U.S. EPA’s Small Business Division Initiatives Small Business Division

Initiatives  Practical Guide to Environmental Management  Cultivating Environmental Management Workshop  Generic Environmental Management Plan  Best Environmental Management Practices  EPA’s Revised Small Business Strategy  Expert Systems for Small Businesses  Small Business Environmental Home Page

Practical Guide to Environmental Management for Small Businesses

What’s Practical about the Guide?  Written in plain language.  Easy to understand and use the information.  Leads reader through the steps to put in place a functional environmental management program.  Stresses business benefits of improved environmental management.  Proceed at own pace, yet see immediate results.  Can have all elements in place for an EMS.

Cultivating Environmental Management: Working With Small Businesses

Workshop for SBAPs and Others  Provides tools and methods to help small businesses improve environmental management.  Introduces the Guide.  Engages participants in group exercises from the viewpoint of a small business owner.  Exercises provide strategies to work with small businesses on the Guide recommendations.  Emphasizes a multimedia approach.

Shedding Light on an Environmental Management Plan for Your Small Business

EMP Workbook Highlights Environmental management issues can be organized one section at a time. Sections include explanation of what needs to be done. Worksheets help complete tasks. Examples of completed documentation. Workbook goes hand-in-hand with the Guide.

Plugging into Best Environmental Management Practices for Small Businesses

Good for Businesses and the Environment Introduces concept and benefits of BMPs for small businesses. Provides examples of success stories. Presents BMP fact sheets for ten industry sectors. Synthesizes information from reliable sources. Provides additional resource contacts. Posted on Small Business Web page.

Revised Small Business Strategy for EPA

Why Revise the Old Strategy?  Original strategy document published in  Focused on improving regulation of small businesses and their level of compliance.  Significant progress made in addressing recommendations, but more can be done.  Interviews with states, industry representatives, and other interested stakeholders.  The findings of theses interviews and meetings form the basis of the revised strategy.

Focusing EPA’s Resources for the Future  Strengthen the Agency’s Small Business Advocacy Program.  Expand Small Business Involvement in the Regulatory Process.  Develop Better-Focused Compliance Assistance Tools and Resources.  Promote Programs that Reward Environmental Leadership.  Invest in Technologies and Innovative Tools.

What are the Next Steps?  Distribute Strategy document for internal EPA review.  Present overview of the document at the Regional Liaison Conference.  Meet with EPA internal Program Offices to refine the document.  Distribute the document for review by states, SBAPs/SBOs, trade associations, and other interested parties.  Prepare final Strategy incorporating all input.