Industrial Footprint Project

Carol Kraege

Washington State Department of Ecology

What’s a footprint?

A holistic measure of the impacts of a facility

• Social

• Economic

• Environmental

Why a footprint?

• The current regulatory system often frustrates progress

• High cost, often for small return

• Global and local problems persist

• Permits become a battlefield

• Priorities are driven by piecemeal laws, not environmental needs

OR?

If you want to reduce the footprint,

which do you measure?

Laws

Laws

Regulations

Regulations

“What You Measure isWhat You Get”

Facility Reporting Project

• http://www.facilityreporting.org/FRPPilotDraft.htm

• The Facility Reporting Project (FRP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative to develop a generally-accepted facility-level economic, environmental and social sustainability reporting framework.

What should be measured?

Economic Indicators

• Purchase of local goods

• Total payroll

• Taxes and subsidies

• Donations

• Local infrastructure investment

What should be measured?

Social Indicators• Labor practices and decent work

– Employment– Management relations– Health and safety– Training and education– Diversity and opportunity

• Human Rights• Society

What should be measured?

Environmental Indicators• Materials• Energy• Water• Biodiversity and natural habitats• Emissions, effluents and waste• Compliance• Nuisance and quality of life

How will we get the data?

• Start with data we already have

• Other publicly available data

• Data directly from facilities

• Use grant funding for a contractor to assist in data collection and analysis

How would a footprint approach work ?

• Collaborate with stakeholders

• Choose indicators

• Measure industry’s footprint

• Use the measurement to drive priorities, actions

How can the footprint be used?

• Provide a performance measurement tool for individual facilities

• Provide a baseline for sectors• Provide a basis of comparison between

facilities• Assist regulatory agencies in prioritizing

work• Serve as a building block to a more

effective regulatory framework

Short term goals

• Find out if the process of developing agreed upon indicators leads to a credible footprint

• Find out if footprint measurement tells us more than we knew before

• Find out if footprint measurement makes priority setting easier

• Find out if footprint measurement is sensitive enough to measure progress

Possible benefits for industry

• Public and peer recognition

• More flexibility to accommodate changes

• Reduced administrative burden in non-target areas in exchange for better-than-required performance in target areas.

• Increased competitiveness and viability

• Improved relations with stakeholders

Stakeholder Involvement

• Local communities– Input regarding selection of indicators– Input regarding priorities– Education about the mill

• Facilities– Focus on pulp and paper industry– Pursue consensus regarding indicators– Education about community needs

Success Measures

• Credible measure

• Broad

• Robust

• Cost-effective

• Safe

• Transferable

• Informative

Success Measures

• Substantial environmental improvement

• Facility performance does not regress in any area

• Progress is measurable

• Good faith/partnering is essential

Long term possibilities

• Develop a single permit for air, water and waste

• Identify facility specific priorities– Consider community needs– Consider facility opportunities

• Develop incentives

• Pursue changes in state and federal laws to improve flexibility and performance