ISO 14001 and EPA Region I's StarTrack Program: Assessing their Potential as Tools in Environmental Protection

Abstract

The goals of the EPA Office of Reinvention are the following:

1) use incentives and promote environmental management systems (EMSs) 2) provide timely and accessible compliance-assistance 3) create flexible and streamlined permitting 4) help communities make sound environmental decisions

This research explores two recent initiatives related to those goals: ISO 14001 and the EPA Region I's StarTrack program. We studied ISO 14001 through two approaches: a statistical analysis of the characteristics of early adopters, and case studies at six chemical facilities, five of which had adopted the standard. To study StarTrack, we interviewed managers at four of the six facilities that have participated in the program since its inception, as well as EPA staff members at the regional and national levels, state environmental officials, and representatives of environmental advocacy groups.