EPA Gets Tough with Polluters
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5457
EPA Gets Tough with Polluters
January 4, 2011
By Brita Belli
This week, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency‘s greenhouse gas regulations will begin taking effect—and big polluters aren‘t happy. These regulations, in keeping with the Clean Air Act, aim to require major polluters—particularly fossil fuel power plants and oil refineries—to get permits for emitting greenhouse gases. It would also compel these major emitters to seek out cleaner technologies to make reductions. These reductions will happen on a case-by-case basis, instead of under a one-size-fits-all rule. And that has coal plant operators and other fossil fuel representatives upset. “It slows everybody down because nobody knows what the rules are going to be,” Jeffrey Holmstead, who headed EPA‘s air pollution office under President Bush, told National Public Radio.
The fight has grown particularly fierce in Texas where Republican Gov. Rick Perry has accused the Obama administration of interfering with state‘s rights. The state has refused to abide by the EPA‘s emissions regulations. So this January, the EPA has sidestepped state officials, issuing greenhouse gas permits directly to Texas industries. Texas is one of a dozen states that have filed lawsuits to challenge the greenhouse gas regulations—others are Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon and Wyoming—but it‘s the only state to not even attempt to comply in the meantime. According to one article in the Shreveport Times: “About 200 Texas facilities continue to operate with air and water permits that are either out of date or have been disapproved by the EPA. The agency believes they are releasing a variety of metals and chemicals into the air and water that would, under the new regulations, no longer be permitted.” Flexible permits in Texas allow industries to release toxins and volatile organic compounds at double the rate of national standards.
For environmental groups, a tougher EPA is a welcome change. Attorney Cale Jaffe from the Southern Environmental Law Center told NPR: “Finally we‘ve got the rules that are beginning to require power companies to account for their global warming pollution. That‘s a historic turn of events.” And the regulations that took effect on January 2nd apply to new permits and expansions for power plants. The EPA announced in late December that it‘s planning to set standards for carbon dioxide emissions and pollution for all power plants and refineries this year, a fight that will bring more heated battles from incoming Congress members representing coal-mining states.
SOURCES:
National Public Radio [ http://www.npr.org/2011/01/03/132612887/epa-to-enforce-new-emission-rules-on-power-plants ]
Reuters [ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BM2LZ20101223 ]
Shreveport Times [ http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110102/NEWS05/101020340/Texas-EPA-fight-over-regulations-grows-fierce ]
Study Charts How Underground CO2 Can Leach Metals into Water
http://solveclimatenews.com/news/20101207/study-charts-how-underground-co2-can-leach-metals-water
Study Charts How Underground CO2 Can Leach Metals into Water
Study is the first to observe, for at least a year, the effects of a CO2 leak on groundwater
by Catherine M. Cooney
Dec 7, 2010
It’s not a common for a solution to carbon emissions to also pose a contamination danger for drinking water supplies, but new research indicates that if CO2 stored 
deep underground were to leak in even small amounts, it could cause metals to be released in shallow groundwater aquifers at concentrations that would pose a health risk.
In a study published in Environmental Science & Technology, authors Mark Little and Robert B. Jackson studied samples of sand and rock taken from four freshwater aquifers located around the country that overlie potential carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) sites.
The scientists found that tiny amounts of CO2 drove up levels of metals including manganese, cobalt, nickel, and iron in the water tenfold or more in some places. Some of these metals moved into the water quickly, within one week or two. They also observed potentially dangerous uranium and barium steadily moving into the water over the entire year-long experiment.
“We did the study to try and build a framework to help predict where problems with groundwater might arise if CO2 leaked,” Jackson told SolveClimate News. “The chemistry of the water provides us with an early warning of the potential leaks before the leaks occur, and that by itself if a very useful tool,” Jackson added.
The technology for capturing and storing CO2 emissions from coal plants and industrial facilities is not yet commercially available. Still, the Obama Administration and other governments consider capturing carbon dioxide and sequestering it underground a vital technology that will allow the world to continue using coal as fuel while reducing the impacts of climate change. This new study sheds further light on how fresh water contamination from the technology could potentially occur.
Similar to Ocean Acidification
When the CO2 buried deep underground escapes into groundwater, it forms carbonic acid, a chemical reaction very similar to the process that occurs when the oceans absorb CO2. But the problems created by the carbonic acid in groundwater are quite different from the reactions that occur in the ocean, Little said.
Scientists have already observed that atmospheric CO2 is causing ocean acidification that is harming corals, shellfish, lobsters, and other marine animals at the bottom of the sea. The increased acidity caused by CO2 dissolved in water underground can cause metals to leach out of surrounding sand and rock.
Borrowed from agencies such as the US Geological Survey, the sediment used in the study was from 17 locations within four project sites: Acquia and Virginia Beach in the Virginia and Maryland tidewater region; Mahoment in Illinois; and Ogallala in the southern high plains of Texas. The scientists dried the sediment samples and placed them in bottles, then piped a stream of 99.8% pure CO2 to each bottle for 320 to 344 days.
Jackson and Little used their observations of the leaking CO2 to develop selection criteria, based on the metal contamination seen in the water, to help owners and operators choose CCS sites that are less likely to contaminate nearby freshwater aquifers. They also identified four geochemical markers to help monitor sites and discover when CO2 has leaked and caused metals to move into the groundwater.
Jackson, Nicholas Professor of Global Environmental Change at Duke University’s Center on Global Change (co-author Little was a postdoc fellow at the time of the study), said the research is unique because of its length: it is the first to observe, for at least a year, the effects of a CO2 leak on groundwater.
Scientists have already conducted short-term experiments of two-weeks to one month and found that CO2 in very small amounts can escape along rock faults and old petroleum wells into near-by groundwater and release harmful metals such as arsenic and uranium into the water.
Once CO2 reaches a freshwater aquifer, the quality of the drinking water is site specific, and depends on an array of factors including the size of the leak and the types of bacteria in the water, Little said. “By no means would all sites be susceptible to problems of water quality,” Jackson added.
Other researchers are trying to determine how a very large leak might affect the subsurface environment, while the Department of Energy (DOE) and private investors are beginning studies of potential groundwater contamination in the field, rather than in a lab as Jackson and Little did.
EPA’s Rule
The paper was published just as EPA finished a rule designed to protect potential drinking water sources from contamination following a CO2 leak. Announced on November 22, the rule is written for the owners and operators of potential CCS wells. It’s designed to ensure that the wells are appropriately sited, constructed, tested, monitored, and closed, according to EPA.
Sally Benson, director of the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University, said EPA’s rule should protect groundwater because it will make it difficult to inject CO2 too close to a possible drinking water source. She also said the new study doesn’t present any surprises and is not likely to put an obstacle in the way of those CCS projects in the planning stages.
“Really, it gets down to making sure projects are designed carefully and that the project has monitoring so that one has early warning of any CO2 movements,” Benson added.
But drinking water utilities aren’t convinced that EPA’s rule will protect water sources from metal contamination resulting from the bubbling up of CO2, which is sure to occur in small amounts at least.
Cynthia Lane with the American Water Works Association (AWWA), a nonprofit research and advocacy organization representing researchers and water utilities, said this rule doesn’t include specific site selection criteria. Rather, the rule leaves many of the decisions about site selection and permit approval up to each state.
“It is not as protective as we might like,” said Lane. “We are concerned about the quality of drinking water. There is a definite shift in certain parts of country to use saline or more brackish water for drinking.”
Groundwater protections should be in place for areas in the southwest, such as Las Vegas, where utilities are having a difficult time finding water sources, Lane said. “They are using anything that is wet no matter what the saline content is,” Lane added.
After observing the CO2 percolating through aquifer sand and sediment for a year, Jackson said the study strongly suggests to him that long-term monitoring for CO2 leakage into freshwater aquifers should be part of every CCS project.
The CO2 caused concentrations of manganese, cobalt, nickel, and iron to increase by more than 100 times the original levels (or 2 orders of magnitude), and potentially dangerous uranium and barium increased throughout the entire experiment in some samples. In general, they found that iron and manganese concentrations increased within 100 days. The response of other potentially harmful metals was more varied.
“We don’t want a private homeowner with a well that is not regularly monitored by the local utility to suddenly have elements in their groundwater that they don’t even know about.”
The two researchers are now collecting data on sites that are under consideration by DOE and private consortiums.
“Our next step is to do incubations under a variety of conditions,” said Jackson. “I think we could contribute to a list that indicates why certain sites are better than other sites.”
Help For Homeowners To Install Money-Saving Geothermal
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=14950&typeid=1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/27/2010
CONTACT:
Michael Smith, Department of Environmental Protection
717-787-1323
Pennsylvania Expands Keystone HELP Loan Program to Help Homeowners Install Money-Saving Geothermal Systems
New Program Puts Federal Recovery Act Funds to Work Creating Jobs, Producing Clean Energy
HUMMELSTOWN, DAUPHIN CO. — Pennsylvania homeowners who want to cut their heating and cooling bills in half now have a new, affordable method for financing clean geothermal heat pump systems, Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger and Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord announced today.
The officials said a new Keystone Home Energy Loan Program option offers low-interest loans that are combined with companion loans given in anticipation of federal tax credits for fuel-conserving geothermal systems.
Hanger and McCord made the announcement while visiting the home of Peter and Laurel Hartwell, who are using Cleona-based G.F. Bowman Inc. to install a geothermal heat pump system.
The program is made possible with $5 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and could help as many as 750 homeowners purchase geothermal systems. Installing the systems will create hundreds of jobs for contractors like G.F. Bowman.
“Geothermal really is one of the great, largely untapped forms of renewable energy that is available to us,” said Secretary Hanger. “Fortunately, more consumers are recognizing this and are making the smart decision to put geothermal systems in their homes. This program will make sure more families have access to this clean, money-saving technology by offering new financing options. That’s good news for consumers, our economy and our environment.”
The secretary added that by taking advantage of these federal and state incentives, geothermal systems can pay for themselves within only five to 10 years.
“Keystone HELP is a triple winner: families can make energy efficiency improvements to their homes that save money and reduce energy use, the commonwealth earns a secure return, and the program creates good-paying, much-needed jobs for local installers, contractors, and manufacturers,” Treasurer McCord said. “Less pollution, lower costs, and more jobs—good work on three fronts.”
Under the new geothermal loan program, qualifying homeowners can take advantage of an unsecured 4.99 percent loan for up to $15,000 with a term of up to 10 years. McCord noted that homeowners can also elect to take an optional “tax credit anticipation loan” equal to the expected 30-percent federal tax credit up to a maximum of $10,000. The HELP program will make the first 12 monthly payments of the tax credit anticipation loan and homeowners can use the tax credit they receive to pay the remainder of the loan without any prepayment penalties.
Other special financing is available to homeowners who install a geothermal heat pump system as part of a comprehensive “whole house” improvement project recommended through a certified energy audit. In this case, qualifying homeowners can obtain a secured Keystone HELP loan for up to $35,000 with rates as low as 2.875 percent.
All work financed through Keystone HELP must be completed by a certified local contractor.
“This program is another great example of how the federal stimulus program is helping us build a green economy in Pennsylvania while encouraging private investment and putting people to work,” said Hanger. “To date, the federal stimulus has directed more than $136 million to our state for clean energy projects like wind and solar, plus another $253 million to help consumers save money by weatherizing their homes. And we’ve leveraged those funds to attract about $1 billion in private investment.
“These are good investments in our economy that will pay dividends for decades to come, not only through lower utility bills, but also through cleaner air and cleaner water.”
Created in 2006 by the Pennsylvania Treasury and AFC First Financial Corp. of Allentown, Keystone HELP offers affordable energy efficiency financing options, including rebates and low-interest loans, enabling homeowners to purchase and install energy efficient equipment or undertake improvements to cut energy use.
Keystone HELP began offering even lower rate loans in 2009, when Treasury partnered with DEP to expand the program’s impact by using funds provided under Pennsylvania’s 2008 Alternative Energy Investment Act.
Keystone HELP has helped more than 7,000 homeowners finance more than $58 million in money-saving home improvements. Visit www.keystonehelp.com to learn more or to apply for a loan.
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
U.S. Offshore Wind Potential Four Times Total Power Generated
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2010/2010-09-14-091.html
U.S. Offshore Wind Potential Four Times Total Power Generated
GOLDEN, Colorado, September 14, 2010 (ENS) – The potential of offshore wind power in the United States to generate electricity is at least four times as great as the nation’s total electric generating capacity from all sources in 2008, finds a new assessment by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
In their technical report, Marc Schwartz, Donna Heimiller, Steve Haymes, and Walt Musial state, “Offshore wind resources have the potential to be a significant domestic renewable energy source for coastal electricity loads.”
Issued Friday, the NREL report presents the first draft of a national validated offshore wind resource database needed to understand the magnitude of the U.S. wind resource and to plan the distribution and development of future offshore wind power facilities. No offshore wind farms currently exist in the United States.
Wind availability and distribution is characterized by level of annual average wind speed, water depth, distance from shore, and state administrative areas.
The estimate does not describe actual planned offshore wind development, and the report does not consider that some offshore areas may be excluded from energy development on the basis of environmental, human use, or technical considerations.
The “Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Resources for the United States” shows that 4,150 gigawatts of potential maximum wind turbine capacity from offshore wind resources are available in the United States.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2008 the nation’s total electric generating capacity from all sources was 1,010 gigawatts.
The NREL report’s estimate is based on the latest high-resolution maps predicting annual average wind speeds, and shows the gross energy potential of offshore wind resources.
The potential electric generating capacity was calculated from the total offshore area within 50 nautical miles of shore, in areas where average annual wind speeds are at least 16 miles per hour at a height of 295 feet.
The research team assumed that five megawatts of wind turbines could be placed in every square kilometer of water that met these wind characteristics.
Detailed resource maps and tables for the offshore wind resources of 26 coastal states’ bordering the oceans and the Great Lakes break down the wind energy potential by wind speed, water depth, and distance from shore.
The offshore transformer station at the Lillgrund wind farm in the Oresund Sound between Malmo and Copenhagen converts the electricity produced by 48 turbines for use by 60,000 households supplied by the Swedish national grid. (Photo courtesy Siemens)
In May 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy released a report detailing a deployment scenario by which the United States could achieve 20 percent of its electric energy supply from wind energy.
Under this scenario, offshore wind was an essential contributor, providing 54 gigawatts of installed electric capacity to the grid.
“When President Obama took office in January 2009, his message clearly reinforced this challenge in a broader context of energy independence, environmental stewardship, and a strengthened economy based on clean renewable energy sources,” the authors state.
But many technical and economic challenges remain to be overcome to achieve the deployment levels described in the 20 percent wind report, the authors acknowledge.
“Many coastal areas in the United States have large electricity demand but have limited access to a high-quality land-based wind resource, and these areas are typically limited in their access to interstate grid transmission,” they say.
The new database will be periodically revised to reflect better wind resource estimates and to include updated information from other datasets. It is intended to serve as the foundation for future modifications that may include specific exclusion areas for the calculation of the nation’s offshore wind resource potential.
Offshore wind projects totaling more than 5,000 megawatts have been proposed and are in the planning or development stages in the United States and interest in offshore wind power development is growing among governments and also in the private sector.
On July 14, the American Wind Energy Association, AWEA, the national wind industry association, announced the formation of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition, called OffshoreWindDC. The new coalition will focus on advocacy and education efforts to promote offshore wind energy.
Founding members and contributors to the Offshore Wind Development Coalition include the corporations Apex Wind, Cape Wind, Deepwater Wind, Fishermen’s Energy, NRG Bluewater Wind, OffshoreMW, and Seawind Renewable.
Jim Lanard, president of OffshoreWindDC, said, “We are delighted to join with AWEA to advocate for policies that will support the development of this well-established technology. Our joint efforts will lead to job creation, significant economic development opportunities and environmental and energy security for our country.”
“The creation of this coalition demonstrates the growing interest in offshore wind energy in the U.S.,” said AWEA CEO Denise Bode. “Offshore wind provides a great opportunity to increase the use of renewable energy, thanks to the strong and steady winds that blow off our shores and proximity to electricity demand centers, particularly along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Great Lakes.”
The new coalition will join AWEA in working to secure long-term tax policy for offshore wind and shorten the permitting timeline for projects.
The effort will involve AWEA, offshore wind developers, and other stakeholders in states such as Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio.
Bode said, “Offshore wind energy is proven in Europe, and will soon be hard at work here in America, powering our economy, protecting our environment, and creating jobs.”
In June, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the governors of 10 East Coast states signed a Memorandum of Understanding that formally establishes an Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium to promote the efficient, orderly, and responsible development of wind resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.
On April 21, the federal government approved Cape Wind, a 130-turbine wind power project in Nantucket Sound off the Massachusetts coast that is the nation’s first approved offshore wind development.
A public-private partnership in New York State is developing a 350-megawatt offshore wind project. The Long Island – New York City Offshore Wind Project would be located about 13 nautical miles off the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens.
The New York Power Authority now is reviewing five proposals from wind developers to build offshore wind turbines in lakes Ontario or Erie. Lawmakers in some lakeside counties have expressed opposition.
In addition, NRG Bluewater Wind has proposed wind power projects off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey; and Deepwater Wind is involved with projects off the coasts of Rhode Island and New Jersey.
On August 19, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law the most comprehensive legislation yet passed by a state to support the development of offshore wind energy. The Offshore Wind Economic Development Act directs the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to develop and establish an offshore wind renewable energy certificate program that requires a percentage of electricity sold in the state to be from offshore wind energy.
There have been some setbacks. On August 20, Duke Energy announced the cancellation of plans to develop a three-turbine offshore wind demonstration project in a lagoon in North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound. Duke blamed high costs and greater than expected environmental impacts.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that of the 300,000 MW of wind power that could generate 20 percent of U.S. electricity in 20 years, 50,000 MW would likely be offshore.
“BE AIR AWARE”
Air Quality Awareness Week
May 3rd thru May 7th, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service urge Americans to “Be Air Aware” during Air Quality Awareness Week, May 3-7, 2010
Join the EPA and NOAA next week as they examine the following topics:
* Monday: Ozone and particle pollution
* Tuesday: What causes poor air quality?
* Wednesday: Keeping your lungs and heart safe
* Thursday: What are air quality forecasts.
* Friday: What can you do to help make the air cleaner?
To find out more visit: Air Quality Awareness Week
http://www.airquality.noaa.gov/
April 2010 – Special Earth Month Edition
GO GREEN!
EPA News You Can Use – April 2010 – Special Earth Month Edition
http://www.epa.gov/gogreen
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Earth Day is April 22, 2010
April 22 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and this is EPA’s 40th anniversary year, so we’ve planned a very special month! Start by checking out our newly redesigned Earth Day web site. Lots of cool things you can do to participate in and celebrate Earth Day – http://www.epa.gov/earthday. Go ahead – get involved: commit, take action, share!
NOTE: We are sending April’s special edition of Go Green! to all our mailing lists. This is a one-time only send, and does not mean you will receive this every month. To receive the Go Green! newsletter monthly, we welcome you to sign up at: http://www.epa.gov/gogreen
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WHAT YOU CAN DO, WHAT YOU CAN USE
It’s My Environment! Join EPA’s participatory video project – show the world it’s your environment! Deadline: April 15. http://www.epa.gov/earthday/video
Tell your environmental justice story, raise awareness in EPA’s Faces of the Grassroots video contest. Deadline: April 8. http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/events/video-contest.html
Pick 5 is going international! Early in April, join with others around the world to commit to small steps that fit your lifestyle, but are powerful actions for the environment. Visit http://www.epa.gov/pick5
Learn Before You Burn! Promote responsible wood-burning techniques that save money and clear the air by entering our Burn Wise video contest. Videos must include information to be released on April 9. Submit videos April 9-11. http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/contest.html
Join in a local event. There will be celebrations around the country or get our take-home kit: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm
Learn – Teach – Share:
Daily environmental tips via email. Enter your email here: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips2.htm
Put the environmental tips widget on your own web page, blog, or social networking profile: http://www.epa.gov/widgets
Listen to the daily audio tip podcast from EPA employees around the country. The podcast will be available for download and for free subscription on iTunes: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/podcasts
And then go teach! We’ve even got lesson plans for you to talk to your child’s classroom about the importance of environmental protection: http://www.epa.gov/teachers/teachresources.htm
Great Backyard Bird Count February 12-15
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5032
Bird Trackers
February 1, 2010
Reported by Erin Schneider
Become a “citizen scientist” this winter by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). During the weekend of February 12-15, you and your family can aid in the necessary monitoring of birds across our nation, and assist research facilities at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada. Last year, participants recorded more than 93,600 online checklists of birds sighted, creating the continent‘s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.
“The GBBC is a perfect first 
step toward the sort of intensive monitoring needed to discover how birds are responding to environmental change,” says Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science at Cornell Lab. “Winter is such a vulnerable period for birds, so winter bird distributions are likely to be very sensitive to change. There is only one way—citizen science— to gather data on private lands where people live….GBBC has enormous potential both as an early warning system and in capturing and engaging people in more intensive sampling of birds across the landscape.”
After entering sighting data at birdcount.org, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that follow the birds’ movements. Contributors are also encouraged to submit photographs they have taken during the count to the GBBC photo contest where they will be entered to win an assortment of prizes.
“Taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun, and help birds—all at the same time,” says Audubon Education Vice President Judy Braus. “Even if you can identify a few species you can provide important information that enables scientists to learn more about how the environment is changing and how that affects our conservation priorities.”
2009 Second Warmest Year of Warmest Decade on Record
NEW YORK, New York, January 25, 2010 (ENS) – The year 2009 was tied for the second warmest year in the modern record, shows a new analysis of global surface temperature from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Conducted by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, the analysis also shows that in the Southern Hemisphere, 2009 was the warmest year since modern records began in 1880.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2010/2010-01-25-03.html
Marcellus Shale Web Resources Highlight Facts About Hydraulic Fracturing
http://news.prnewswire.com
WEXFORD, Pa., July 13 /PRNewswire/ — The Marcellus Shale Committee today announced a new feature on its Web site, www.pamarcellus.com, which provides factual information on all aspects of hydraulic fracturing, including a step-by-step summary of each phase of the process, third-party reports and letters from several state regulators regarding the safety of what is often called “fracing” a natural gas well. Read more
New EPA Guide to Help Businesses Confront Climate Challenge
Contact: Marilyn Franklin, (202) 564-4355 / franklin.marilyn@epa.gov
EPA is releasing a new resource, A Business Guide to U.S. EPA Climate Partnership Programs, for businesses committed to addressing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change. The guide features profiles on 35 EPA climate-change related partnership programs, as well as a handy table so companies can look up programs most appropriate for their industry and business objectives. Each program profile defines the environmental value delivered by the program and the business case for participating, such as cost savings, operational efficiency, reduced business risk, new or expanded markets, enhanced reputation and brand protection.
The guide also describes the benefits of partnering with EPA, such as environmental performance benchmarking, public recognition, professional training and networking, and preparation for regulatory developments. There are currently more than 13,000 firms and other organizations participating in EPA climate-related partnership programs. Through participation, members are investing in energy efficiency, clean energy supply, and other practices and technologies for mitigating climate risks.
EPA developed the guide in consultation with Businesses for Social Responsibility (BSR), a nonprofit business association. BSR, which provides practical resources for businesses seeking sustainable solutions, is promoting the guide to its 250 members and other Global 1000 enterprises.
For copies of this guide and for more information about EPA Partnership Programs, visit: http://www.epa.gov/partners
For more information about BSR, visit: http://www.bsr.org