Suceess Story 

Getting on the Books 

with Waste Reduction 

Success Story 

Getting on the Books 

aste Reduction 

“	Our waste reduction and 

recycling programs 

profoundly demonstrate 

how our environmental 

and business interests 

can be achieved without 

compromising either.” 

Bruce Norton 

Environmental Scientist 

Constellation Energy Group 

More and more companies that seek to reduce greenhouse gas 

emissions are recognizing the climate benefits of alternative 

waste management strategies, such as recycling and reuse. The 

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Voluntary Reporting of 

Greenhouse Gas Program provides a means for individuals, companies, and organizations to report their emissions reductions from 

recycling programs and other waste management activities. 

GHG Reductions from Waste 

Management: DOE Voluntary 

Reporting Program 

Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 established the Voluntary 

Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Program. The 1605(b) program, as it is commonly 

called, was created so that individuals or entities can report information on 

any activity that reduces emissions of greenhouse gases or increases carbon 

sequestration. The 1605(b) program currently is administered by DOE’s Energy 

Information Administration (EIA). 

The 1605(b) program has registered more than 230 companies and organizations. Collectively, these entities have reported cumulative reductions of 969 

million metric tons of CO2 equivalent since 1994. By recording their accomplishments with EIA, they establish a public record of emissions reductions 

and receive a certificate of recognition for environmental stewardship. 

Due to requests from companies that wanted to report their recycling activities, EPA provided DOE with a methodology for converting waste activities into 

annual MTCE avoided 

Constellation Energy Group Greenhouse Gas greenhouse gas benefits, based on existing Reductions from Recycling emission factor research. In 1999 alone, more 

150,000	 than 20 entities used the EPA-provided 

methodology to report recycling and source 

reduction activities. These activities reduced 

the quantity of waste disposed in landfills by 

100,000	 711,602 metric tons, resulting in emission 

reductions of 572,288 metric tons of CO2 

equivalent. 

50,000	 Constellation Energy 

Group 

25,000	 One of the participants, Constellation Energy 

Group (a subsidiary of Baltimore Gas and 

0 

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Electric Company) has recycled 71 percent of 

annual CO2 equivalent the total waste it generated since 1993, 
including paper, rubber, plastic, 

metal, and wood. One source that 

Constellation used for innovative 

ways to reduce waste and save 

PGE estimates that the company has 

avoided 68,000 metric tons of CO2 

equivalent. In 1999 alone, PGE 

reduced 11,836 metric tons of CO2 

gases through waste reduction measures. Registering emissions reductions through 1605(b) provides a 

means of gaining recognition for 

money is WasteWise, an EPA partnership program. Through WasteWise, 

EPA provided Constellation with a 

variety of waste reduction publications and other resources and a 

summary of its waste-related greenhouse gas emissions. 

Portland General 

Electric 

Portland General Electric (PGE) is an 

investor-owned utility that conducts 

business in eight Oregon counties. 

The company recycled almost 10,000 

tons of metal and nearly 2,000 tons 

of paper since 1991. 

Clairol 

Clairol, an international corporation 

that makes hair-care products, has 

recycled 55 to 60 percent of its total 

solid waste annually since 1991. 

Clairol relies on an on-site solid waste 

contractor to provide recycling data 

for the 1605(b) program. The company has found that converting data to 

familiar measures, such as expressing 

tons of paper in number of trees, has 

helped raise employee participation. 

Benefits 

The environmental benefits of 

Constellation’s recycling program are 

striking. To date, Constellation 

avoided nearly 160,000 metric tons 

of CO2 equivalent through recycling. 

In addition, the company saved 

approximately $5 million in avoided 

disposal costs and more than $8 

million in avoided purchases as a 

result of the reuse program. 

equivalent and avoided more than 

$100,000 in disposal costs due to 

recycling of metal and paper. 

In 1999, Clairol reported savings of 

1,097 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, 

due to recycling 1,589 metric tons 

of corrugated cardboard, 53 metric 

tons of mixed paper, and 48 metric 

tons of plastic. 

In addition to environmental and 

economic benefits, the 1605(b) program provides social advantages 

such as educating companies on 

ways to limit emissions, spreading 

the word about innovative emission 

reduction activities, and developing 

a database that can be used to evaluate future policy instruments aimed 

at limiting emissions. Waste reduction efforts clearly play a role in 

reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Challenges 

The 1605(b) program provides a 

means for companies to make the 

link between their recycling activities and reducing greenhouse gas 

emissions. Although many corporations have internal waste management programs and express interest 

in climate protection, only a fraction have taken advantage of their 

greenhouse gas reductions as a benefit from waste reduction measures via 

the 1605(b) program. EIA does not 

actively recruit companies to register 

their efforts with the 1605(b) program, but it does work with programs 

such as WasteWise that encourage 

companies to reduce greenhouse 

WasteWise partnerships. 

Once companies decide to register 

their efforts, they are faced with the 

challenge of quantifying emissions 

reductions. EIA provides technical 

assistance on its Web site, which 

offers general guidance, discussions, 

worksheets, and electronic tools for 

preparing annual reports for the 

1605(b) program. Recycling worksheets assist users with calculating 

emissions reductions obtained from 

recycling various materials. 

Additional 

Information 

For more information on the 

1605(b) program, see 

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ 

frntvrgg.html 

To access the 1605(b) Public Use 

Database, see http://www.eia.doe.gov/ 

oiaf/1605/database.html 

For information on WasteWise, call 

1-800-EPA-WISE (372-9473) or go to 

www.epa.gov/wastewise 

For more information on 

Constellation Energy Group, see 

http://www.constellationenergy.com 

For PGE, see http://www.pgecorp.com 

For Clairol, see http://www.clairol.com 

EPA’s Climate and Waste Program increases 

awareness of climate change and its link to 

waste management in order to (1) make 

greenhouse gas emissions a factor in waste 

management decisions and (2) employ waste 

management as a mitigation action for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For additional 

information on EPA’s Climate and Waste 

Program, see www.epa.gov/mswclimate. 

Recycled/Recyclable 

Printed with Vegetable Oil-Based Inks 

on Recycled Paper 

(Minimum 50% Postconsumer) 

Process Chlorine Free 

Solid Waste and 

Emergency Response 

(5306W) 

EPA 530-F-02-019 

July 2002 

www.epa.gov