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Several efforts have tried to answer this question and have offered some assumptions that may hold in
the future.
Pressures on natural resources will continue
t© increase
Demand will grow as population and the
global economy expand.
Additional goods and services will be
demanded by new consumers, including
those in developing countries.
New technologies will how
are
B Advances will impact demand and
resource availability.
On the other hand, advances could
increase general demand and stress
resource availability.
Human exposure to harmful substances
will remain a concern.
Thar© will be a for more sustainable
use of
B With increasing demand and consumption,
the value of resources could increase
dramatically.
0 Limited availability would necessitate
more efficient use of resources. . .,
B The human footprint on the environment
can be reduced by efficient use of
resources.
How Are We Going to the
WHAT CAN YOU
SAVE
S M T W T F S
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RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CMALLENiE
The Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC)
is a cross-Agency, national effort to find
flexible, yet more protective ways to
conserve resources. It is one of the major
actions to position ourselves for the future;
through it, we will craft an environmental
program that drives the adoption of pollution
prevention, recycling, sustainability, and
energy conservation.
The RCC is designed to promote
collaborative problem solving and represents
a significant shift at EPA to achieve
cross-media and multimedia environmental
protection. We are shifting focus from the
traditional end-of-pipe waste management
to innovations that can be made in upstream
materials management
The RCC's slogan: "What Can You Save
Today?" challenges people to change their
behavior to conserve natural resources.
The challenge is intended to achieve three
overarching goals:
B Promote pollution prevention and increase
recycling and reuse of materials.
Reduce the use of priority chemicals at
all life cycle stages.
B Conserve energy and materials.
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H Captures the attention of Agency senior
management to your challenge.
Recognizes your activities that result in resource
conservation.
Provides a coordinated Agency approach to meet
your challenge.
Assists you in reducing costs and environmental
impacts.
the
Wori?
The RCC is built on several fundamental "building
blocks" that will apply to each challenge:
Voluntary partnerships focused on a specific
national environmental problem, or "challenge".
Measurable outcomes to drive environmental
improvements.
Agency alignment to meet challenges.
Materials life cycle approaches, not just end-of
pipe solutions.
Appropriate tools to influence change in behavior.
Elevation of ideas from the local/state/regional
level to national focus and from one business to
an entire industry sector.
be
RCC provides a step-wise approach to developing
challenges:
Identify a national environmental problem or
challenge.
Propose an environmentally acceptable solution(s).
- Focus on non-regulatory approaches that are
achievable through voluntary partnerships.
Identify measurable environmental goals and
targets.
Begin a dialogue with the stakeholders who are
essential to working on the solution. Stakeholders
will agree on:
- The problem, solution, goals, and
measurement.
- The activities needed to achieve the solution
Announce the partnership publicly.
Document and publicize results.
Ire the
Initially, EPA has identified several challenges:
construction and demolition debris, electronics,
green buildings, hospitals, industrial waste, paper,
priority chemicals, schools, and tires.
These initial challenges are an outgrowth of
ongoing work on previously identified problems.
Stakeholders have developed, or are currently
developing, other voluntary partnerships. -.
- Challenges involve key stakeholders from local,
state, and federal governments, trade
associations, industries, individual businesses,
environmental groups, academia, and policy
groups.
By fall 2003, EPA plans to announce the partnerships,
participants, and targets developed by the initial
challenges.
If appropriate, the RCC will propose to include
the targets in the Agency's next Strategic Plan
update.
We need your involvement to announce future part-
nerships. Be part of a more sustainable future!
U.S. Envrionmental Protection Agency
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305W)
EPA530-F-03-020
July 2003
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve
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