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Green Business Council: Comment Period ends Nov 30: EPA's DfE Criteria for Safer Cleaning Products

Green Omaha Coalition

Comment Period ends Nov 30: EPA's DfE Criteria for Safer Cleaning Products

Monday, November 16, 2009

            USEPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) program crafted changes to "EPA's DfE Criteria for Safer Cleaning Products (CSCP) in the Form of a Standard" ("DfE Criteria"). DfE initiated the changes in response to comments and suggestions from a broad spectrum of stakeholders who support these new provisions. The changes are intended to enhance the DfE Criteria and DfE Safer Product Labeling Program, which prevents pollution at its source by guiding and encouraging the replacement of chemicals of concern with safer alternatives in a variety of chemical-based products.
         The comment solicitation is here: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/enhancements_to_dfe_criteria.html
         The full criteria document (31 pp, 175K) that contains the changes in context and highlighted is here: http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/dfe_criteria_for_cleaning_products_10_09.pdf
         To make it easy to get your comments included, you should send them directly to David Difiore (difiori.david@epa.gov) as the government site is virtually impossible to figure out… DfE has made it known that sending comments to David will be considered "officially" included in the public comments.

posted by P2RIC @ 2:28 PM

Mission

Create a network of businesses interested in sharing sustainable practices and recognize leading green businesses in Omaha.

Background

In support of the Green Omaha Coalition (GOC),  an alliance of organizations pursuing a common goal of a “Green Omaha,” the Green Business Council (GBC) will establish a collaborative network of businesses implementing sustainability programs to improve the environmental performance of their operations.

Focus

The GBC will engage interested businesses from all industries to improve the sustainability of their operations.  The GBC will address a wide variety of environmental programs, including but not limited to: procurement, resource efficiency (energy and water), waste reduction (solid and hazardous), climate change, and green building.

The GBC seeks to involve two business groups: (1) those already implementing sustainability programs and (2) those interested but lacking the resources to pursue and implement sustainable strategies.  Ultimately, the GBC will become a centralized resource for businesses to share, learn, and promote sustainable business practices.

Alliances

The GBC recognizes the importance of collaborating with existing organizations to more effectively and efficiently reach businesses to provide educational and networking opportunities. The following provides a preliminary list of strategic alliances the GBC will pursue:

  • Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce (GOCOC)
  • Neighborhood Business Associations
  • Flatwater Chapter, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
  • WasteCap of Nebraska (WasteCap)
  • Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
  • International Facility Management Association (IFMA)
Objectives

The GBC has identified four primary objectives to establish a coalescing network of sustainable businesses to share environmental best practices and assist emerging green businesses in identifying better environmental strategies through education and networking with other businesses. A detailed description of the objectives described below are including on the following pages.

Interested in joining or learning more about Green Business Council email: greenbusiness@greenomahacoalition.org

Green Business Council Brochure (PDF)

Figure 1 | Objectives of the Green Business Council

Short Term Long Term
Objective 1
Establish a Framework for Ongoing Leadership of the Green Business Council. 		Objective 2
Provide Networking and Education Opportunities to Businesses. 		Objective 3
Develop, Maintain, and Distribute a Green Business Directory. 		Objective 4
Establish an Awards Program to Recognize Green Businesses.
Establish a leadership team and organizational guidance to manage day-to-day functions of the GBC Collaborate with alliance organizations to provide networking and training opportunities to Omaha-area businesses.  Compile a directory of individuals responsible for managing sustainability programs for Omaha-area businesses. Establish a framework for recognizing businesses for exceptional environmental performance.