State-EPA Innovation Symposium

Opportunity to showcase implementation tools, information, useful resources, and analysis supporting innovative approaches.  Examples: data sets, models, guidelines, or case studies.

Tools for Community-based Projects: Measurement, Sustainability Checklist, and Other Resources from the CARE program

The CARE Program has added three new documents to its suite of community tools.  These are:
(1) Measurement Tips & Resources for Community Projects
(2) Project Sustainability Checklist, and
(3) Promising Practices to Improve Community Performance and Sustainability. 

Stop by to learn about these documents, to give feedback, or to share information about other such resources.

A Regional Partnership in Rule Implementation

Learn more about how a partnership between the six states’ Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs and EPA in Region 5 developed to implement a federal hazardous air pollutant rule which primarily affects small auto body refinishers.  In a situation where few resources are available to deploy and monitor new rules affecting minor sources, this partnership pools assistance expertise and gathers comprehensive data allowing agencies to focus scarce resources where the greatest need for improvement lies.  Early results of the first phase of the Environmental Results Program created for this partnership will be presented, as time allows.  The project is supported by a State Innovation Grant from USEPA.

By-Product Synergy Initiatives & Data Base Demo

We will discuss regional By-Product Synergy initiatives and opportunities for states-EPA collaboration. We will also demo a new web-based BPS data base developed by the US Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Burn Wise:  Wood Smoke Education and Outreach

In many areas, wood smoke is a major contributor to high levels of PM2.5.  What are creative and effective ways to engage homeowners, build partnerships and leverage resources to improve air
quality?

Lean Government - Working Smart to Protect Human Health and the Environment

Lean government enables environmental agencies to work more effectively and efficiently to protect human health and the environment by identifying and eliminating waste in government processes.  Learn more about how states, EPA and other federal government agencies have embraced the lean business model to improve their permitting, enforcement, administrative support service, and other functions.

Lean and Environment Tools and Resources

The discussion will provide an overview of the work EPA is doing to help companies and other organizations integrate environmental considerations into their Lean Manufacturing activities, including an explanation of available toolkits on the subject.

Opportunity to highlight programs, projects, resources and inter-agency collaborations among federal agencies supporting innovative approaches for better environmental results. Examples: green building or green jobs initiatives.

Find a BetterBuildings Community Near You (and leverage
their efforts)

DOE\'s BetterBuildings program is injecting $487million in Recovery Act money into roughly 100 communities across the United States to start or expand residential and commercial energy efficiency programs. In the process, local governments, states, and DOE are testing numerous models for demand creation, financing, service delivery, data collection, and evaluation. Come learn more about the BetterBuildings communities\' plans, share your lessons learned to help them get off the ground, and brainstorm ways of leveraging this infusion of money to even great impact in your community.

Economic Development Administration (Department of Commerce)

The US Economic Development Administration (EDA) provides grant-based investments to distressed communities to promote job growth and foster the development of the economic ecosystems necessary for regions to successfully compete in the world-wide economy.  Learn why EDA views  environmentally-sustainable economic development as a key component of these economic ecosystems, and how its grants, including the Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive. Fund, support economic growth.

HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership: Partnership for Sustainable Communities

The Partnership table will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask Federal participants questions about the morning panel.  It will also offer a chance to expand the conversation more broadly into other aspects of the Partnership\'s activities, including the Livability Principles, supportive programs across the three agencies, and transforming the way we do business to make it more collaborative and better at leveraging public dollars.

Opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics related generally to environmental innovation and symposium themes.

Implementing Innovative Practices: Why are some innovative practices put into place and others fail?

Join the author of the new book Implementing
Innovation for a discussion about how to put innovative ideas into practice.  Dr. Toddi Steelman asks and answers the question:  Why are
some innovative practices implemented, while others fail?

Environmental Measurement:  Starting with Your Challenges

Determining the performance of our environmental efforts is always an important topic, especially today with diminishing resources. This Cafe Table opportunity is intended to be a starting point in identifying key environmental measurement issues and developing a path to work through them. Participants will be asked to share what their biggest measurement challenges are and what they find most difficult to measure and/or translate into performance information.  The host will invite participants also to share ideas and strategies to initiate discussions with regard to these questions.  A post-Symposium summary of the discussion will be posted with the intent of establishing further dialog and follow-up with the EPA staff who work with innovative measurement approaches. 

Hot Topics in Green Building

Green Building is definitely hot!  Discuss what's hot at your state or agency related to Green Building, Green Building Products, and Sustainable Communities.

Opportunity for additional materials, presentations and discussion associated with concurrent sessions. This category is for session speakers to provide additional information and/or extended question and answer time.

Sustainability Goes Global (UN, OECD, etc) - More on Sustainable Materials Management

The UN is deep in discussions about what they call Sustainable Consumption and Production. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) just held a Global Environmental Forum on Sustainable Materials Management. These and other international dialogues are providing EPA and the States with a variety of ideas that they can implement and opportunities to partner with other countries. What are the ideas and questions that you think the U.S. ought to be putting forward in these discussions?

Who Pays for Environmental Services?:  Polluter Pays vs Beneficiary Pays

A discussion of two prevailing methods that communities pay for environmental services with some interesting examples. Sometimes communities choose one, sometimes they choose the other, sometimes they choose both. Sometimes their choice is made for them. Sometimes the choice makes sense and sometimes it doesn't.

Green Government:  Green Procurement Opportunities and Challenges

Green procurement creates market demand for greener products and services and creates green jobs.  This cafe will explore both opportunities and challenges of State-led green procurement programs.  We will explore how state programs can build on each other and similar federal actions.  And we will discuss challenges as well, including resistance from vendors and purchasers to report outcomes, current perceptions of \"inferior products\" based on bad history, and balancing specifications containing 3rd party certification with the need for competition.

Innovative Projects and Approaches

E3 - Economy, Energy and the Environment:  Federal Agencies Working with Local Communities to Support Sustainable Manufacturing

This table will discuss the new E3: Economy, Energy and the Environment framework and solicit ideas on how to optimize results from the framework working at the local level.

Cultivating the opportunities of Green Innovation

There has been an explosion of   R & D and roll out of promising opportunities for green energy, transportation, local food systems, green building, green chemistry , earth friendly products and energy efficiency. Many of these exciting developments represent opportunities for Wisconsin to develop vibrant green economies in all its communities.  The challenge and question for this World Café is:  How can we tap into our social and intellectual capital harnessing and leveraging grassroots energy with professional sectors to bring these promising green opportunities home to Wisconsin and elsewhere?

Using Integrative and Innovative Approaches to Address Priority Environmental Problems:  The Model for Stormwater Management in New England

We will discuss the integration of regulatory and assistance tools that can include enforcement, permitting, technical assistance, social marketing and sustainable practices that can be used for maximum environmental impact to address priority environmental problems (using the stormwater problem in New England as a starting point for our conversation).  We will then discuss how to best integrate these tools for maximum behavior change to address a wide variety of environmental problems.

How Can Innovation and Sustainability Research Help You – from Sustainable Products to Sustainable Communities?

How can EPA’s research program better support sustainability practitioners?  What are the big questions and technical issues that will guide future solutions to water sustainability, safer products, sustainable communities (both the built environment and ecosystems) and air/energy/climate? Do you have success stories we can learn from about how people from different disciplines, perspectives and experiences worked together to define problems, conduct research and deliver products and outcomes? We want to hear about your sustainability ideas and activities, and discuss how research might contribute.

How Can My State Accomplishment Environmental Objectives Through Green Workforce Development?

Learn from the work that Minnesota's environmental agencies are doing to support a green economy and green workforce development.  Meet colleagues who share your struggles to make green workforce development an integral part of accomplishing our environmental objectives. Share your examples, questions and information with colleagues from around the country.