NGO Case for PerformanceBased Policy

1
NGO Case for Performance-Based Policy

• MSWG Annual Meeting
• Madison, WI June 19, 2007

2
Getting out of the gate

• Chicago planning meeting March 2007
• Attendees
• Eric Uram Headwater Consulting, Sierra Club
• Jason Morrison Pacific Institute
• Steve Skavroneck Steve Skavroneck
• John Walke Natural Resources Defense Council
• Eric Schaeffer Environmental Integrity Project
• Jerry Speir Louisiana Environmental Action
  Network
• Bill Davis State Environmental Leadership
  Project

3
Environmental Concerns

• Why havent we addressed global warming in a
  meaningful way?
• Why havent we achieved clean air and water as
  required by law?
• What will happen to the new suite of issues that
  dont clearly fall into existing law? (i.e.
  nanotechnology)
• How can we achieve sustainability once we achieve
  compliance?

4
What was on the table

• Discussion of existing federal and state programs
  and their effectiveness
• Look at other opportunities (ISO, GRI, etc.)
• Compare government programs to private efforts to
  improve performance
• Identifying commonalities in strengths and
  weaknesses of fed and state programs
• Identification of overall shortcomings

5
Concerns raised

• No performance required
• Rewards before achievements
• Political actors rather than real players
• No differentiation between good and bad
  performers in programs
• No evidence of improved performance by
  participants
• Lack of separation between independent 3rd
  party EMS developers and auditors and customers
• Accreditation systems suspect for some auditors

6
Concerns raised (cont.)

• Lack of consistent and sufficient evaluation and
  verification systems
• Facility report spin
• Reduced government controls and authorities over
  participants compared to CC
• True overall oversight lacking
• Silo-based approaches in some efforts
• Public participation not necessarily informed
• Public expertise in industrial process not
  guaranteed
• Time commitment to participate w/o compensation

7
Are supporters drinking the kool-aid or finding
true solutions?

• NGOs wont buy it just by kicking the tires
• Public interest unaware of programs
• Length of time to immerse oneself in learning
  everything
• Apprehension of anything brought to them by
  industry and government

8
Issues identified for a successful program

• Monitoring and metrics are foundation for
  assessing facilities and programs
• Fix inherent monitoring problems, fundamentals
  seem broken
• Information quality
• Reporting inconsistencies
• Compliance history lacking or missing
• Information quantity
• Improve efforts like Title V program reporting
• Quantification of all releases

9
Issues identified for a successful program

• Metrics
• Goal setting
• Public involvement in target setting
• Include unreported aspects
• Dovetail with overarching ecosystem goals
• Assessment of downwind/downstream effects
• No cross-media problems
• Precautionary Principle or First do no harm?

10
Issues identified for a successful program

• Budgeting Realization of savings
• Core programs cannot suffer
• Gains applied toward improvements
• Maintain organic requirements
• Maintain reporting requirements
• Recognition of better performance
• Not just involvement or industry spin
• Reporting
• Total portfolio, not just facility

11
Issues identified for a successful program

• Government role
• No reward without achievement
• Social and environmental considerations not just
  economic
• Eliminate silo approaches
• Create means to report out on programs
• Ensure penalties remain enforceable and maintain
  compliance

12
Issues identified for a successful program

• Industry
• Eliminate trade group and Chamber of Commerce
  influences
• Work with industry leaders to define best
  practices
• Figure out how SMEs can play with bigs
• Eliminate priority of Wall Street reports
• ROI and payback time influence

13
Building the resources

• Identified products for educating and involving
  communities
• Everythings so new, wheres the book on this?
• Sniff Test for Regulatory Reinvention II
• You said what about what?
• Vocabulary definitions for new speak
• Nobody asked me to the dance
• Promoting involvement opportunities
• I cant afford a new dress
• Assisting quality public involvement

14
Vocabulary Exercise

• Voluntary program
• Performance based system
• Regulatory flexibility
• Command and control
• Incentives
• Stewardship
• Core work
• Innovation (regulatory)
• Policy framework
• Violator
• Permittee / regulated community
• Complementary environmental legal systems
• Superior environmental performance
• Beyond compliance
• Ecological systems
• Collaborative governance
• Systems approach
• Ecosystem approach
• transparency

15
Next steps

• Identify funding sources to underwrite current
  efforts
• Blind trust including government grants as well
  as industrial and private philanthropic sources
• Continue to hone the Sniff Test II materials
• Circuit Rider input
• State-by-state, region-by-region
• Identify further terms for inclusion in
  vocabulary
• As they become mainstream in the inside
• ISO approach to create true universal terminology

16
Questions and concerns?

• Eric Uram
• Headwater Consulting LLC
• [phone]
• Eric.Uram_at_Headwater.US
• Jason Morrison
• Pacific Institute
• [phone]
• jmorrison_at_pacinst.org

Steve Skavroneck [phone] skavroneck_at_earthli
nk.net Jerry Speir Louisiana Environmental
Action Network [phone] jerryspeir_at_hotmail.c
om