Overview on Materials and the Environment

1. Overview on Materials and the Environment Panel on “Managing Materials Really Matters: Opportunities to Collaborate” State-EPA Symposium on Environmental Innovation and Results Denver, Colorado January 25, 2006 Derry Allen U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2. Message • A major key to environmental improvement and sustainability is how we use/handle materials, throughout their life cycles. Managing materials really does matter. • There are many ways to use materials more sustainably than we generally do today. Knowledge and collaboration are essential. • Governments can play a major role: enable and encourage sustainable materials management.

3. Purpose and Outline of Panel Purpose: • Share information on materials and the environment • Discuss specific opportunities • Stimulate programs, regions and states to try materials approaches Outline of Session: • Four short presentations • Group discussion

4. Outline of This Presentation • The Challenge 2. The Current State of Play • This Panel & Questions for Discussion

5. 1. The Challenge • 21st Century changes... - Population, economic & technological changes - Limits on sources and sinks lead to pressures to use and reuse resources more sustainably: materials, energy, water, air, land, ecosystems • These changes require different types of solutions and engagement of all parts of society – good stewardship supported by good information.

6. The Flow of Materials Water Water Water Water Water Water Land Land Land Land Land Land Air Air Air Air Air Air Resource Extraction Materials Processing Product Manufacture Product Use Collection & Processing Waste Disposal Recycle Re-manufacture Re-use

7. Materials Challenge • Recent report card (by World Resources Institute): - materials used/waste generated going up - materials used/capita up, materials used/GDP down - outputs of harmful materials - mixed - most resources returned to env. as wastes within one year - atmosphere is biggest dumping ground for wastes • Materials challenge: use materials more efficiently, throughout the total resource cycle, and shift to environmentally preferable materials • The life-cycle approach requires collaboration – responsibility and incentives are scattered

8. 12 Ways To Manage Materials Within each stage: 1. Improve/minimize extraction/harvesting. 2. Process materials efficiently - reduce waste/energy use. 3. Improve product design/manufacture, incl. materials choices. 4. Improve use of product. 5. Increase reuse, remanufacture, recycling. 6. Discourage use of waste disposal facilities. Between the stages: 7. Reuse the product. 8. Remanufacture the product. 9. Recycle the product or byproduct. 10. Locate/move facilities to minimize the transportation Across all stages: 11. Measure material flows (What gets measured gets managed.) 12. Focus on needs/solutions, not the products themselves.

9. 2. Current State of Play Other sessions/panels on materials at this symposium: • Natural Capitalism • Product Stewardship • Lean Manufacturing • Green Suppliers Network • The Next Industrial Revolution Related sessions/panels: • 21st Century Environmental Business Drivers • Sustainable water, energy & agriculture (3 panels) • Sustainability Curriculum

10. Material Flow Accounts (MFA) • MFA track the movement of materials from extraction to manufacturing, product use, reuse/recycling and eventual disposal, showing emissions to the environment at each step. • MFA are an information tool with many uses in the public and private sectors. They can lead to a variety of insights, public policies and private actions. 1. economic, trade and national security, tech. devel. policy 2. natural resource policy 3. environmental policy • Methodologies and prototypes exist, but countries are at different stages of MFA development. • An active international dialogue is under way – OECD with mandate from G8 Summit meetings.

11. Some Other International Efforts • Sustainable Materials Management (SMM): New OECD project to compile/compare best practices and analytical methods for governments to use in promoting SMM. “Sustainable Materials Management is an approach to promote sustainable materials use, integrating actions targeted at reducing negative environmental impacts and preserving natural capital throughout the life-cycles of materials, taking into account economic efficiency and social equity.” (OECD, 2005) • Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (3Rs): G8 Summit project chaired by Japan; meetings in 2005 and 2006. • Production and Consumption: UNEP

12. Environmental Stewardship (1) • New report: Everyday Choices: Opportunities for Environmental Stewardship (EPA, 2005) - Vision: “All parts of society actively take responsibility to improve environmental quality and achieve sustainable results.” - All parts of society: individuals, companies, communities, government organizations. - Approaches: economic, regulatory, partnership, information. - Focus on six natural resource systems: air, ecosystems, energy, land, materials, water. • Environmental stewardship is how to make SMM work.

13. Environmental Stewardship (2) Environmental Stewardship: Materials “Use materials carefully and shift to environmentally preferable materials” “Enhancing materials stewardship has three main aspects: (1) careful use of non-renewable materials throughout product lifecycles (extraction, processing, product manufacture, product use, product reuse/ recycling/ disposal); (2) sustainable use of renewable materials throughout product lifecycles; and (3) moving from toxic towards safer chemicals and environmentally preferable materials.”

14. Some Other EPA Initiatives • RCRA Vision, Resource Conservation Challenge • Design for the Environment • Green Chemistry/Engineering • Removing regulatory barriers • Government purchasing • Life cycle inventory/analysis • Mercury switches in autos • Nanotechnology • Research

15. 3. This Panel • Overview Derry Allen • One industry/material (copper) Scott Baker • One Region: NY/NJ Harbor Kathy Callahan • One State: WA – “Beyond Waste” John Ridgway • Discussion Everyone

16. Questions for Discussion • What are the drivers for SMM? Why be interested? • What are the barriers that hinder SMM and how can we overcome them? Note that this approach does not fit the traditional environmental protection framework. • What are the existing initiatives from which we can learn? • What are some specific opportunities for collaboration between those whose actions are critical to SMM? • What else can/should EPA and state agencies do to promote SMM? What help do we need?