Sustainable Region 9 Policy

EPA Region 9 is committed to demonstrating the environmental, economic and social equity principles of sustainability in our internal operations and regulatory programs. In doing so, we will not only comply with all applicable environmental laws, regulations, policies and requirements; we will go beyond, by  leading visionary initiatives that minimize the environmental impacts of our operations and programs, maximize the environmental benefits, and model the highest standards of sustainability. To guide us in this effort, we will implement an Environmental Management System (EMS), consistent with the ISO 14001 standard to ensure that we:  

• Work collaboratively to establish robust and achievable goals to advance  sustainable practices, including zero waste to landfill/incinerator and net carbon neutrality for Region 9’s office, travel and commute;
• Set the highest possible standards for greenhouse gas reduction, sustainable resources management, and pollution prevention by developing national models for EPA travel, meetings, commute, energy use, waste diversion, and procurement practices;  Remove unintentional obstacles in order to foster the most advanced and effective sustainability practices;
• Empower and ensure the well-being of our diverse workforce, which is our primary strength, and enable every employee to contribute to sustainability goals;
• Hold ourselves accountable by quantifying progress toward our goals and proactively sharing this information both internally and externally; and
• Continually improve our environmental performance and our EMS.

Signed by Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld May 27, 2010