Source Reduction Activities
Facilities are required to report any source reduction activities they initiated or completed during the reporting year to TRI. This information can help facilities learn from each other’s best practices and may lead to better environmental stewardship and implementation of more P2 actions. When reporting source reduction activities to TRI, facilities choose from 24 codes that describe the activities they implemented. These codes are grouped into the five categories shown in the graph below.
Note: Facilities report their source reduction activities by selecting from a list of 24 codes that describe their activities. These codes fall into one of five categories listed in the graph legend and are defined in the TRI Reporting Forms and Instructions.
- In 2023, 1,770 facilities (8% of all facilities that reported to TRI) implemented a combined 3,690 new source reduction activities.
- The most reported source reduction category was Process and Equipment Modifications.
- For example, a medicine product manufacturer removed portions of an ammonia system that was no longer in use, which increased the efficiency of the delivery system and reduced the amount of ammonia used and generated as waste. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
- Facilities also report how they identified the opportunity to implement each pollution prevention activity. The most reported method for finding these opportunities was through Participative Team Management where employee teams engage in identifying and implementing pollution prevention measures. Many facilities also reported Internal Pollution Prevention Audits as a way of identifying source reduction activities.
Use the map below to see which facilities reported implementing one or more source reduction activities during 2023.
Facilities Reporting Source Reduction
Additional Resources
- For more information on how facilities report source reduction to TRI, refer to the TRI Source Reduction Reporting web page.
- View all reported pollution prevention activities for any TRI chemical or sector by using the TRI P2 Search Tool.
- Facilities interested in exploring source reduction opportunities can reach out to their EPA Regional P2 Coordinator to arrange a free, confidential P2 assessment with a third-party P2 expert.
- The TRI Pollution Prevention Reporting Guide provides examples of source reduction activities at facilities and guidance to improve reporting.
This page was published in August 2025 and uses the 2023 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2024.