum	9150-01-591-4281

Customers can purchase products through the MILSTRIP requisitioning or may also use the DoD EMALL. Military customers that purchase through DLA can receive credit (accountability on their environmental score card) for buying sustainable/biobased penetrating lubricants and sorbents.

New NSNs are established for the biobased sorbents that were successfully demonstrated.  Among those are Nature’s Broom product.

 

Company	Product	Size/Type	NSN
Nature’s Broom	Nature’s Broom Absorbent	4-lb Granular	4235-01-572-3902
	Nature’s Broom Absorbent	20 lb Granular	4235-01-572-3892
	Nature’s Broom Absorbent	40 lb Granular	4235-01-599-3952
	Nature’s Broom Buckshot Absorbent	Pelletized	4235-01-595-9846
	Nature’s Broom Sock	3”x40 Sock	4325-01-572-3929
	Nature’s Broom Pillow	15”x15” Pillow	4235-01-572-3933