EPA selects Missouri S&T to help others improve environmental performance
The Missouri University of Science and Technology, the only university in the United States with an ISO-14001-certified campus wide Environmental Management System, has been selected by the Environmental Protection Agency to help promote EMS within college and university communities and in public sectors. The Missouri University of Science and Technology, the only university in the United States with an ISO-14001-certified campus wide Environmental Management System, has been selected by the Environmental Protection Agency to help promote EMS within college and university communities and in public sectors. The EPA designated Missouri S&T as a Local Resource Center for the National Public Entities Environmental Management System Resource (PEER) Center. In this capacity, Missouri S&T representatives will provide informational resources to public entities, including municipalities, military installations, non-profit organizations and public schools. “Missouri S&T is recognized as a national leader with a mature EMS program,�? says Dr. Harvest Collier, director of the Missouri S&T Institute for Environmental Excellence and vice provost of undergraduate and graduate studies at Missouri S&T. Collier serves as chair of the EMS Work Group of the EPA Colleges and Universities Sector Strategies Program. Other universities in the work group include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, the University of Michigan and Kansas State University.The United States has roughly 4,000 colleges and universities, which often resemble small cities. The EMS work group recently sent letters to presidents and chancellors around the country in an attempt to encourage them to promote environmental stewardship within their organizations. Systems to manage environments help colleges and universities, local governments, and corporations prevent pollution and operate more efficiently. According to Collier, energy use, water quality, hazardous waste disposal, chemical storage and recycling issues all need to be managed within a community. And better management practices tend to improve regulatory compliance and encourage cost savings. “A lot of corporations use EMS as a tool to drive cost savings,�? says Amy Gillman, EMSprogram manager for the Missouri S&T Institute for Environmental Excellence and assistant to the vice provost of undergraduate and graduate studies at Missouri S&T. “The campus has used its EMS to raise awareness and improve performance. The cost savings came as a result.�? Missouri S&T first got serious about managing its environment in 1997, when the university was found to be in violation of an EPA regulation – for improperly storing hazardous waste – and faced a fine. According to Gillman, Missouri S&T proposed to develop a comprehensive EMS in lieu of the fine. After successfully implementing an EMS certified by the International Organization of Standardization (IS0 14001), the campus created the Missouri S&T Institute for Environmental Excellence. The institute has worked to make improvements in laboratory environments n campus, created funding for campus wide recycling projects, conducted EMS outreach activities, supported environmental curriculum development and promoted research related to the environment. More information about EMS and Missouri S&T’s involvement as a Local Resource Center is available at www.peercenter.net . The EMS work group has established a web site designed to assist colleges and universities with the planning and implementation phases of EMS development at CampusEMS.org. And more information about Missouri S&T’s Institute for Environmental Excellence and its new partnership with EPA is online at: campus.mst.edu/iee/. The colleges and universities sector launches an EMS web site On December 13th, the Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Workgroup, working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Sector Strategies Program Office launched the availability of three tools to help colleges and universities across the country come into compliance with environmental laws and further improve their environmental performance. (1) A letter to college and university presidents/chancellors that promotes the implementation of management systems to achieve environmental goals and encourages university presidents/chancellors to take actions to promote environmental stewardship within their organizations.(2) A one-page business case titled, "Environmental Management Systems (EMS): Continually Improving Performance." This document was developed to raise awareness about the benefits of an EMS, and to share testimonials from universities that have realized many of these benefits. (3) In addition, the EMS work group has recently established a national web site designed to assist a wide range of colleges and universities with the planning and implementation phases of EMS development. Please visit http://Campusems.org to learn more about EMSs for Colleges and Universities. The letter and EMS Sheet mentioned above are on the web page. | 
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