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Basic Information
Key Resources
The mission of EPA’s Sector Strategies Program is to improve environmental protection, energy efficiency, and resource management in major U.S. manufacturing and business sectors by developing and promoting strategies that reduce barriers to progress and drive improvement.
The program’s sector-based approach complements EPA’s traditional focus on individual media (air, water, and waste), providing a holistic view of the full range of each sector’s environmental impacts and challenges within its regulatory and economic frameworks.
Key Functions of the Sector Strategies Program
- Provides an expert point of contact for each industry participating in the program who provides a valuable resource to industry professionals and other stakeholders.
- Identifies barriers to environmental and performance improvement and, in conjunction with industry, governmental, and other interested participants, explores and implements innovative proactive strategies to overcome those barriers.
- Develops and monitors useful indicators, key data, and effective data collection strategies to measure sector-wide environmental performance.
- Publishes in-depth reports on sector-specific and cross-sector action strategies and trends.
- Works with EPA programs, regions, and state and local governments to make constructive changes in regulatory, permitting, enforcement, and assistance programs that will help businesses in the sectors improve performance.
- Promotes environmental management systems and assists with advocacy of their development and use by companies.
Sector Performance Evaluation
Sector Strategies employs a comprehensive approach to evaluate sector performance, discover environmental trends, and drive changes that produce results. The program gathers the best available data from a diverse body of credible resources (federal and state agencies, universities, industry groups, NGOs, and businesses) to appraise environmental threats, policies, and successes in the context of sectors.
Policy Analysis and Strategy Development
Sector Strategies provides broad-based policy and analytical expertise to help develop, implement, and evaluate environmental protection strategies. These action strategies enable these sectors to work side by side with EPA to elevate their environmental performance with minimal regulatory costs.
Collaboration
Sector-based programs can help many companies or other regulated entities achieve high environmental standards using flexible, voluntary approaches and by building collaborative relationships that embrace innovations from trade associations, states, and communities.
Active participants in Sector Strategies collaborations include national trade associations and other industry stakeholders, hundreds of involved companies, all EPA programs and regions, state and local agencies (and their national associations), and NGO and academic groups.