Margo T. Oge Association of American Railroads North American Railroad Employee Environmental Excellence Award Ceremony Remarks April 18, 1997 THANKS [CHUCK/BOB]. I'M VERY PLEASED TO BE WITH YOU TODAY TO RECOGNIZE THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES. I ESPECIALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF WHAT I HOPE IS BECOMING A TRADITION IN EVERY SECTOR OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY -- THE RECOGNITION OF THE VALUE OF CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL ACTION TO MOVE BEYOND COMPLIANCE. YOUR ASSOCIATION, YOUR INDUSTRY, AND ALL OF YOUR EMPLOYEES DESERVE REAL CREDIT FOR MOVING FORWARD. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THIS AWARD IS PART OF A LARGER MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT AMERICAN LIFE; A MOVEMENT THAT IS REFLECTIVE OF THE GRADUAL YET DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THAT HAS MADE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ONE OF THE STRONGEST THREADS IN THE AMERICAN FABRIC TODAY. FROM THE TOP MANAGEMENT LEVELS OF BUSINESSES, TO ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS, TO THE WORKER IN A PRODUCTION FACILITY, THE LAST TWENTY FIVE YEARS HAS SEEN A RAPID GROWTH IN UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. THIS LED TO EXPECTATIONS THAT A BASIC LEVEL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SHOULD EXIST FOR EVERY AMERICAN. WE EXPECT TO DRINK FROM A PUBLIC WATER FOUNTAIN AND NOT WORRY ABOUT WATER BORNE DISEASE. WE EXPECT THAT OUR KIDS CAN PLAY BASEBALL ON A SUMMERTIME SATURDAY AFTERNOON WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT THEIR LUNGS. POSSIBLY THE STRONGEST INDICATION OF AMERICAN EXPECTATIONS IS FOUND IN RECENT PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS. WHILE THE PUBLIC DOES GENERALLY EXPRESS A CONTINUING DESIRE FOR LESS GOVERNMENT REGULATION, THAT DESIRE DOES NOT EXTEND TO LESS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. - FOR EXAMPLE, IN ONE POLL, ONLY 21 PERCENT BELIEVED THERE WAS TOO MUCH ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION. IN THIS SAME POLL, 31 PERCENT THOUGHT ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION WAS ABOUT RIGHT, AND 36 PERCENT BELIEVED THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH. THIS GROWTH IN UNDERSTANDING AND EXPECTATIONS HAS ALSO LED TO AN IMPORTANT SHIFT IN ATTITUDES ABOUT THE ROLES COMPANIES CAN PLAY IN PROVIDING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. OF COURSE, SOME INDUSTRIES CONTINUE IN THE TRADITIONAL MODE OF CHALLENGING ANY CHANGE, QUESTIONING ANY NEW ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, EVEN AGGRESSIVELY FIGHTING TO TURN THE CLOCK BACK TO "THE GOOD OLE DAYS" WHEN REGULATIONS WERE FEW AND POLLUTION PLENTIFUL. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SPECTRUM, MANY COMPANIES NOW ENGAGE DIRECTLY IN WHAT IS A $300 BILLION A YEAR WORLD MARKET FOR ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES. THEY SEEK MARKET SHARE AND PROFITS THROUGH THE PROVISION OF AN INHERENTLY CLEAN SOLUTION TO A PARTICULAR MARKET NEED. MOST INDUSTRIES, HOWEVER, COME AT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES LESS DIRECTLY. BELIEVING IN THE VALUE OF THEIR PRODUCT OR SERVICE, AND GROWING IN AWARENESS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR INDUSTRY, THEY HAVE BECOME COMMITTED TO FINDING WORKABLE SOLUTIONS TO COMPLIANCE ISSUES. IN A GROWING NUMBER OF CASES A COMPANY IS NO LONGER CONTENT TO SIMPLY WAIT FOR THE NEXT REGULATION. MORE AND MORE COMPANIES ARE SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO MOVE BEYOND COMPLIANCE TOWARD BUSINESS PRACTICES THAT MAKE SENSE ENVIRONMENTALLY AS WELL AS ECONOMICALLY. - AND THESE COMPANIES ARE SEEKING TO INVOLVE THEIR LINE EMPLOYEES DIRECTLY IN THIS PURSUIT. THEY KNOW THAT INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES ARE THE KEY TO MOVING BEYOND COMPLIANCE. THE RESULT IS THAT INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES, WHEN EMPOWERED, CAN COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS THAT PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND REDUCE COSTS: - THEY EXAMINE ENERGY USAGE AND SEARCH FOR CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES AND COST SAVINGS; THEY BEGIN TO VIEW POLLUTION NOT AS A NECESSARY BY-PRODUCT, BUT AS A SIGN OF INEFFICIENT PROCESSES THAT CAN BE IMPROVED THROUGH RECYCLING, REUSE AND WASTE MINIMIZATION PRACTICES. AND ULTIMATELY, THEY SEEK TO PREVENT POLLUTION IN THE FIRST PLACE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF INHERENTLY CLEAN PROCESSES, PROCESSES THAT LOWER BOTH RAW MATERIALS COSTS AND POLLUTION CONTROL COSTS. THAT'S WHAT WE ARE CELEBRATING AND REWARDING HERE TODAY, AND I AM GLAD TO BE A PART OF IT. THAT'S NOT THE END OF THE STORY THOUGH, BECAUSE OVER THIS SAME PERIOD OF TIME, ANOTHER IMPORTANT SHIFT HAS OCCURRED. A GROWING UNDERSTANDING WITHIN GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOWED NEW ATTITUDES TO DEVELOP WITHIN GOVERNMENT AS WELL. AND THE RESULT HAS BEEN A GRADUAL MOVE AWAY FROM THE TRADITIONAL ADVERSARIAL ROLE OF GOVERNMENT VS. INDUSTRY, AND TOWARD THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW, MORE PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS. IN YOUR INDUSTRY, YOU ARE SEEING THE BENEFITS OF BETTER GOVERNMENT/INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIPS DIRECTLY, AS NEW ATTITUDES ON BOTH SIDES HAVE ALLOWED THE BUILDING OF SOLUTION-ORIENTED PROPOSALS THAT FOCUS ON RESULTS. TODAY THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY IS WORKING WITH US AT EPA TO IMPROVE YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE, EVEN THOUGH ON A GRAMS OF AIR POLLUTION PER MILE BASIS, RAIL IS ALREADY ONE OF THE CLEANEST FORMS OF MASS TRANSPORT FOR BOTH PEOPLE AND PRODUCTS. WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO DEVELOP REGULATIONS FOR LOCOMOTIVE EMISSIONS. EPA, CARB, AND THE TWO MAJOR FREIGHT RAILROADS OPERATING IN CALIFORNIA -- BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE AND UNION PACIFIC -- ARE NEGOTIATING A UNIQUE AGREEMENT THAT WILL PROVIDE EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS IN THE SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN ABOVE THOSE THAT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE NATIONAL PROGRAM. BECAUSE OF THIS COOPERATIVE APPROACH, THE WORK WE ARE DOING TOGETHER ON EMISSION STANDARDS FOR LOCOMOTIVES WILL RESULT IN A CLEANER ENGINE AND A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT. AND, IT WILL BE DONE MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY -- AND THEREFORE WILL COST LESS. ALL OF YOU HERE TODAY AND THE ORGANIZATIONS YOU REPRESENT, YOU ARE SETTING THE EXAMPLE FROM WHICH OTHERS CAN LEARN. WHETHER YOU RECEIVE AN AWARD TODAY OR NOT, YOU ARE ALL TO BE CONGRATULATED FOR HELPING TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE. THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF THIS WORTHWHILE EFFORT.