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GOAL 2
PROMOTE EXCELLENCE IN THE
PRACTICE OF EMS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE AGENCY
Element 5: Establish a Core EMS
Coordination and Support Team Within EPA
Within EPA, most of the actual work on EMSs is
conducted within national programs or EPA's regional offices. The
Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation helps to coordinate and
plan this work, and provides leadership in setting EMS policy. EPA
also has internal policy groups, representing senior management and
staff, to address issues related to EMS use.
Actions:
EPA will establish an EMS practitioners forum to
allow staff with EMS experience to discuss and share experiences
from their work. In addition, EPA will establish an EMS support
network so that EPA staff interested in EMSs can receive the advice
and support of their peers and avoid having to reinvent the
wheel.
- Establish a practitioners forum for sharing EMS information
among staff; and
- Create a support network to assist with developing new programs
or policies involving EMS use.
Element 6: Support EMS Implementation at
EPA and other Federal Agency Facilities
EPA will model best practices for EMSs by
implementing them at appropriate Agency facilities, such as EPA's
research laboratories and regional offices. EPA will emphasize
practices that improve regulatory compliance, pollution prevention,
public/stakeholder communication, and, where feasible, other
indicators of environmental stewardship, such as water or energy
conservation.
EPA will also continue conducting Environmental
Management Reviews (EMRs) with federal partners at selected federal
facilities. EMRs look at how various EMSs function and are
conducted at the invitation of a facility. They are meant to assure
the effectiveness of environmental programs--they are neither
comprehensive audits nor compliance inspections.
In addition, EPA will work closely with other
federal partners that are taking a leadership role on EMS issues or
are interested in learning more about them. EPA will provide a
platform for inter-agency coordination and learning, and prepare a
review of lessons learned to assist federal agencies on future EMS
adoption efforts. EPA will support implementation of Executive
Orders related to EMS use. These include Executive
Order 13148, Greening the Government through Leadership in
Environmental Management 
, which
combines requirements in several previous Executive Orders.
Actions:
- Issued Implementation Guide for the Code of Environmental
Management Principles (CEMP) for Federal Agencies and an
Environmental Management Systems Primer for Federal Agencies;
- In April 2001, reissued the Environmental Management Review
Policy and Guidance for Federal Facilities" to be consistent with
EPA's Audit Policy;
- Conducted over 65 EMRs at Federal facilities through FY
‘00;
- Issued the EMR National Report: Lessons Learned in Conducting
EMRs at Federal Facilities;
- Developed an EMS awareness and auditing training program for
EPA personnel and began offering training classes;
- Developed 5 mini-workshops and delivered an 8-hour workshop at
the National Defense Industrial Association's 27th Environmental
Symposium and Exhibition in Austin, TX;
- Continue to offer the 8-hour EMS Workshop for Federal
Facilities to the federal community to assist with self-assessment
and EMS implementation;
- Implement an EMS at EPA's Region 3 Environmental Sciences
Center (Region 3 + Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances) at Ft. Meade, Maryland;
- Develop an Agency Environmental Policy to responsibly manage
the environmental impacts associated with the activities, products,
and services related to Agency operations and facilities;
- Identify sites and begin implementing EMSs at 12 additional EPA
facilities; and
- Continue to facilitate inter-agency working groups to focus on
Executive Order 13148 goals, including EMS objectives and
requirements.
Element 7: Conduct Research and
Evaluation of EPA's EMS Programs
While EPA recognizes the potential of EMSs to
improve environmental performance, compliance, and pollution
prevention, and is committed to promoting their use, EPA needs to
learn more in order to make the best use of EMSs in its programs
and policies. In particular, EPA needs to study which EMSs are most
effective, the results being achieved, and the factors contributing
to their success. Then, EPA will be in a better position to
determine whether changes related to EMSs are appropriate. To this
end, EPA will maintain and, in some cases, expand EMS research and
evaluation activities. EPA will take a targeted approach to ensure
that its limited resources are invested in those investigations
with the greatest potential for learning.
Working in partnership with the Multi-State
Working Group on EMSs, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and
the Environmental Law Institute, EPA will continue support for the
National Database on Environmental Management Systems (NDEMS). This
database, which is being established at UNC, will provide
information on a variety of EMS performance measures at 80 - 100
facilities across the nation over time. As the cornerstone of EPA's
EMS research efforts, EPA will use this database to study the
effects of EMS implementation on environmental and economic
performance and to evaluate potential public policy applications of
EMSs in a variety of settings. In addition, EPA will support
research by UNC into the costs and benefits of EMS implementation,
the role of outside stakeholders in EMS design, and the impact that
participation in federal or state pilot projects may have on EMS
design.
EPA worked with the National Academy of Public
Administration to analyze ISO 14001 registration practices in the
United States in order to increase the understanding of this
important process by many stakeholders. This research helped
determine how registration occurs and how this process could be
used by regulators to build greater support for EMS adoption. In
addition, EPA will participate in national and international
meetings or conferences focusing on EMS research. EPA will also
develop a list of EMS topics to help set research priorities.
To best promote EMSs that achieve strong results
and to determine how they might be used to support public policy,
EPA needs information about how well various systems are working.
To this end, EPA will make evaluations a priority in its own EMS
activities, and EPA will recommend them for those it is
supporting.
Actions:
- Establishing the National Database on Environmental Management
Systems (NDEMS), including public access capabilities;
- Collecting and entering baseline data;
- Collect and enter EMS performance data;
- Work with the National Academy of Public Administration to
complete study on 14001 EMS registration practices in the
U.S.;
- Hold two workshops on government implementation of EMSs, and
issue report summarizing findings;
- Complete five initial research studies using baseline and EMS
design data;
- Conduct ongoing research as environmental and economic
performance data becomes available; and
- Issue EMS evaluation report based on NDEMS data.
Element 8: Establish and Maintain an
Active EMS Outreach and Engagement Program
EPA's involvement in external EMS policy
discussions has been marked by a conscious and extensive effort to
interact with key stakeholders domestically and internationally.
EPA has and will continue to sponsor and support outreach events
that foster a dialogue on EMSs and their potential public policy
applications. EPA is also committed to continuing leadership to
advance, review, and revise international voluntary EMS standards,
specifically through participation in the U.S. Technical Advisory
Group (U.S. TAG). The U.S. TAG is the U.S. consensus body on
environmental standards on behalf of the American National
Standards Institute and developed by ISO Technical Committee 207,
which is responsible for the ISO 14000 series of
standards3.
Domestic Outreach- Actions:
- EPA will coordinate its participation in the U.S. Technical
Advisory Group (U.S. TAG) through the EPA Voluntary Standards
Network;
- Provided funding to U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
to enable them to participate in the U.S. TAG and to establish an
NGO information-sharing network;
- Sponsored a series of conferences in 1996 - 1997 to discuss the
newly adopted ISO 14001 standard;
- Held a forum in EPA Region 9 in 1998 to explore potential
financial benefits of EMSs, and their potential use as a tool for
promoting sustainable development;
- Developed recommendations for U.S. TAG to promote strengthening
of ISO 14001 in areas of compliance, pollution prevention, and
external communication;
- Requested that the U.S. TAG clarify the role of compliance for
applications of ISO 14001 in the U.S.; and
- Cosponsored a workshop on state and federal EMS pilot projects
and an EMS research summit with the Multi-State Working Group on
EMSs.
EPA will sponsor events to promote effective
EMSs, including events that target specific geographic regions or
industry sectors with an interest in EMS development. Also, EPA
will continue to support and encourage NGOs and other key
stakeholders participation in EMS dialogues and revision processes
related to ISO 14001.
- Continue to sponsor and participate in national workshops,
conferences and other outreach events to discuss the benefits of
EMSs and to provide a constructive forum for discussing relevant
public policy issues;
- Promote EPA positions on ISO 14001 in U.S. and international
standard-setting forums;
- Increase EPA's understanding of national and international EMS
registration/accreditation systems and seek to influence changes to
those systems that are advantageous and consistent with EPA
guidelines related to voluntary standards use;
- Support and encourage NGO and other stakeholder participation
in dialogues and other venues related to EMSs (such as activities
of the ISO Technical Committee 207, the U.S. TAG, the Multi-State
Working Group on EMSs, and development of EPA programs and
policies); and
- Promote the use of the EMS elements described in Improving
Environmental Performance and Compliance: Ten Elements of Effective
Environmental Management Systems, issued by the Enforcement
Cooperation Program of the trilateral Commission for Environmental
Cooperation in June, 2000.
International Outreach:
EPA's effectiveness in promoting beneficial EMS
applications in the U.S. can be enhanced significantly through
international cooperation. Along with EPA's involvement in the ISO
14000 standards development process, various EPA offices are
engaged in international initiatives involving EMS development and
evaluation. EPA will use its international engagement with various
multilateral organizations (e.g. Organization for Economic
Cooperative Development and United Nations Environment Programme),
bilateral environmental cooperation programs, and partnerships with
foreign assistance agencies (e.g., USAID) to:
- Evaluate innovative EMS applications and policies being
developed and tested abroad;
- Collaborate on development and assessment of tools and other
resources to support EMS implementation, and improve mechanisms for
exchanging and accessing these materials;
- Conduct joint pilot projects that demonstrate results of EMS
applications;
- Encourage other international partners to promote and support
NGO involvement in ISO 14001 implementation and in the development
of any public policies based on ISO 14001;
- Encourage other international partners to engage in research
and evaluation efforts, and promote research and data protocols
that allow comparability of results; and
- Share internationally EPA perspectives on elements of an
effective EMS.
EPA will also continue tracking international
developments on EMSs and their ramifications in light of ongoing
dialogues related to trade and the environment. EPA's Trade and
Environment Standing Committee is responsible for developing
policies related to trade and the environment. This EMS Action Plan
has been, and will continue to be, coordinated through this group
to ensure consistency with international trade obligations.
International Outreach -
Actions:
- The Seven Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the
U.S./Mexico Business and Trade Community - In 1999, EPA,
Mexico's Environment Secretariat, the U.S./Mexico Chamber of
Commerce, and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission,
announced a binational public/private strategic alliance to promote
environmental stewardship among private sector organizations in the
U.S. and Mexico. The Seven Principles of Environmental Stewardship,
as they are known, encourage companies to adopt EMSs (focused on
compliance, pollution prevention, energy efficiency, and improved
environment performance, and which are developed through open and
inclusive processes) at all operational locations throughout the
U.S. and Mexico.
- North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation
(CEC) – In June, 2000, the Enforcement Cooperation
Program of the CEC issued a guidance document entitled,
Improving Environmental Performance and Compliance: 10 Elements
of Effective Environmental Management Systems. The document
represents an agreement by the three CEC member countries –
Canada, Mexico and the United States – on how EMSs can
benefit the public interest by contributing to compliance assurance
and improved environmental performance. The key elements outlined
in the document are compatible with many EMS models based on the
Plan-Do-Check-Act framework that are currently in use. The document
developed, in part, out of a public forum that CEC hosted in 1999
in Washington D.C. to bring together representatives from industry,
government, and NGOs to explore key EMS elements needed to promote
compliance. EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
(OECA) is preparing a user-friendly guide to implementing the CEC
10 Elements, aimed specifically at corporate environmental
managers. In addition, OECA is developing a pilot program to
promote the CEC 10 elements and the guide. The pilot program will
include offering technical assistance to pilot program
participants, and collecting data on how implementation impacts
performance.
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) - EPA is participating with other OECD members in an
EMS-related project through Territorial Development Services group,
which focuses on urban redesign and renewal. The project will
engage NGOs and other stakeholders at local levels in developing
and applying technical and economic tools on a city-wide basis to
foster waste minimization, pollution prevention and right-to-know
types of public reporting. EMSs based on ISO 14001 incorporating
other performance elements important to EPA are one of the tools
being used.
- Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association
International (SGIA) - Having developed an EMS for their
industry through EPA's DfE program, the SGIA is conducting EMS
training workshops in Canada in conjunction with small business
centers.
EPA will continue to advance projects described
above through engagements with the CEC, binational efforts with
Mexico, and with OECD, as well as track U.S. and international EMS
developments that have trade and environmental implications. Other
ways EPA will expand its international engagement on EMS issues
include:
- Improving EPA Access to Information on EMS Innovations
Abroad and Promoting Improved International Information
Networking - EPA will examine ways to improve access to new
information about EMS innovations, tools, and research. EPA will
focus on having EMSs featured more prominently in existing regional
and international information exchange networks. EPA will also work
to more effectively channel these information resources to
interested EPA and U.S. partners, such as through linkages to the
proposed EMS Resource Center.
- Organizing International Workshop on Ways to Promote EMSs
through Public Policy - EPA will help organize at least one
international workshop on promoting EMSs through public policies
and regulations. EPA will likely focus organization in Asia, where
ISO 14001 is being marketed aggressively and fledgling regulatory
agencies and national governments are exploring alternative
regulatory models.
- Binational Efforts with Mexico - EPA will work with
Mexican authorities, the U.S./Mexico Chamber of Commerce, and the
BECC to expand public and private sector support for the Seven
Principles of Environmental Stewardship; conduct outreach to
companies operating in the U. S. and Mexico to encourage industry
implementation on a corporate-wide basis; and develop an
implementation strategy, which may include offering private sector
recognition for outstanding performers and training and technical
capacity-building efforts.
3 The National
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, (P.L. 104-113, Sec. 12[d])
requires EPA to consider use of national and international
voluntary consensus standards such as the ISO 14001 standard
whenever it uses EMSs in regulatory activities. Therefore, EPA has
an interest in participating in the development and revision of
such standards so that they are consistent with EPA's mission,
goals, and objectives. |
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