Sustainability and the U.S. EPA (2011) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
7 Benefits of a Sustainability Approach at EPA
7 Benefits of a Sustainability Approach at EPA
Pages 111-126
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From page 111... ...
This chapter examines the benefits of adopting the Sustainability Assessment and Management framework in EPA's accomplishment of its mission. It reviews several of the complex challenges the agency faces as it enters its fifth decade of work on behalf of public health and the environment, and as its experience grows in using sustainability principles in decision making.
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From page 112... ...
These points are amplified in the text below, and Boxes 7-1 to 7-7 provide illustrative examples from the public and private sectors. DAUNTING CHALLENGES Despite substantial progress in achieving cleaner air, water, and land in the United States, the nation faces new and even more complex challenges.
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From page 113... ...
EPA and its regions have been pioneers in making environmental justice a prior ity in their work with communities and other federal agencies to deliver multiple benefits. • Climate change presents significant risks to the environment, human health, and society.
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From page 114... ...
Energy efficiency and conservation can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce cost savings at the same time. By combining otherwise different regulatory regimes, EPA, DOT, and the state of California reduced compliance costs for greenhouse gas and fuel economy rules for automobile manufacturers.
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From page 115... ...
Beginning with the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, however, forward-looking businesses, led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, have worked to define and implement principles of sustainability in the belief that they will make their companies more competitive, resilient,
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From page 116... ...
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where much of this work began, recently produced "Vision 2050," which outlined strategies to take the economy and the market to a far more sustainable future (WBCSD 2010)
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From page 117... ...
As illustrated with the text boxes in this report, such a framework has the potential not only to mitigate harmful unintended consequences of decisions but also to foster more imagina tion and creativity in forging solutions to pressing problems. CONCLUSION: THE JOURNEY AHEAD A sustainability approach can strengthen EPA as an organization and a leader in the nation's progress toward a sustainable future.
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From page 118... ...
Central to the integrated and positive sustainability approach is a focus on preventing harm rather than dealing with it after it occurs. Pollution prevention under the Sustainability Framework would not be categorized as belonging to any single medium, and would aim to be socially beneficial, environmentally effective, and economically more efficient than current pollution control.
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From page 119... ...
The sustainability mandate to consider social and equity factors can make EPA even more sensitive than it has been to populations that are disproportion ately exposed to environmental risks. The agency has a long history and has developed procedures for incorporating environmental justice in its decisions (EPA 2010d,e)
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From page 120... ...
120 SUSTAINABILILTY AND THE U.S. EPA BOX 7‑6 IBM: Early Mover on Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability IBM, a company with revenues approaching $100 billion, believes that focusing on the idea of a smarter planet is beneficial to its business growth and profitability as well as advancing its values.
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From page 121... ...
But the stimulus provided by adopting a sustainability framework could provoke reflection and change within EPA, and the changes will better equip the agency to deal with the challenges it will face. Assuming that EPA adopts the goal of sustainability, there will be benefits for the United States as a whole.
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From page 122... ...
EPA is a thought leader, convener of governmental partners and private stakeholders, and funder of innovative environmental strategies; and the agency provides reliable information on environmental conditions and materials that can inform government, businesses, citizens, and consumers in their choices and decisions. These capabilities provide a solid platform for EPA leadership in advancing a sustainability agenda.
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From page 123... ...
Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, U.S.
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From page 124... ...
2010. Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards.
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From page 125... ...
. WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
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