Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Meredith Berger, in collaboration with Jane Overslaugh Rathbun, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Department of the Navy, released a sixth memorandum titled CSO Serial Six: Technical Debt on Dec. 31.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Meredith Berger, in collaboration with Jane Overslaugh Rathbun, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Department of the Navy, released a sixth memorandum titled CSO Serial Six: Technical Debt on Dec. 31.
The memorandum outlines concrete actions to mitigate technical debt across DON installations, ensuring mission assurance while advancing sustainability goals.
Technical debt, resulting from outdated systems and unsupported technologies, poses significant risks to operational efficiency, cybersecurity, and resilience. CSO Serial Six directs DON components to take action to address these challenges, emphasizing modernization, resource optimization, and environmental stewardship.
CSO Serial Six directs the Navy and Marine Corps to develop plans that outline readiness measures for inclusion in POM-27 to achieve the following outcomes:
- Cyber Resilience Readiness Exercises (CRRE): Conducting regular exercises to identify vulnerabilities, test response protocols, and strengthen cybersecurity for facility-related control systems. For example, simulating a cyberattack on building automation systems helps evaluate defenses, improve incident response times, and ensure mission-critical infrastructure remains operational during potential threats.
- Sustainable Cooling Technologies: Implementing innovative cooling methods to reduce water dependency and enhance energy efficiency. For example, passive design strategies such as green roofs, strategically placed shading devices, and optimized building orientation reduce heat gain, minimizing the need for mechanical cooling systems and significantly lowering energy consumption.
- Modernized IT Infrastructure: Outdated systems and unsupported technologies hinder user productivity by causing frequent disruptions, slower performance, compatibility issues, and increased downtime, forcing users to spend more time troubleshooting and detracting from mission-critical tasks. Investing in energy-efficient, sustainable technologies enhances resource efficiency, boosts workforce productivity, and provides faster, more reliable systems with minimal disruptions, while offering expanded functionalities. For example, implementing cloud-based collaboration tools not only reduces downtime but also enables real-time communication and data sharing, streamlining workflows and improving decision-making across teams.
- Comprehensive E-Waste Management Plan: Implementing responsible recycling and disposal practices for outdated equipment to minimize environmental impact, ensure regulatory compliance, and recover valuable materials for reuse. For example, partnering with certified e-waste recyclers to securely process decommissioned IT hardware ensures that sensitive data is destroyed, valuable metals are recovered, and hazardous materials are safely handled, aligning with sustainability goals and operational security.
Through these actions, DON will reduce vulnerabilities, improve mission readiness, and align with the Department's broader sustainability objectives.
"Identifying and reducing technical debt is essential to mission assurance," said Assistant Secretary Berger. "By addressing technical debt, the Department of the Navy can mitigate cyber vulnerabilities, strengthen national security, and modernize its IT infrastructure with cutting-edge, energy-efficient technologies. These actions will provide more reliable and efficient systems, which will enhance mission readiness, operational cost efficiency, and increase user productivity. Through sustainability, we support an agile, resilient, and ready force equipped to meet the demands of today's missions and stay ahead of future requirements."
Integrating Governance, Workforce Development, and National Security
CSO Serial Six is the latest directive to establish and guide the department's sustainability practices and policies. Prior CSO serials are as follows:
- Serial One: Infrastructure Resilience ensures installations can withstand environmental and operational stressors, and calls for planning resilience upgrades, ensuring energy reliability, and designing infrastructure that lasts. Sustainability is at the core, integrating cross-collaboration for long-term viability.
- Serial Two: Water Security underscores the need for reliable water resources to meet operational demands. By conserving water, enhancing storage, and improving distribution systems, this serial sets clear policies and metrics for resilience in the face of growing environmental pressures.
- Serial Three: Nature-Based Resilience Solutions promotes integrating natural defenses such as wetland restoration and dune stabilization to not only protect infrastructure but also enhance ecosystem services and carbon sequestration, aligning mission assurance with environmental stewardship.
- Serial Four: Sustainable Supply and Acquisition encourages a shift toward sustainable sourcing, embedding lifecycle considerations into procurement processes, and promoting environmentally preferable materials to minimize waste and ensure reliable resources to meet operational needs.
- Serial Five: Shore Energy and Decarbonization Goals establishes clear targets for reducing carbon emissions and enhancing energy efficiency across shore installations. By optimizing energy use, integrating renewables, and pursuing net-zero goals, energy security is strengthened and aligned with decarbonization objectives.
CSO Serial Six builds upon prior CSO Serials by integrating sustainable energy strategies (Serial Five), water security measures (Serial Two), and sustainable procurement practices (Serial Four) into IT modernization. By reinforcing infrastructure resilience (Serial One) and nature-based solutions (Serial Three), it ensures a cohesive sustainability strategy that aligns governance, operational readiness, and workforce needs.
To ensure implementation of all CSO serials, the sustainability directorate works with Navy and Marine Corps teams to develop and refine implementation plans; support measurement and tracking of progress to ensure effective execution; facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions to enhance understanding and adoption; and provide periodic updates on the progress of implementation and key performance indicators to drive accountability and transparency.
For the Department of the Navy, sustainability drives mission readiness, strengthens infrastructure resilience, optimizes resources, and minimizes environmental impact. It supports operational adaptability, safeguards people and missions, and ensures the Navy and Marine Corps remain prepared to meet evolving challenges and future demands.
