A new EPA report establishes a performance benchmark for tracking future environmental progress in 12 key industrial and service sectors, including construction, forest products, and iron and steel manufacturing.

The 2004 Sector Strategies Performance Report provides a snapshot of environmental trend data for each group. Drawing from publicly available data sources, the report presents a demographic profile of each sector, plus performance information in such fields as energy conservation, water and air quality, and waste management.

This report marks the first time EPA has assembled available data in this format. The Agency believes this will help the public better understand the environmental progress that is being made in a given sector. The report will also serve as a starting point for identifying the knowledge gaps that need to be filled to improve performance measurement in the future.

These 12 groups participate in EPA’s multi-media Sector Strategies Program, established in 2003, which seeks to: (1) measure performance; (2) seek collaborative ways to promote the use of environmental management systems; and (3) addresses regulatory barriers that can hinder performance improvements. Go to the 2004 Sector Strategies Performance Report.

6/18/2004