Tag: NPPR

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Celebrate Pollution Prevention (P2) Week, Sept. 15-21, 2025

2025 P2 Week Poster, designed by Diana Henne. Available for purchase at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/2025-pollution-prevention-week-pollution-prevention-roundtable.html.

The third week of September annually is celebrated as Pollution Prevention, or P2, Week. P2 Week 2025 is September 15-21 using the theme: “40 Years of Pollution Prevention: Honoring the Past, Protecting the Future!”

As defined by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR, emphasis added), “Pollution is the contamination of air, soil, or water by the discharge of harmful substances. Pollution prevention is the reduction or elimination of pollution at the source (source reduction) instead of at the end-of-the-pipe or stack. Pollution prevention occurs when raw materials, water, energy and other resources are utilized more efficiently, when less harmful substances are substituted for hazardous ones, and when toxic substances are eliminated from the production process. By reducing the use and production of hazardous substances, and by operating more efficiently we protect human health, strengthen our economic well-being, and preserve the environment.”

Rather than being a burden on industry, NPPR points out that “Adopting pollution prevention practices and techniques often benefits industry by lowering a company’s operational and environmental compliance costs. By preventing the generation of waste, P2 can also reduce or eliminate long-term liabilities and clean-up costs. Furthermore, disposal costs are reduced when the volume of waste is decreased. This can also lead to a reduction in workplace exposures to hazardous materials which can affect workers’ health and hence, their productivity. If less waste is produced, there will also be a diminished need for on-site storage space. Furthermore, by preventing pollution there will be a greater likelihood that a company will be in compliance with local, state, and federal compliance statutes. Finally, as community pillars, businesses shoulder an important responsibility for protecting the environment and natural resources for their own good as well as that of society.”

In 1990, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act (P2Act), which states “The Environmental Protection Agency must establish a source reduction program which collects and disseminates information, provides financial assistance to States, and implements the other activities….”

The technical assistance experts within ISTC’s Center for Economic Impacts and Societal Benefits (CEISB) help businesses, organizations, institutions, and government agencies throughout Illinois and beyond prevent pollution and use resources more efficiently. This benefits our shared environment while also ensuring that companies and communities are more competitive and resilient.

CEISB technical assistance providers currently have federal funding to provide P2 assistance at no cost to certain industrial or market sectors. See the following brief descriptions and links to project flyers:

  • Advancing Beverage Resilience through Pollution Prevention. This collaboration with EnergySense Resilience Center supports breweries, wineries, distilleries, and other craft beverage businesses across the state of Illinois. Following their assessments, participants will also have the chance to assist in shaping the certification process for green beverage manufacturing in Illinois and to be recognized for their sustainability efforts through the Illinois Green Business Program.
  • Mississippi River Corridor Pollution Prevention. ISTC staff are working with partners at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Office of Pollution Prevention Services and Missouri State University to provide free industrial sustainability assessments across three states.
  • Pollution Prevention at Food Focused Businesses within DuPage & Kane Counties. Another collaboration with EnergySense Resilience Center, this project is providing free technical assistance to 10 small for and/or non-profit entities, such as restaurants, grocers, and other food-focused businesses and organizations in DuPage and Kane Counties. By getting assessed, businesses can lower operational costs, reduce wasted food & resources, and attract environmentally conscious customers.

Don’t see your sector or organization reflected in the projects listed above? Our team may still be able to assist you through other funding sources or fee-for-service work. Contact us at istc-info@illinois.edu or fill out our online site visit request form.

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Nominations due July 31 for 2025 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) awards

According to its mission statement, the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) is “a national forum that promotes the development, implementation, and evaluation of efforts to avoid, eliminate, or reduce waste generated to air, land, and water. The sustainable and efficient use of energy, materials and resources is vital to the protection and enhancement of human health and the environment, and the conservation of natural resources. These efforts are integral to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production to promote environmentally responsible social and economic development.”

Since 1995, NPPR has recognized the very best in pollution prevention (P2) with its annual awards program, the Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Awards (MVP2). MVP2 awards recognize the P2 efforts of local government, state government, federal government, tribes, not-for-profit organizations, private industry, educators, and students.

Nominations for the awards are accepted year-round. The deadline for consideration for the 2025 MVP2 awards is July 31st, for awards to be announced in September during Pollution Prevention Week (celebrated annually during the third week in September; September 15-21 for 2025).

Members of NPPR may nominate individuals or programs for MVP2 awards at no charge. There is a $50 fee per nomination by non-members.

MVP2 award winners are selected for each of seven categories as described below.

  • Fred Granek Memorial P2 Ambassador. “The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable has established this annual award in honor of Fred Granek who suddenly passed away in January of 2014.  The Fred Granek Memorial P2 Ambassador Award will be given to an individual who has demonstrated the same passion for pollution prevention that Fred demonstrated throughout his 39 year career in environmental protection.  This award will also recognize those who travel beyond their own borders to share information, ideas, and technologies that will avoid, eliminate and reduce waste in an effort to make the world a better place.  These are qualities that Fred embodied and will be missed by the entire P2 community.”  Click here to nominate someone for the P2 Ambassador award.
  • P2 Project or Program. “There are five broad judging categories for this award: (1) innovation, (2) measurable results, (3) transferability, (4) commitment, and (5) optimization of available project resources.” Click here for complete details and to nominate a project or program.
  • P2 Multimedia. This award “celebrates work that most effectively reduces harmful impacts to all environmental media: to land, air, and water, and reduces impacts to workers and consumers…The award is for projects and programs that result in the reduction of harm to ecosystems and people because they avoid pollution during the process being undertaken, and reduce harm in shipping and storing of hazardous substances, as well as the injuries to health and the environment that can occur during product manufacturing and use, and post-use management. Nominations for this award will be judged on the preventive value of the pollution reduction, including extent of the pollution reduction across environmental media; reduction of exposure risk to environmental and human receptors; demonstration of new techniques, practices, opportunities; transferability of the demonstration; and effectiveness of communication of the P2 example.” Click here for complete details and to nominate a project or program.
  • Ken Zarker Memorial P2 Champion. “The P2 Champion Award celebrates an individual whose work has an outstanding impact on implementing pollution prevention in one or more of the following areas: setting pollution prevention vision and strategies; leading and directing pollution prevention programs; implementing pollution prevention projects; and/or significant impact on pollution prevention achieved.” Click here to nominate someone for this award.
  • P2 Educator of the Year. This award “celebrates a teacher, professor or trainer whose work with students has an outstanding impact on pollution prevention in one or more of the following areas: setting pollution prevention vision and strategies; creating, advancing or inspiring work in pollution prevention; implementing pollution prevention projects; and/or significant impact on pollution prevention achieved.” Click here to nominate someone for P2 Educator of the Year.
  • P2 Student of the Year. This award “celebrates a student in high school, college or advanced degree whose work has an outstanding impact on pollution prevention in one or more of the following areas: setting pollution prevention vision and strategies; creating, advancing or inspiring work in pollution prevention; implementing pollution prevention projects; raising awareness to the importance of pollution prevention; and/or significant impact on pollution prevention achieved.” Click here to nominate a student.
  • P2 Volunteer of the Year. This award “celebrates an NPPR member whose volunteer work has an outstanding impact on implementing pollution prevention in one or more of the following areas: setting pollution prevention vision and strategies; creating, advancing or inspiring work in pollution prevention; implementing pollution prevention projects; and/or significant impact on pollution prevention achieved.” Click here to nominate an NPPR member.

For more information or to ask questions, contact admin@p2.org.

Descriptions of the 2024 winners are available at https://www.p2.org/2024-MVP2-Awards. Descriptions from previous years are available at https://www.p2.org/Past-Award-Winners.

ISTC is a proud member of NPPR and past recipient of MVP2 awards. ISTC’s Joy Scrogum currently serves on the NPPR board of directors, and received the P2 Ambassador award in 2022.

 

 

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Free webinar: Sector-based approach to stormwater pollution prevention

flyer describing webinar and presenters

Join the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) and the Green Business Engagement National Network (GBENN) on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 11 AM Central for a FREE webinar focused on best management practices for stormwater and pollution prevention.

Presenters will highlight why it’s important to protect your storm drains, and how businesses can help protect waterways. While much of this information is broadly applicable to all business types, it will be particularly useful for restaurants, auto repair/body operations, and car wash facilities.

The session will be moderated by Donna Walden of greenUP!/Nevada Business Network, and presenters will include Julianne Rhodes from Environmental Innovations/California Green Business Network and Cassie Carroll of the Illinois Green Business Association/Green Business Engagement National Network (GBENN).

To register, visit https://uni.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e9JWnvUkR9SItm_c4CR5tw#/registration. Speaker bios are available at https://www.p2.org/event-6095107.

ISTC is a proud member of the NPPR.

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Celebrate Pollution Prevention Week, Sept. 19-25, 2022

The 2022 P2 Week Poster, designed by Rowan Lambert, a senior mural artist at the University of New Orleans.

The third week of September every year is celebrated as Pollution Prevention (P2) Week in the U.S. Thus in 2022, we focus particularly on pollution prevention from September 19th to the 25th, although P2 can and should be a priority year-round.

As defined by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR, emphasis added), “Pollution is the contamination of air, soil, or water by the discharge of harmful substances. Pollution prevention is the reduction or elimination of pollution at the source (source reduction) instead of at the end-of-the-pipe or stack. Pollution prevention occurs when raw materials, water, energy and other resources are utilized more efficiently, when less harmful substances are substituted for hazardous ones, and when toxic substances are eliminated from the production process. By reducing the use and production of hazardous substances, and by operating more efficiently we protect human health, strengthen our economic well-being, and preserve the environment.”

Rather than being a burden on industry, NPPR points out that “Adopting pollution prevention practices and techniques often benefits industry by lowering a company’s operational and environmental compliance costs. By preventing the generation of waste, P2 can also reduce or eliminate long-term liabilities and clean-up costs. Furthermore, disposal costs are reduced when the volume of waste is decreased. This can also lead to a reduction in workplace exposures to hazardous materials which can affect workers’ health and hence, their productivity. If less waste is produced, there will also be a diminished need for on-site storage space. Furthermore, by preventing pollution there will be a greater likelihood that a company will be in compliance with local, state, and federal compliance statutes. Finally, as community pillars, businesses shoulder an important responsibility for protecting the environment and natural resources for their own good as well as that of society.”

And did you know that in 1990, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act (P2Act), which states “The Environmental Protection Agency must establish a source reduction program which collects and disseminates information, provides financial assistance to States, and implements the other activities….”

Helping businesses, organizations, institutions, and government agencies throughout Illinois and beyond to prevent pollution and use resources more efficiently to benefit our shared environment while also ensuring that companies and communities are more competitive and resilient is essentially the mission of the ISTC Technical Assistance Program (TAP). Our team is here to help your organization identify and implement ways to make your operations more sustainable and to prevent pollution. TAP is funded not only by the State of Illinois but also a variety of grants and fee-for-service projects for a variety of clients.

Currently, TAP has funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide free sustainability assessments to Illinois manufacturers in the following sectors:

These assessments can help facilities reduce business costs, energy and water consumption, wastewater generation, emissions, and hazardous material usage, which can result in increased profitability, productivity, and competitiveness as well as recycling or diversion of by-products.

So if you are an Illinois manufacturer with facilities or supporting industries in those sectors, click on the link associated with your sector above to learn more about the assessment opportunity, and how TAP can help you identify P2 opportunities today. You can also access an overview flyer at https://uofi.box.com/s/fu0hsmj6skm52vl290nu7kiuohp758xa or contact Irene Zlevor via email or by phone at 217-300-8617. Additionally, a recorded webinar, presented to Sustain Rockford, describes the assessment process in detail.

There are opportunities for everyone to learn more about and practice P2–not just manufacturers. To learn more, explore the links below.