Environmental Progress - Winter 1996

Seventh Annual P2 Conference

Conference Focuses on Latest Techniques and Technologies: New Star Partners Announced

More than 240 representatives of business and government attended the Illinois EPA's Seventh Annual Pollution Prevention Conference in October, co-sponsored by Abbott Laboratories. It drew the largest participation and featured the most extensive program of any of the series of conferences.

Those attending the event in Lisle heard from a variety of expert speakers, including presentations on ISO 14000, the new international standards for measuring pollution prevention; Project XL opportunities for more flexible responses on environmental regulation; and cost accounting and management for pollution prevention.

Participants were welcomed by Illinois EPA Associate Director Peter Wise, and new Office of Pollution Prevention Manager Kevin Greene. They cited the agency's emphasis on integrating pollution prevention into the agency's regulatory role, as well as new partnerships with small business and industry groups, such as the Clean Break and Great Printers program.

Dr. Grace Wever, author of the book Strategic Environmental Management, and Director of Management Systems Practices at KPMG Peat Marwick in Philadelphia, was the keynote speaker. Her talk, "Linking Environmental Strategy, Competitiveness, and Policy," was an overview of current pollution prevention trends and challenges.

The afternoon general session opened with a panel that looked ahead to "Environmental Protection Programs for the 21st Century." Panelists included Frith Crandall, an attorney with Winston & Strawn in Chicago, who discussed ISO 14000; Erik Meyers of the Environmental Law Institute and Angela Boggs of Intel Corp. Intel's plant in Chandler, Arizona was one of the first companies to be selected as a pilot for Project XL.

There were a wide variety of breakout session topics to choose from this year, including case studies in the printing, chemical, and metal finishing/plating industries. Other workshops included a demonstration on how to use the Internet and Enviro$en$e; life cycle assessments; energy efficiency; community relations; and public-private partnerships.

New Star Partners

The newest winners of Illinois EPA's STAR Partner Awards were also announced at the conference. They are Witco/Sherex Chemical Corporation and Argonne National Laboratory.

To be recognized as a STAR Partner, companies must demonstrate they have been a mentor in pollution prevention both inside and outside their own industry.

Witco/Sherex in Mapleton was cited not only for incorporating widespread pollution prevention into its processes but extensive outreach efforts to its neighboring community, customers and suppliers, and other industries and education groups.

Argonne, operated by the University of Chicago as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratory system, was recognized for its extensive work with industry to develop new environmentally friendly technologies and its research in remediating environmental problems. Argonne has also sponsored numerous professional conferences and workshops.