Strategic Approaches for Leading Change

Environmental Innovation

Portfolio

i

Environmental 

Preface Innovation Portfolio

Preface

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created a National Center for

Environmental Innovation to bring creativity to bear on solving pressing 

environmental problems. Our long-term goals are to foster a performanceoriented regulatory system, promote environmental stewardship behavior,

and create a culture of creative problem-solving.

In pursuing the Center’s mission, we recognize the challenge State and federal

environmental managers face in finding effective new approaches to achieve

environmental results while robustly operating today’s regulatory programs.

The good news is that the last decade has seen an unprecedented level of creative thinking and experimentation in State and local government and at EPA.

The paradox is that the resulting expansion of available approaches has made

it more difficult for State and federal managers to identify those strategies relevant to their particular priorities.

This Environmental Innovation Portfolio was prepared to help overcome that

barrier by: 1) categorizing the types of strategies that environmental agencies

can use to reap better results; 2) highlighting promising projects as examples

of approaches that can be adopted or adapted; and 3) promoting networking

among people working on similar problems who can benefit from shared

experiences.

Our hope is that the Portfolio will help you take advantage of the wealth 

of experience of your fellow travelers in the quest for increasingly effective

environmental protection strategies. We look forward to continuing our partnership with you in that journey, and in continuously improving our methods

for sharing our collective experience along the way.

Jay Benforado

Director

National Center for Environmental Innovation
ii

Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio Contents

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Setting Strategic Direction and Priorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

—Planning

—Measurement and Indicators

Improving Agency Service Delivery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

—Inspections and Enforcement

—Permitting

—Data Utilization and Information Management

—Public Education, Outreach, and Engagement

Enhancing Regulatory Outcomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

—Permit Flexibility

—Pollutant Trading

—Small Business Assistance Programs

Supporting Superior Environmental Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

—Leadership Programs

—Challenge Partnerships

—Sector-Based Performance Strategies

—Environmental Management Systems

Promoting Environmental Sustainability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

—Green Building

—Green Purchasing

—Green Process and Product Design

—Product Collections, Take-Backs, and Recycling

—Climate Change

Leveraging Partnerships for Environmental Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

—Community-Based Environmental Partnerships

—Government-Industry Partnerships

—Inter-Governmental Partnerships

Designing Targeted Geographic Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

—Land Conservation and Growth Management

—Brownfields

—Airshed Quality

—Watershed Quality
1

Environmental 

Introduction Innovation Portfolio

Introduction

As an environmental agency executive, you know that our system of environmental

protection is in transition. More and more, State and federal agencies are trying nontraditional approaches to:

• Solve increasingly complex problems not easily addressed by conventional regulatory

solutions.

• Harness better information and technology for environmental gains.

• Move beyond the limitations of single media approaches.

• Encourage environmental stewardship to improve environmental performance and redefine business relationships.

• Accomplish more in the face of budget constraints.

Agency leaders recognize that it is no longer possible to simply implement traditional programs and that it is necessary to identify the most pressing environmental concerns and

apply available tools to solve them.

The Purpose of This Portfolio

In response to this challenge, federal and State agencies have developed many innovative

strategies, ranging from changes in specific programs to changes in organizational systems

and culture. There has been no easy way, however, for other innovators to access and take of

advantage of this body of experience.

Therefore, this “Innovation Portfolio” has been developed as a quick navigational guide to the

expanding variety of innovative strategies and practices available to public environmental

agencies. The Portfolio highlights a broad array of projects and programs that are underway in

States and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enhance public agencies’ productivity, drive environmental performance improvement, and tackle complex environmental

problems. Targeting State and federal environmental executives as the primary audience, the

The Portfolio highlights a broad array of

projects and programs that are underway in

States and EPA to enhance public agencies’

productivity, drive environmental performance improvement, and tackle complex

environmental problems.
2

Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio Introduction

document helps you efficiently sort through the myriad of “good ideas” and locate

those most relevant to you.

Anyone interested in creative

strategies can use the document to stimulate new thinking and identify specific

project opportunities.

The document groups innovative approaches into seven

descriptive categories, or

“change areas” for improved

environmental performance.

A quick scan of the Portfolio

will reveal innovation opportunities relevant to priorities

in your organization. Once

you identify an area of 

interest, descriptions of 

innovative approaches,

accompanied by a few 

illustrative examples, will

help you access ideas and

experiences from other

organizations.

Numerous examples of 

specific innovative practices,

projects, and programs developed by State agencies, EPA,

and partnerships illustrate

promising “real-world”

activities that can be adopted

or adapted in your organization. From the expansive 

collections of innovations

available, we selected examples that have been used by

environmental agencies to

address a core agency function and that have experienced a degree of success.

Seven Change Areas for Improving

Environmental Performance

1. Setting Strategic Direction and Priorities

—Planning

—Measurement and Indicators

2. Improving Agency Service Delivery

—Inspections and Enforcement

—Permitting

—Data Utilization and Information

Management

—Public Education, Outreach, and Engagement

3. Enhancing Regulatory Outcomes

—Permit Flexibility

—Pollutant Trading

—Small Business Assistance Programs

4. Supporting Superior Environmental

Performance

—Leadership Programs

—Challenge Partnerships

—Sector-Based Performance Strategies

—Environmental Management Systems

5. Promoting Environmental Sustainability

—Green Building

—Green Purchasing

—Green Process and Product Design

—Product Collections, Take-backs and Recycling

—Climate Change

6. Leveraging Partnerships for Environmental

Protection

—Community-Based Environmental

Partnerships

—Government-Industry Partnerships

—Inter-Governmental Partnerships

7. Designing Targeted Geographic Solutions

—Land Conservation and Growth Management

—Brownfields

—Airshed Quality

—Watershed Quality
Leading Change in Your Organization

In addition to the challenge of finding the most appropriate strategy for solving a particular

problem, today’s public sector environmental managers have the responsibility—and opportunity—to create an organizational climate conducive to innovative approaches that supplement

and enhance traditional environmental management activities. Modeling and creating space for

“innovativeness” and aligning organizational systems to support development and implementation of new approaches are key aspects of this broader leadership challenge.The following

strategies have proven effective at creating an innovation-friendly organization:

• Define strategic goals as outcomes, not activities. Defining outcomes allows individuals and

organizations to develop creative and innovative

solutions to environmental problems.

• Ask questions that encourage creativity. Start

by asking the right questions: What is the environmental problem we are trying to solve? Who cares

about this problem and might partner to meet

shared goals? What are the tools and practices

available for problem solving? Can performance

goals provide flexibility in meeting established

requirements?

• Facilitate horizontal and vertical information

flow.Non-conventional flows of information create space for new perspectives and enable employees to connect new ideas to needs.

Involving employees from day-to-day program operations brings front-line experience to

change efforts, helping to ensure effective and durable solutions.

• Encourage collaboration. Collaborative problem-solving, which engages diverse participant perspectives, is key to crafting innovative solutions to specific environmental challenges.

• Recognize and reward innovation. Effectively motivating individuals is critical to developing and successfully applying new practices and tools to environmental protection.

3

Environmental 

Introduction Innovation Portfolio
4

The need for strategic planning and

measurement processes has risen as

agencies grapple with complex, crossmedia environmental challenges not easily

addressed through conventional regulatory

programs. Innovative practices are enabling

agencies to improve decision-making, focus

resources on priority needs, measure progress,

communicate results, and continually improve

environmental management efforts.

Planning

Agencies are increasingly recognizing the

importance of strategic planning to

enhance the productivity of public

resources. Improved planning processes are

helping agencies: 1) target resources where

they are needed most and identify activities

for disinvestment; 2) establish timelines to

address priority problems in a practical manner; and 3) communicate desired outcomes

and measures to internal and external stakeholders. Planning can be applied at various

levels, targeting agency-wide, sector-focused,

or media-specific activities. Efforts to weave

strategic planning into the organizational

fabric of agencies are linking strategic direction with budgeting, program execution, and

performance measurement. Adopting an

ongoing management process for aligning

organizational activities with strategic priorities significantly increases the productivity

and impact of planning. Through environmental agreements, such as Performance

Partnership Agreements, States and EPA are

working to align planning and prioritysetting activities to leverage broader impacts

and to clarify roles and accountability.

Agency managers can use innovative practices to bring planning to life, identifying

strategic priorities and aligning programs,

initiatives, and resources to achieve results.

Setting Strategic

Direction and Priorities

Planning ✹ Measurement and Indicators

Compliance Team Planning 

Process—Indiana

Incorporates agency-wide, holistic

compliance and enforcement planning

into the Performance Partnership

Agreement through the creation of a

team of senior managers representing

several media divisions and regions.

(http://www.in.gov/idem/enppa/

jointplanningworksharing.html)
5

Measurement 

and Indicators

Public agencies are improving performance

measurement, enabling better informed

priority setting and decision-making.

Significant progress is being made in developing indicators and performance measures that

shed light on: 1) environmental quality outcomes at various geographic levels (e.g.,

watershed, State, regional, national); 2) environmental performance of specific sources

and sectors; and 3) the implementation status

and effectiveness of agency environmental

improvement programs. Progress is also being

made in developing innovative practices and

tools for managing, sharing, and communicating performance measures and indicators.

Practices in this area help agency managers

better assess environmental quality and performance outcomes, making it possible to better target programmatic and policy interventions and to evaluate their effectiveness.

Setting Strategic 

Direction and Priorities

Environmental Indicators—U.S. EPA

Provides a framework for States and

U.S. EPA regions to measure and report

geographically scalable information on

environmental conditions and trends

to help construct a robust decision

support framework and the reporting

of environmental progress in a comprehensive manner to the public.

(http://www.epa.gov/indicators/)

King County Measuring for

Results—Washington

Publishes an annual report to share

environmental goals, progress, and

results with the public; indicators focus

on measurement of agency program

outcomes. (http://dnr.metrokc.gov/

dnrp/performance/index.htm)

Planning Partnerships—Utah

Coordinates planning efforts 

between the Utah Department of

Environmental Quality and U.S. EPA

Region 8 throughout the National

Environmental Performance

Partnership System (NEPPS) and with

12 local health departments to develop an Environmental Service Delivery

Plan. (http://www.eq.state.ut.us/

references/planning/)

Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio
subtitle

6

Pressures grow each year to improve

the quality and cost-effectiveness of

environmental agency service delivery.

Innovative practices enable agencies to

improve their core functions, minimizing time

and resource requirements while maintaining

or improving environmental outcomes.These

efforts are resulting in better service to partners and customers, while freeing resources

to address additional environmental priorities.

Inspections and

Enforcement

Environmental agencies are improving the

efficiency and effectiveness of compliance

assurance activities. Innovative practices

focus on: 1) tailoring compliance oversight

approaches to risk-based priorities; 2) changing the way inspections are carried out; and 3)

developing alternatives to inspections. Moving

away from a one-size-fits-all approach, agencies are matching facility or sector compliance

rate and risk profiles with the appropriate level

of inspection, reporting and monitoring, and

compliance assistance. Multimedia facility

inspections are reducing the time and cost of

onsite inspections. Agencies are also reducing

the inspection resources devoted to highperforming facilities by allowing facility selfauditing and self-reporting as an alternative to

conventional inspections. Agency managers

can use innovative practices to better target

and enhance the effectiveness of compliance

assurance resources.

Improving Agency

Service Delivery

Inspections and Enforcement ✹ Permitting ✹ Data Utilization and Information 

Management ✹ Public Education, Outreach, and Engagement

Self-Auditing and Reporting—

Rhode Island

Allows certain high-performing industrial facilities to pursue self-auditing

and self-reporting to reduce the frequency of inspections undertaken by

the Narragansett Bay Commission.

(http://www.epa.gov/projectxl/nbc/

index.htm)

Sector-Focused Compliance

Assistance—U.S. EPA

Through a mixture of compliance

assistance and compliance incentives,

EPA worked with the largest trade

association for industrial bakers to

reduce or eliminate leaks of ozonedepleting substances used in refrigeration equipment.

(http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/

civil/programs/caa/bakery/)
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

7

Improving Agency 

Service Delivery

Permitting

Agencies are applying business management tools to reduce permit lead times,

errors, and program costs. Environmental

permitting programs are sometimes the focus

of stakeholder frustration due to permitting

backlogs, long lead times, costs, and uncertainty. State and local permitting authorities are

streamlining air, water, and waste permitting

activities in creative ways. Efforts center on

two areas: 1) improving internal agency permitting processes; and 2) shifting away from

media-specific permitting for individual facilities. Some agencies are applying business

improvement techniques such as Six Sigma

and lean manufacturing to analyze and drive

improvement in their permitting processes.

Agency managers can apply innovative permitting and process improvement practices to

streamline permitting programs and reduce

permitting backlogs and turn-around times.

Data Utilization and

Information Management

New information management systems

are allowing States and EPA to improve

environmental program management and

decision-making. Advances in information

management are enabling agencies to: 1)

access and analyze current and historical

data; 2) share and aggregate data across

jurisdictions; 3) present data in formats that

support improved decision-making; 4)

collect data electronically in a streamlined manner; and 5) use information

technology to provide new and better

services. For example, implementation

of electronic information exchange

mechanisms between facilities and

agencies improves data quality and

reduces administrative burden. Many

States are enhancing their information

technology systems and are connecting to

the State-EPA Exchange Network, improving

Lean Air Permitting Process—Iowa

Uses “lean” rapid improvement methods developed in the manufacturing

sector to systematically identify and

eliminate unneeded steps and redundant activities in the permitting

process, while fostering continuous

improvement and employee involvement. (http://www.iowadnr.com/

air/prof/kaizen/kaizen.html)

Environmental Results Program—

Massachusetts, Rhode Island,

and Florida

Implements a multimedia, sectorbased regulatory approach, targeting

sectors with large numbers of small

sources, as an alternative to facilityspecific State permits with industrywide environmental performance

standards and annual self-certifications of compliance.

(http://www.mass.gov/dep/erp,

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/

categories/hazardous/pages/

autocert.htm,http://www.state.ri.us/dem/

programs/benviron/assist/index.htm)
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

8

Improving Agency 

Service Delivery

information flows and data sharing. In addition, innovative geographic information integration is empowering planning processes

around the country. Agency managers can

use innovative information management

practices to greatly enhance the value of

information that is currently collected—to

better inform decision-making, clarify external communications, and reduce the burden

of data collection and management.

Public Education, Outreach,

and Engagement

Numerous States are pioneering collaborative stakeholder involvement processes

to improve the quality and acceptability of

environmental improvement initiative

outcomes. Environmental agencies are building trust and understanding—which enables

behavior change—among stakeholder

groups through communication, involvement, and responsiveness. Innovative practices are: 1) bringing together diverse

stakeholders in creative forums to enhance

communication around important environmental challenges and to solicit input and

support on agency initiatives; and 2) establishing effective channels for engaging with

public inquiries, comments, and concerns.

Agency managers can enhance the durability

of agency decisions and initiatives through

effective public engagement, and can

strengthen public support through responsiveness to questions and concerns.

Pollution Complaint Response—Indiana

Coordinates an agency-wide, multimedia response to citizen inquiries and

complaints using Web-based information, enabling the agency to reduce

costs and increase public trust.

(http://www.in.gov/idem/

pollutioncomplaints/)

Ford Good Neighbor Dialogue—Illinois

Brings together stakeholders, academics, and agency representatives in a

collaborative process to periodically

discuss a large manufacturing facility’s

environmental management and performance. (http://www.deltainstitute.org/pollprev/ford.php)

Electronic Discharge Monitoring

Reports—Michigan

Automates discharge monitoring

reports for NPDES facilities to complete, sign, submit, edit, and re-submit

“eDMR” forms online.

(https://secure1.state.mi.us/

e2rs/skin/main/FrmGuest.aspx)

Smart Growth INDEX—States 

and U.S.EPA

Simulates alternative land use and

transportation scenarios using GIS

sketch models to incorporate smart

growth principles into planning

processes. (http://www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth/topics/sg_index.htm)
States and EPA are developing innovative

practices to facilitate improved environmental performance outcomes and regulatory compliance at lower overall cost.

Market-based approaches provide flexibility

that enables regulated entities to direct

resources to least-cost opportunities for meeting requirements. Practices in this area are

improving communication between public

agencies and regulated entities, while focusing

collective attention on performance results.

Permit Flexibility

States, in partnership with EPA, are developing alternative approaches to permitting

that encourage improved environmental

performance and enhance business competitiveness. These innovative practices

address concerns among the regulated community related to the time, cost, and certainty

associated with obtaining and operating

under conventional air, water, and waste permits. Innovative permitting practices typically

work in the context of existing applicable

requirements. For instance, innovative permitting practices: 1) focus attention on a facility’s

actual environmental performance results;

2) reduce the frequency of reporting where a

facility is well under applicable limits; 3) allow

a facility to make operational changes through

a streamlined process; and 4) move away from

facility-based to general permits. Agency managers can use flexible permitting practices to

address industry requests for increased operational flexibility while maintaining and

enhancing environmental protections.

Enhancing Regulatory

Outcomes

Permit Flexibility ✹ Pollutant Trading ✹ Small Business Assistance Programs

9

Watershed-Based Stormwater 

Permits—Michigan 

Establishes a voluntary watershedbased NPDES general permit for

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer

Systems (MS4s) to encourage stormwater management on a watershed basis;

includes a discharge elimination plan,

public education and participation,

and pollution prevention measures.

(http://www.michigan.gov/deq/

0,1607,7-135-3313_3682_3716-

24366--,00.htm)

MACT Rule for Pharmaceuticals

—U.S. EPA

Provides industry the option of meeting air toxics requirements by installing

new air emission control equipment or

by meeting an alternative, pollution

prevention, performance-based standard that shifts the focus to improving

production processes.

(http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/pharma/

pharmpg.html)
10

Enhancing 

Regulatory Outcomes

Pollutant Trading

States and EPA regions are using 

pollutant trading to reduce the cost of

complying with permitted emission and

effluent discharge levels. Pollutant trading programs create a market in which

sources that reduce pollutants below

required levels are allowed to sell their

excess emission reduction credits to

sources where it may be more expensive to

reduce pollution to required levels. Trading

systems create opportunities to reduce

pollution at lower cost and at a more rapid

pace than conventional permitting systems. Trading programs can also be

designed to encourage participation (and

emissions reductions) from sources that

may not be required to reduce pollutant

levels, such as non-point agricultural

sources. Trading programs can be implemented at a range of levels, from inter-plant

trading to regional trading, and for a wide

variety of air and water pollutants. Agency

managers can use trading systems in certain situations to lower the cost of pollutant

reductions and to achieve more environmental improvement faster.

Long Island Sound Nutrient

Trading—Connecticut

Reduces nitrogen loads in Long Island

Sound using a watershed permit for all

wastewater treatment plants. Sources

discharging less than their annual limit

receive credits for overcontrol and

facilities that exceed their limit must

purchase nitrogen discharge credits.

(http://www.dep.state.ct.us/wtr/lis/

lisindex.htm)

RECLAIM—California 

Establishes facility-wide emissions limits for refineries, power plants, and

other large stationary sources of NOx

and SOx in the Los Angeles area. Each

year, emissions limits are reduced and

sources can buy or sell emissions credits to meet permitted levels.

(http://www.aqmd.gov/reclaim/

reclaim.html)

Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

11

Enhancing 

Regulatory Outcomes

Small Business Assistance

Programs

States and EPA are deploying a range of

innovative practices and tools to support

small businesses in understanding and

complying with regulatory obligations

and in continually improving environmental performance. Many small businesses do not have environmental managers; in

those that do, the managers wear several

functional hats, limiting their ability to develop and maintain sophisticated environmental and compliance management systems.

Common innovative practices and tools

include: 1) guidebooks and materials that

clearly and concisely articulate requirements

and environmental management opportunities; 2) technical assistance and hotlines that

assist small businesses in addressing environmental needs; and 3) regulatory and programmatic approaches that simplify

compliance obligations for small businesses.

Agency managers can use innovative practices in this area to improve small business

compliance rates and environmental performance, while reducing their overall environmental management costs.

Practical Guide to Environmental

Management Systems for Small

Business—U.S. EPA

Provides practical information and a

step-by-step guide for small businesses

on how to organize their environmental

management responsibilities in a simple, productive, and cost-effective way.

(http://www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/

html/pdf/EM_Guide0902.pdf )

Small Business Hotline and Assistance

Centers—States and U.S. EPA

Provides direct assistance for small

businesses on a number of environmental topics, both general and program-specific. Numerous compliance

assistance documents have been

developed to assist with specific environmental compliance and performance needs.

(http://www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/

sba/sbpra2002_eparesources.html)
I

nnovative practices seek to build on the

foundation provided by the environmental regulatory framework, providing incentives for environmental performance above

required levels and forging collaborative relationships with volunteering organizations.

Leadership Programs

Environmental “leadership programs”are an

important model for encouraging and rewarding “beyond compliance”environmental performance among the regulated community.

Voluntary leadership programs typically establish criteria—such as implementation of an

environmental management system (EMS), a

track record of sound environmental performance, commitments to improve future performance—that regulated organizations must

meet to gain entry. Participating organizations

receive access to a variety of benefits such as:

1) public recognition; 2) regulatory incentives

designed to reduce the organizations’ compliance costs; and 3) access to information or

technical assistance designed to facilitate environmental improvement. Several programs

rely on a “tiered”approach that links increasing benefits to increasing levels of performance or commitments. Efforts are underway to

link and align leadership programs at the State

and national levels to improve consistency

and strengthen benefits. Agency managers

can encourage enhanced environmental performance and reduce the compliance cost to

high-performing facilities through the deployment of leadership programs and associated

incentives.

Supporting Superior

Environmental

Performance

Leadership Programs ✹ Challenge Partnerships ✹ Sector-Based 

Performance Strategies ✹ Environmental Management Systems

12

National Environmental Performance

Track Program—U.S. EPA

Recognizes facilities that consistently

meet legal requirements, implement an

effective EMS, and make commitments

to improving future environmental 

performance beyond required levels.

Performance Track provides various

incentives to participating facilities,

such as technical assistance and regulatory flexibility.(http://www.epa.gov/

performancetrack/)

Clean Texas Program—Texas

Provides member facilities with various State regulatory incentives if they

maintain a high-quality EMS, pollution

prevention program, and compliance

record. The Clean Texas Program works

in conjunction with EPA’s National

Performance Track Program.

(http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/exec/

sbea/cleantx/)
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

13

Supporting Superior 

Environmental Performance

Challenge Partnerships

Voluntary challenge partnerships can

motivate environmental performance in

new areas or beyond levels required by

law without requiring time-consuming or

expensive regulatory action. These programs recognize voluntary environmental

improvement actions in targeted areas, such

as reducing water use or emissions of certain pollutants. Participating companies typically receive public relations benefits

associated with recognition of their

improvement actions. Some challenge partnerships also provide tools and technical

assistance to support organizations in

reaching established challenge goals.

Voluntary challenge partnerships can target

specific industry sectors, or be open to

broader participation. Challenge partnerships can also create peer pressure for participation and environmental improvement.

Agency managers can use challenge partnerships to communicate environmental

improvement priorities to the regulated

community and to motivate cost-effective

performance improvement.

Sector-Based 

Performance Strategies

Sector-based strategies create an opportunity for regulators and sector representatives to collaboratively remove factors

that constrain environmental performance

improvement and develop approaches

and tools that encourage continual performance improvement within the sector.

Organizations within a particular industry or

service sector often face common environmental challenges and opportunities that

can differ from those faced by other sectors.

States and EPA are working with many 

sectors to: 1) address sector-specific environmental problems; and 2) develop environmental management tools, such as EMS

guides, that can help enhance environmental

performance in the sector. Agency managers

can address priority environmental challenges in their jurisdiction by working collaboratively with relevant industry sectors

through an existing sector-based program or

by launching a new sector-based initiative.

STEP-UP Program—Maine 

The Maine Smart Tracks for

Exceptional Performers and Upward

Performers (STEP-UP Program) offers

recognition and other incentives to

businesses interested in implementing

sustainable practices.

(http://www.maine.gov/dep/oc/stepup/)

WasteWise Program—U.S. EPA

Encourages partners to design solid

waste reduction programs and provides technical assistance, information,

and recognition to participating

organizations.

(http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/)

Sector Strategies Program—U.S. EPA

Convenes stakeholders in government

and the private sector to work together

to achieve industry-wide environmental gains through innovative actions in

12 manufacturing and service sectors.

(http://www.epa.gov/sectors/)

Cleaner Production Challenge—

Washington

Helps companies in the aerospace parts

manufacturing, and plating and circuit

board manufacturing industries reduce

the amount of water used, wastewater

produced, and hazardous sludge generated by offering onsite technical assistance, employee training, vendor

workshops, and peer exchanges.

(http://www.pprc.org/cpc/index.htm)
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

14

Supporting Superior 

Environmental Performance

Environmental

Management Systems

States and EPA have been actively promoting the widespread use of EMSs. EMSs 

provide organizations of all types with a

structured approach for managing environmental and regulatory responsibilities to

improve overall environmental performance,

including areas not subject to regulation

such as resource conservation and energy

efficiency. EMSs can also help organizations

integrate all these environmental considerations, and get better results, by establishing a

continuous process of checking to make

sure environmental goals are met, and

responding if problems occur. From a business perspective, they can often help make

organizations more efficient and more competitive and help address other important

issues such as security at key facilities. EMSs

are not a substitute for strong regulatory and

enforcement programs, but rather complement them. EMSs can indicate opportunities

for environmental agencies to streamline regulations, and can be used to support compliance assistance, monitoring, and enforcement.

PEER Centers—U.S. EPA

The Public Entity EMS Resource (PEER)

Initiative provides a broad array of

information and tools to help public

entities (primarily local governments)

understand and adopt EMSs for their

operations.

(http://www.peercenter.net)

Hospitals and Healthcare—U.S. EPA

Encourages the health care industry in

U.S. EPA Region 2 to move beyond

compliance through the use of EMSs.

U.S. EPA Region 2, in collaboration with

hospitals, advocacy groups, and trade

associations, has developed an EMS

template for the industry to better

understand its environmental impacts

and associated regulations.

(http://www.epa.gov/region02/

healthcare)
Communities are increasingly interested in reducing the environmental

footprint of economic activities and

are looking to public agencies to encourage

sustainable behaviors. Agencies are implementing sustainability initiatives internally

and are encouraging other organizations

and companies to adopt similar practices.

Innovative sustainability practices are targeting buildings and property development,

production processes, products, and waste

generation to cost-effectively lower the

material requirements, energy needs, and

environmental risk of economic activity.

Green Building

Green building practices are reducing environmental impacts by influencing design,

construction, and deconstruction choices.

Innovative practices are promoting a variety of

sustainable building techniques, such as use of

green building materials, energy and waterefficient design, and demolition material reuse

and recycling. Other innovative practices are

taking a broader perspective by facilitating

sustainable design at the neighborhood or

community level. Innovative green building

practices are: 1) disseminating information on

green building techniques; 2) developing 

tools to facilitate green design choices; and 

3) leveraging government’s ability to lead by

example through its building and construction choices. Agency managers can use these

techniques to address specific waste, energy,

or water challenges, and to complement

broader efforts to encourage environmentally

sustainable behaviors.

Promoting

Environmental

Sustainability

Green Building ✹ Green Purchasing ✹ Green Process and Product Design 

✹ Product Collections, Take-backs, and Recycling ✹ Climate Change 

15

Building Deconstruction and

Reuse—Florida

Coordinates the designation of 

valuable materials from building disassembly for reuse in a community

organization building expansion, reducing landfilling and saving resources.

(http://www.deconstructioninstitute.com/)

Green Communities Program

—U.S. EPA Region 3

Extends access to tools, technical assistance, and training to integrate environmental goals with economic and

social goals applicable to urban, suburban, and rural communities.

(http://www.epa.gov/greenkit/)
16

Promoting Environmental

Sustainability

Green Purchasing

Government agencies are stimulating

demand and developing markets for environmentally preferable production products

and services using their purchasing power.

Public agencies are: 1) changing their own procurement practices; 2) organizing purchasing

alliances to further leverage buying power; and

3) increasing access to information regarding

environmental attributes of products and services. Agency managers can use innovative practices to increase the availability of environmentally preferable products and to encourage

other organizations to purchase them.

Green Process and 

Product Design

Environmental agencies can influence

business process and product design

decisions that improve environmental

outcomes. Innovative practices frequently:

1) target specific product constituents,

such as toxic chemicals, for pollution 

prevention, waste minimization, and

resource conservation; 2) partner directly

with companies or industry associations,

particularly in the product design and

development phase, offering design advice

and incentives to adopt green processes

and products; 3) support research into

environmentally preferable substances and

processes; and 4) provide technical assistance and basic tools to small businesses.

Agency managers can use innovative practices to help businesses understand the full

(and often hidden) costs of process and

product design choices.

Environmentally Preferable 

Purchasing—Washington

Uses procurement guidelines that

integrate environmental impacts and

life cycle assessment to stimulate

demand for green goods and services.

(http://www.metrokc.gov/procure/green/)

Green Power Purchasing—U.S. EPA

Establishes a green energy purchasing

cooperative and recognizes green energy buyer leaders to promote renewable

energy generation and reduce the cost

differential of green energy.

(http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/

buygreenpower/guide.htm)

Industrial Ecology—New Jersey 

and New York

Uses an industrial ecology framework

(examining uses and flows of materials

and energy in products) to recommend pollution prevention strategies

for five toxic chemicals contaminating

New York/New Jersey Harbor.

(http://www.nyas.org/programs/

harbor.asp)

Sustainable Futures Initiative

—U.S. EPA

Applies a structured pollution prevention framework during product development to reduce risk and costs of

future processes and products.

(http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/

newchems/sustainablefutures.htm)

Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

17

Promoting Environmental

Sustainability

Product Collections,

Take-backs, and Recycling

Agencies are employing innovative practices to keep toxic substances, and products

containing them, from being landfilled or

improperly discarded. Innovative practices,

such as collection events and take back systems, are being used to address the logistical

challenge of collecting dispersed, used products and wastes. For example, many jurisdictions have programs to collect scrap tires, used

motor oil, and other automotive product

waste. Efforts are growing to expand collection of used consumer electronic goods.

Agencies are supplementing targeted waste

collection activities with efforts to repair,

demanufacture, and/or recycle the products,

often teaming with private sector partners.

Agency managers can use product collection

efforts to mitigate the environmental and

human health impacts of specific products or

product constituents until more environmentally preferable designs emerge.

Climate Change

Public agencies are taking steps to reduce

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while

improving energy efficiency and economic

performance. Public agencies are increasingly

realizing that many GHG reduction efforts have

additional benefits,such as reducing criteria pollutant emissions associated with energy use and

combustion activities.Although addressing climate change issues can involve multi-national

cooperation,efforts on a smaller scale can add

up to big results.Public agencies are pursuing

innovative practices that include:1) developing

GHG emission inventories; 2) establishing and

committing to GHG reduction goals and targets;

and 3) developing action plans to achieve these

goals.Agencies are also implementing specific

GHG reduction projects with or without a link to

broader planning.Agency managers can use

innovative practices to assess the profile of GHG

emissions in their jurisdiction and to collaboratively plan an appropriate response strategy.

Waste Tires to Heating Fuel—Missouri

Turns scrap tires into tire-derived fuel

that combined with coal; provides fuel

for the University of Missouri at a fuel

cost savings of $100,000 per year and

with reduced stack emissions.

(http://www.dnr.state.mo.us/magazine/

1999_spring/resource-honor-roll.htm)

Consumer Electronics Recycling—

Massachusetts

Promotes consumer electronics reuse

and recycling using a four-pronged plan

including market development, collection infrastructure, statewide recycling

contracts, and regulatory reform to take

cathode ray tubes off the hazardous

waste list.(http://www.mass.gov/

dep/recycle/crt/crthome.htm)

Greenhouse Gas Action Plan

—New Jersey

Commits to reduce GHG emissions to

3.5 percent below 1990 levels (20 million tons), targeting five areas to reach

the goal: energy conservation; pollution

prevention; technology improvements;

recycling and waste management; and

resource protection.

(http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/gcc/

gcc.htm)

Carbon Sequestration—Mississippi

and Tennessee

Sequesters carbon in enhanced landscapes through public-private partnerships for ecosystem restoration and

reforestation in the lower Mississippi

Valley.(http://www.usbcsd.org/

lowermississippi.htm)
At times, traditional regulatory and

programmatic remedies are insufficient to resolve an environmental

problem. Effective solutions might require

the participation of multiple actors, some of

whom are not easily reached through conventional approaches. Innovative, collaborative problem-solving and partnership

models are enabling environmental agencies

to tackle such complex environmental problems. Successful partnerships distribute the

challenge of finding solutions, enlisting partners’ energies and resources to achieve

mutually desired outcomes. Common partnership models include community-based

environmental partnerships (CBEPs), government-industry partnerships, and inter-governmental partnerships.

Community-Based

Environmental

Partnerships

Environmental partnerships are

enabling communities to face complex

environmental challenges that necessitate behavior change on a scale that

cannot easily be secured when a public

environmental agency acts alone. CBEP

models typically focus on problems that:

1) require behavior change among multiple actors, often including individuals and

households; and 2) are targeted in a specific geographic area. Targeted problems

include reducing the effects of toxic substances on human health and ecosystems,

improving indoor air quality, and improving the quality of life in urban areas. These

partnerships often attempt to leverage

existing community-based organizations to

engage in collaborative problem-solving

and to spur broad-based behavior

change. Outreach is a key element of

this model, although incentives can

supplement education efforts. Agency

managers can offer support to groups

pursuing CBEPs as a means to encourage greater local participation and

ownership of environmental improvement efforts.

Leveraging Partnerships

for Environmental

Protection

Community-based Environmental Partnerships ✹ Government-Industry 

Partnerships ✹ Inter-Governmental Partnerships

18
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

19

Leveraging Partnerships for

Environmental Protection

Government-Industry

Partnerships

Partnerships among government agencies and specific companies or industry

coalitions can offer a low-cost and more

inclusive approach to improving compliance rates or achieving desired performance outcomes. While significant

environmental performance improvement

has been achieved through regulatory

approaches, opportunities exist in many sectors to improve compliance rates and to

enhance environmental performance

beyond regulatory minimums. Governmentindustry partnership models can include

several elements, such as: 1) research or joint

technology development or testing; 2) education and outreach; 3) technical assistance;

4) regulatory or financial incentives; and 5)

public challenges and commitments. Trade

associations and other business organizations can play an important role by lowering

the transaction costs for interactions

between environmental agencies and individual businesses. Agency managers can use

government-industry partnership models, or

piggyback on existing partnerships, to work

collaboratively with industry sectors to

address specific environmental challenges.

Neighborhood Contamination

Reduction—South Carolina

Enlists numerous community organizations and local businesses to support education and outreach to

reduce community exposure to lead

and other hazardous substances as

part of the Charleston-North

Charleston Community-Based

Environmental Partnership (CBEP).

(http://www.epa.gov/region4/

programs/cbep/charleston.html)

Omaha Asthma Alliance—Nebraska

Created a coalition to lessen the

impact of asthma in the Omaha

Metropolitan area through the development of a strategic plan that

addresses Alliance development, professional education/training, public

and patient education, data gathering

and tracking, and advocacy.

(http://www.lungnebraska.org/

 whatwedo/aalliance.asp)

Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce 

Sustainable Environment for

Quality of Life—North Carolina 

and South Carolina

Establishes an integrated environmental

initiative for the 15-county metropolitan

Charlotte region in North and South

Carolina involving elected officials, local

government staff, business and industry

groups, economic development groups,

and environmental stakeholder groups

to work toward viable solutions to

regional growth.(http://www.seql.org)

Businesses for the Bay—

Chesapeake Bay Region

Engages State and local government

agencies with local businesses to target watershed pollution prevention

through voluntary commitments and

business-to-business mentoring.

(http://www.chesapeakebay.net/

b4bay.htm)
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

20

Leveraging Partnerships for

Environmental Protection

Inter-Governmental

Partnerships

Inter-governmental partnerships are

enhancing the effectiveness of public

agency efforts to address complex environmental challenges. These challenges

often involve diverse issue areas, such as

public health, natural resource management,

land use, transportation, and infrastructure.

Jurisdiction over these dimensions typically

resides in multiple agencies and organizations, making integrated solutions difficult

without coordination. In addition, some environmental problems are better suited to a

regional approach that crosses county or

State lines. Inter-governmental partnerships

can enable public agencies to: 1) coordinate

effectively on solutions that require participation of multiple agencies; 2) pool

resources to address shared problems; and 

3) enhance political or economic clout for

achieving a desired outcome. Agency managers can pursue inter-governmental partnerships to align other relevant government

agencies in efforts to address strategic environmental priorities.

Western Regional Air Partnership—

Western States, Tribes, and Federal

Agencies

Supports efforts to improve air quality

and visibility in Western States, providing policy and technical tools to

enable States and tribes to implement

the federal regional haze rule.

(http://www.wrapair.org/)

Great Lakes Commission—U.S. EPA,

Great Lakes States, Canada

Promotes the orderly, integrated, and

comprehensive development, use, and

conservation of the water and related

natural resources of the Great Lakes

basin and St. Lawrence River.

(http://www.glc.org/)
Certain environmental challenges 

are strongly linked to place.

They require integrated, multidimensional solutions that balance 

competing pressures for preserving or

enhancing quality of life, economic development, public health, ecosystem integrity,

and environmental quality. Innovative 

practices are helping public environmental

agencies coordinate or participate in effective responses to such complex challenges

as open space protection, land redevelopment, and maintenance of watershed and

airshed quality.

Land Conservation and

Growth Management

Public agencies are using innovative practices to conserve land and manage

growth. Managing quality of life and ecosystem integrity is increasingly challenging as

development encroaches on farmland, rural

areas, and open space. Public agencies are

responding by: 1) implementing open space

preservation initiatives; and 2) promoting

high density, low impact development. For

example, States are purchasing land rights,

negotiating conservation easements, and

working with landowners to place lands in

trust. Agencies are also developing increasingly sophisticated modeling tools to support managed growth without sacrificing

traditional development goals. Education

and outreach efforts are raising awareness of

the costs of sprawl and loss of open space.

Public environmental agency managers can

play an important role—in collaboration

with other partners—in mitigating land use

patterns that undermine aspects of environmental quality that are critical to public

health, economic development, quality of

life, and ecosystem integrity.

Designing Targeted

Geographic Solutions

Land Conservation and Growth Management ✹ Brownfields ✹ Airshed Quality ✹ Watershed Quality

Smart Growth Network—States

and U.S. EPA

Promotes economic development that

simultaneously fosters healthy communities, strong neighborhoods, and transportation choices by providing tools,

resources, and information sharing.

(http://www.smartgrowth.org)

Livable Communities Program—

Minnesota

Creates a fund through the State legislature to invest in local communities to

encourage affordable housing opportunities, investment in brownfields

redevelopment, and promotion of efficient and connected development.

(http://www.metrocouncil.org/

services/livcomm.htm)

21
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

22

Designing Targeted 

Geographic Solutions

Brownfields

Numerous initiatives are underway to

speed the redevelopment of vacant, underused, and potentially contaminated properties in urban and rural areas. Cleaning up

and reinvesting in these “brownfields” properties both improves environmental quality and

relieves development pressures on undeveloped,“greenfields” land. Agencies are improving their brownfields and voluntary cleanup

programs to reduce factors that constrain

contaminated site cleanup and reuse, such as

uncertainty around liability and complexity of

cleanup and redevelopment requirements.

Agencies also use various economic tools,

such as loan and tax incentives, usually supported by State and federal appropriations, to

encourage contaminated site reuse by lowering the cost relative to greenfields development. Agency managers can use innovative

practices in this area to expedite cleanup of

contaminated sites and to rapidly return

properties to productive use.

Airshed Quality

Addressing airshed quality and the associated public health impacts, particularly in

urban nonattainment areas requires innovative approaches to meet guidelines

while maintaining flexibility and promoting economic growth. Federal mandates for

air quality, particularly ground-level ozone,

have set challenging limits for many cities,

especially those in nonattainment. To balance

growth and support business, States are turning to innovative practices that reduce ozone

creating pollutants. Incentives for business

action promotes emission reductions and

mitigates urban heat island effects. In addition, offset programs can enable continued

economic development while ensuring 

overall pollution reductions are achieved.

Further State-federal cooperative efforts 

provide flexibility in managing airsheds.

The Independent Cleanup Pathway

—Oregon

Assists parties in cleaning up low and

medium priority contaminated sites,

under the state’s Voluntary Cleanup

Program, without full agency oversight, but with State approval and

issuance of No Further Action determination upon completion.

(http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/

cleanup/icp-main.htm)

Tax Increment Financing—

Alabama and Other States

Uses the incremental difference in 

tax revenues anticipated from growth

in property taxes generated by

cleanup and reuse to finance brownfields redevelopment.

(http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/

bftaxinc.htm)

Atlantic Station—Georgia 

and U.S. EPA Region 4

Classifies a brownfields redevelopment on the former Atlantic Steel site

for its myriad of design and development strategies to reduce transportation emissions as a Transportation

Control Measure (TCM) within the

State Implementation Plan (SIP).

(http://www.atlanticstation.com/

index.htm)

Ozone Flex Program—U.S. EPA

Region 6 and States in Region 6

Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) to

outline specific, voluntary, locally tailored pollution control plans to reduce

or maintain ozone levels below the

one-hour standard, providing flexibility to meet federal mandates in areas

that currently exceed the eight-hour

standard.

(http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/

air/pd-l/flex.htm)
Environmental 

Innovation Portfolio

23

Designing Targeted 

Geographic Solutions

Watershed Quality

Whereas water quality management has

traditionally focused on permitted point

sources and their discharges, innovative

practices are taking a broader view by considering total watershed quality and examining solutions that simultaneously

address water quality, water quantity, and

habitat conditions. These efforts are supplementing point source, end-of-pipe regulatory

activity by: 1) targeting nonpoint water pollution sources; 2) enabling pollution controls to

be established where the most cost effective

improvements can be achieved; and 3) building partnerships with a full range of interested parties. States are turning to market

mechanisms such as upstream prevention

measures to reduce or eliminate the need for

plant site water treatment and wetlands mitigation banks to increase water quality and

habitat preservation cost effectively. Agencies

simultaneously are targeting diffuse, nonpoint

sources such as stormwater, animal feedlots,

and septic systems with voluntary incentive

programs and encouraging more effective

and widespread use of treated wastewater

through targeted water recycling efforts.

New York City Watershed

Protection—New York

Establishes watershed microbial contamination protection measures

through land acquisition, land use

alteration, and stringent watershed

rules to avoid building a costly filtration plant for its drinking water.

(http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dep/

html/watershed.html)

Western Iowa Environmental

Stewardship Program—Iowa

Brings together livestock producers

and processors, federal and State regulators, and academics to implement

voluntary, comprehensive nutrient

management plans to reduce soil erosion and manure runoff.

(http://www.sectorstar.org/state/

Project.cfm?ProjectID=103&StatePic=IA)

For More Information

EPA’s National Center for Environmental

Innovation (NCEI) is dedicated to working with

public environmental agency managers to

connect innovative approaches to important organizational needs and environmental challenges. The Innovation

Portfolio, as well as additional examples of

innovative approaches that may be helpful

for States, can be found on NCEI’s website at:

www.epa.gov/innovation
1EPA

United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency(1807T)Washington, DC 20460Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use $300EPA100-R-05-002March 2005

2Recycled/Recyclable—Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% (Minimum 50% Postconsumer) Recycled Paper