Pollution Prevention (P2) and Innovation

Lifecycle Construction Conference 2009

Lifecycle Building Challenge 2 2008 Video

Click below to view the 2008 Lifecycle Building Challenge video. Double-click the lifecycle-awards_1.wmv file. It will open in your Windows Media Player.

Video of 2008 Winners

Want to know how much CO2, trees and wastewater you can save using eco-friendly paper products? Find out now by checking out and downloading Green Printer’s Eco Calculator widget!

Vision

The EPA Region 4 Office of Pollution Prevention and Innovation (OPPI) Vision is to use innovation to promote and fully integrate the principles of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Stewardship into Region 4’s actions, policies and employee ethic.

Mission

OPPI uses the tools of pollution prevention (P2), as defined by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, and innovation to support EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. OPPI accomplishes this by supporting Region 4 States’ P2 and Innovation programs, collaborating with EPA regulatory and partnership programs, and communicating effective P2 and innovations strategies that will result in improved human health and environmental outcomes.

Resources for Business, Government and Institutions

The Waste Reduction Resource Center (WRRC) web site is for recent regional P2 information on P2 grants, State Activities, and regional Technical P2 Library. This Center funded by Regions 3 & 4 contains over 24,000 electronic documents on P2. These include journal articles, case studies, technical reports, and video tapes.

Compliance Assistance and Incentives - Compliance Assistance programs provide information about pollution regulations, training in how to identify and report pollution violations and cost-effective means of preventing or correcting them.

Region 4 P2 Grant Information - This link will take you to the grants information on the WRRC site. The Region 4 guidance and priorities are posted for both Pollution Prevention Grants and Source Reduction Grants. National notifications on these grants generally occur in the beginning of the calendar year.

Federal agencies have an obligation and responsibility to lead by example and reduce our carbon footprint. We invite you to join EPA Region 4 and reduce your climate impacts by influencing the actions of your organization to reduce your carbon footprint.

Useful centralized web-based toolkits to assist local governments, citizens, businesses and environmental regulators in identifying information to develop, evaluate, support, and/or expand programs in air quality, waste, revitalization projects and water.

Climate Change - Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are often called greenhouse gases. Some greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide occur naturally and are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. Other greenhouse gases (e.g., fluorinated gases) are created and emitted solely through human activities.

Carbon Footprint Calculator

Personal/Household Emissions

You can use the following online calculator to get a rough “ballpark” estimate of your personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions and explore the impact of taking various actions to reduce your emissions. The calculator is broken into three sections:

Section 1: Estimate your current total household emissions.
Section 2: Explore actions you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and waste disposal costs.
Section 3: See how much you can save (in dollars and emissions) by taking the actions you chose in Section 2.

For information about the contents of this page, please contact Pamela Swingle.