Partnership Programs

Pollution Prevention Partners

2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program
PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) is a persistent, man-made chemical that is toxic in animal studies, has a half-life of years in humans, and is found widely in low concentrations in human blood and the environment. The goal of the voluntary 2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program is to reduce emissions and product content of PFOA, PFOA precursors, and related higher homologue chemicals by 95% by 2010 from a year 2000 baseline, and to work toward eliminating emissions and product content by 2015. The eight major companies in the industry with operations in the United States have committed to these goals for their global operations, and will provide annual reports on their progress.

Design for the Environment
The goal is to facilitate the identification, adoption and innovation of clean products, processes, technologies, and management systems.

Federal Electronics Challenge
The Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) is a voluntary partnership program that encourages federal facilities and agencies to: 1) purchase greener electronic products, 2) reduce impacts of electronic products during use, and 3) manage obsolete electronics in an environmentally safe way.

Green Engineering
Design, commercialization, and use of processes and products, which are feasible and economical while minimizing 1) generation of pollution at the source and 2) risk to human health and the environment.

The Green Suppliers Network (GSN)

A collaborative venture between industry, the EPA and the 360vu, a leading provider of assistance to US manufacturers through its national network of Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP), works with all levels of the manufacturing supply chain to achieve environmental and economic benefits.

High Production Volume Challenge
Ensure that a baseline set of health and environmental effects data on approximately 2800 high production volume chemicals is made available to EPA and the public.

Labs 21
Labs 21 is a voluntary program that saves money at laboratories while improving our environment. Laboratories require tens of millions of dollars worth of energy to run and add tens of thousands of pounds of pollution to our air, soil and water. EPA and the US Department of Energy are helping new and retrofitted laboratories cut their energy costs and reduce environmental damage. The goal is to create energy self-sufficiency for all EPA labs, modeling these savings for other science labs throughout the country.

Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program
In implementing this program, EPA asked companies who manufacture nanoscale materials to voluntarily provide data. The information gathering stage of the program is set for two years and has two levels. Companies can sign on to provide basic information about the manufacture, use, and properties of nanoscale materials or provide more in-depth information through additional testing. OPPT has worked closely with ORD and other offices to increase knowledge and works towards being able to quantify both risks and benefits from the use of nanoscale materials. The information gathering stage will end in January 2010.

National Environmental Performance Track
To recognize and encourage top environmental performance among private and public facilities, which go beyond compliance with regulatory requirements to achieve environmental excellence.

National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP)
The goal of the program is to encourage, through recognition, networking, and case example distribution, the minimization of hazardous and industrial wastes, particularly those waste streams containing one or more of the 31 priority chemicals.

Schools Chemical Cleanout Program
The Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign, is a multi-Agency effort with the Department of Education and several other Agencies (NIOSH, CDC, DOI-BIA) to achieve three goals: Remove inappropriate, outdated, unknown and unnecessary chemicals; Prevent future chemical mismanagement in schools through training, curriculum and policy change and long-term management solutions; and, Raise awareness of chemical issues in schools and promote sustainable solutions.

Sustainable Futures
Encourage P2 and the development of safer new chemicals, and gain experience regarding the benefits of risk screening methodologies in new product development.

Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation Program
Provide hazard and exposure data to enable EPA and the public to better understand the potential health risks to children associated with certain chemical exposures.

Green Chemistry
To promote innovative chemical technologies that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products.

GreenScapes
The GreenScapes program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for landscaping.

Partnership for Sustainable Healthcare (PSH) - The primary goal of the PSH effort is to educate health care professionals about pollution prevention opportunities in hospitals and health care systems. Also see the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment partner site.

Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program
The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) is a voluntary program that forms partnerships with pesticide users to reduce the health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use and implement pollution prevention strategies.

Strategic Agricultural Initiative
The primary goal of the Strategic Agricultural Initiative (SAI) Project is to assist in Food Quality Protection Act implementation though an extensive and effective communication and partnership effort with regional pesticide user, teacher and researcher communities.

eCycling Partners

Plug-In To eCycling-OSWER
Plug-In To eCycling with US EPA is a partnership between EPA and consumer electronics manufacturers, retailers, and service providers that offers you more opportunities to donate or recycle - to "eCycle" - your used electronics.

WasteWise
Voluntary program through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes by designing their own waste reduction programs.

Greenscapes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) GreenScapes program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for landscaping. Designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution, GreenScapes encourages companies, government agencies, other entities, and homeowners to make more holistic decisions regarding waste generation and disposal and the associated impacts on land, water, air, and energy use.

paperrecycles.org
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Recycling Awards were created to encourage and recognize outstanding programs that promote the recovery of high quality paper for recycling. In 2008 AF&PA will recognize a business, a community, a school (K-12), and a college or university.

National Partnership for Environmental Priorities
The National Partnership of Environmental Priorities (NPEP) (formerly known as National Waste Minimization Partnership Program) uses voluntary partnerships to reduce the use and release of priority chemicals. Besides information, technical assistance, and public recognition, partners become part of the National Challenge Commitment, co-sponsored by the National Environmental Performance Track.

EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool)
EPEAT is a system to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also provides a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products, and provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products.

Federal Electronics Challenge
The Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) is a partnership program that encourages federal facilities and agencies to:

* Purchase greener electronic products.
* Reduce impacts of electronic products during use.
* Manage obsolete electronics in an environmentally safe way.

Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG)
US EPA's Web site for the Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG)—a key component of the government's "buy-recycled" program. Today, more and more products are made from recycled materials—from the carpeting and insulation used in office buildings, to the reams of office paper purchased each day. Buying recycled helps "close the recycling loop" by putting the materials we collect through recycling programs back to good use as products in the marketplace.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) helps the federal government "buy green," and in doing so, uses the federal government's enormous buying power to stimulate market demand for green products and services. Geared first to help federal purchasers, this site can help green vendors, businesses large and small -- and consumers. Use the easy index to:

* Find and evaluate information about green products and services;
* Identify federal green buying requirements;
* Calculate the costs and benefits of purchasing choices;
* Manage green purchasing processes.

Green Buildings
As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a new field called green building is gaining momentum. Green or sustainable building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. Research and experience increasingly demonstrate that when buildings are designed and operated with their lifecycle impacts in mind, they can provide great environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Recycle on the Go
Recycle on the Go is an EPA initiative to encourage recycling in public places such as parks, stadiums, convention centers, airports and other transportation hubs, shopping centers, and at special events. Recycle on the Go is part of EPA’s Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), a nationwide effort to renew and revitalize the nation’s goals of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. One of the RCC's goals is to help the nation achieve a recycling rate of 40 percent by 2011.

National Environmental Performance Track
Performance Track recognizes and drives environmental excellence by encouraging facilities with strong environmental records to go above and beyond their legal requirements. Members set typically four public, measurable goals to improve the quality of our nation's air, water, and land. Members include major corporations, small businesses, and public facilities that are steering a course toward environmental excellence.

For information about the contents of this page, please contact Pamela Swingle.

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