Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection Allentown,
Pennsylvania Meeting Summary 1. Executive Summary On October 30, 1996, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a position statement on "Strategic Environmental Management (SEM) in Pennsylvania - New Tools for Moving Beyond Compliance." To open a dialogue with communities on SEM, DEP organized three workshops for the western, central and eastern portions of the state. The second stakeholder workshop was held in Allentown at the Days Inn Conference Center on January 23, 1997. To accommodate peoples’ work schedules, DEP held two sessions, both of which are summarized together in this report. The workshop consisted of DEP presentations on SEM, a question and answer period, a stakeholder discussion in front of the full group, and small group discussions. The participants in the Allentown workshop approved of SEM’s focus on continuous improvement of environmental management systems, and they encouraged community involvement efforts to promote this goal. By striving to reduce emissions and improve environmental performance, companies will save money, develop new technologies and create jobs. They saw continuous improvement as a realistic and well-understood goal. On the other hand, many participants said that a goal of "striving for zero emissions" raised unrealistic and unnecessary expectations. For businesses, government, and the public to fully understand what environmental management improvements are possible, they must engage in a long-term dialogue and work together as problem-solvers. Participants acknowledged that such a dialogue will be difficult due to the atmosphere of distrust. Nonetheless, they saw the opportunity to rebuild trust and work constructively on environmental improvement as one of SEM’s primary advantages. 2. Purpose of the Meeting The workshop’s purpose was to explain the Department’s ideas for Strategic Environmental Management (SEM) and begin a dialogue with interested parties to learn their perspectives on SEM and the role of community involvement in the SEM process. 3. Presentations by DEP A brief outline of Strategic Environmental Management was presented by Marylou Barton, Counsel to the Office of Energy and Technology Development. The six elements of SEM - environmental management systems, pollution prevention, environmental accounting, performance measurements, community participation, and life-cycle assessments - were presented in the context of working beyond compliance towards a zero emissions/discharge goal. The reasons for the unique design of the workshop and the desire of The Department of Environmental Protection to learn from stakeholder dialogue was presented by Chris Allen, DEP Public Participation Coordinator. The goal of the Department was to incorporate the dialogue results into a revised SEM positon paper. After the presentations, the audience asked questions of DEP about anything that they found unclear in the presentations or in the SEM position statement. 4. Discussion Using "Speaking Chairs" Stakeholders shared their opinions about SEM by coming forward and participating in a three person discussion that took place in a "fishbowl" at the front of the room. The conversation focused on the potential benefits and possible pitfalls of SEM. 5. Small Group Discussion Summary Attendees participated in one of four small groups. The highlights of the discussions are summarized below. Group 1 Questions: What are the potential advantages of SEM for improving environmental quality? Who can do what to ensure that these advantages happen? (Company, local government, other community groups, DEP). What could be your role in fostering the use of SEM in your community? Comments: By encouraging companies to integrate environmental management into their strategic business decisions, participants said that SEM will move environmental management into the mainstream of standard business practices. It enables companies to realize significant cost savings and reduced emissions. In order to reach these goals, companies will develop new technologies and demand environmental cost accounting to measure the benefits. The participants acknowledged that SEM will help industry, community groups and DEP share ideas and become partners in planning for the future. To help SEM reach its potential, all sectors of the community and government must look beyond the stereotypes of each other and discuss the long-term goals and benefits of environmental planning. Companies need to show the community how SEM can promote tax savings and job growth. By inviting the community to observe plant operations, companies can help eliminate negative perceptions. Likewise, the community must take the time to participate in plant tours and constructive dialogue about SEM. The participants said that DEP has an important role to play as well by making information about SEM more available and by not promising unrealistic benefits in terms of cost savings, emissions reductions, or regulatory flexibility. Local government can help the SEM process by learning more about it and explaining it to the community. In discussing how they can become personally involved in making SEM work, the participants agreed that they need to educate others on its benefits. Company representatives offered to discuss it with upper management and publicize success stories within the company and throughout the community. Speaking for an environmental conservation group, one participant promised to share information from the workshop with his board of directors and to join industry on SEM committees. Group 2 Questions: What are the potential disadvantages of SEM? Who can do what to guard against such possibilities? (Company, local govt., other community groups, DEP). What could be your role in safeguarding the use of SEM in your community? Comments: Because SEM requires many fundamental changes, participants were cautious about expecting immediate results. Companies must redefine their business practices to integrate environmental management system-wide and they may require new technologies to do so. A key challenge will be encouraging small businesses to take these steps. Through partnering and public outreach, DEP needs to assist companies, large and small, in implementing SEM without adding additional regulatory requirements. However, if SEM is unsuccessful in improving environmental performance, DEP must be prepared to use enforcement actions to ensure regulatory compliance. Participants requested technical guidance from DEP on best management practices to facilitate the transition from regulatory compliance to SEM. The community involvement component raised concerns among many of the stakeholders. To make SEM work, there must be trust between companies, communities, and government, but many participants felt these relationships are already strained or non-existent. Participants felt that community involvement has the potential to rebuild these relationships, but it will require patience, honesty and commitment from everyone involved. If a company is unwilling to disclose all its records and proprietary information, it must be clear at the outset about what information it will make available. It may be necessary for the process to include monitoring and progress reports by an independent party. Together, industry, environmental groups, the media, and DEP must convince the public that SEM works without raising unrealistic expectations based on a few success stories. Group 3 Questions: What would the different community members need to get from an SEM public involvement component to make it successful in their eyes? (Company, local govt., civic and environmental groups, etc.) What could your role be in making sure that SEM community involvement is a success? Comments: Before answering this question, some participants felt it was necessary to define "community members." For them, the community includes neighborhood residents, large and small businesses, environmentalists, county and municipal government, farmers, company employees, and regulators. Participants emphasized the need for a long-term dialogue between the company and all sectors of the community as one of the most important features of a successful community involvement program. The process must be voluntary and flexible to the needs of the participants. By listening and educating each other with relevant information, they will slowly regain their trust in each other and become problem-solvers. It is important for the community to have an ownership in planning and monitoring the process. The goals of a community involvement program must be clear and realistic, and the company needs to provide regular progress reports. Once the process is in place, results should be measured in terms of reduced environmental impacts and cost savings. Industries' primary roles in the community involvement process are as a catalyst and decision-maker. It will be up to the company to convene the process and make decisions about its business practices, but it needs to be responsive to the communities' questions and concerns. In some cases, the company might provide independent analysts to review data or monitor results. To make the process work, community members need to participate with open, inquisitive minds. Those who participate have a responsibility to share the results with the rest of the community. Environmental groups, in particular, will play important roles in educating the public about the progress of SEM and by serving as a a liaison between the company and the government regulators. Participants also felt local government should participate in the process to educate the public and provide information resources. However, the process must respect the interests of local government officials in staying informed and remaining neutral. Group 4 Questions: SEM emphasizes the voluntary goal of "striving for zero emissions over time." How should this statement be interpreted in order for it to "work" environmentally and economically? What are the ramifications of this statement, good and bad? What might be the role of community involvement in moving towards this goal? Comments: For many participants, the key word in this statement is "striving" because it emphasizes continuous improvement. They acknowledged that zero emissions are not always possible and, in some cases, may never be attainable. Nonetheless, they believe new technologies may make further emission reductions feasible. As an analogy, they compared the zero emissions goal to the quality control goal of zero defects. In both cases, the goal drives continuous improvement but no one expects to achieve perfection. It is important, however, that the public understand the value of continuous improvement without expecting zero emissions. To clarify the goal, participants predicted that companies will improve their communications with the public, and ultimately, benefit from a better public image. DEP can also help clarify the goal by defining what it means by "emissions." Some participants suggested that DEP revise the definition to take a more holistic look at production processes and measure improvements in terms of risk reduction. Other participants favored eliminating the zero emissions statement from the position paper. In their view, the rest of the paper sufficiently communicates the concept of voluntary, continuous improvement. By targeting "zero emissions," they fear SEM will raise false expectations among the public and discourage new businesses from locating in Pennsylvania. If the public and the regulators cannot respect the goal, it will only increase their mistrust of the regulated community. To move towards zero emissions, companies must educate the public on the opportunities to participate in the SEM planning process and then involve them from the outset. Participants noted that many resources on community involvement (such as the chemical industry’s Responsible Care program) are already available to help companies take this step. For their part, community members can provide a company with constructive feedback on its priorities for meeting the zero emissions goal. By striving to eliminate their own household and business emissions, individual citizens will play an important role in promoting SEM. Industry representatives said that SEM must be efficient in order for companies to realize significant emission reductions. Thus, community involvement needs to be an integral component that focuses participants on finding ways to reach the goal. 6. Wrap-Up To conclude, DEP thanked the participants for their contributions and explained that the results will be used to strengthen and clarify its SEM position statement and to guide Pennsylvania in its implementation of SEM. |