General Environmental Measurement Resources

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EPA and many non-governmental organizations, trade groups, and companies collect and share information on techniques and tools for improving a facility's environmental measurement. The links provided below highlight some sources of information.

Disclaimer: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides this information as a free and open service to the public. EPA does not endorse any company or product identified on this or any subsequent pages listed herein, and makes no claims regarding the accuracy, validity, or effectiveness of this or any other product or service represented by these data.

If you would like to suggest additional resources to feature on this website, please email a description of the site (including what topics the site addresses) and the URL to hamilton.luctrician@epa.gov.

Environmental Management Accounting Procedures and Principles (PDF, 153 pp., 1.5MB)
The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development presents background information on EMA principles, guidelines for outlining corporate environmental expenditures, methods for determining system boundaries, information on process flow charts and cost accounting, and application examples.
How Do You Measure Environmental Performance
R. Pojasek, president of Pojasek & Associates, a risk-management consulting practice, describes the use of the Baldrige/Green Zia model for environmental accounting.
Measuring Eco-Efficiency: A Guide to Reporting Company Performance (PDF, 38 pp., 442KB)
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development sets out a framework that can be used by businesses to measure progress toward economic and environmental sustainability. The report includes general guidance on selecting and reporting on indicators, as well as discussion of specific measurement issues such as selecting boundaries, data availability, sensitivity and error, transformation and conversion, aggregation, and interpretation and benchmarking.
Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics: Challenges and Opportunities
The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council examine U.S. industrial experience in setting goals and measuring progress in environmental performance. This study identifies factors that have contributed, or will contribute, to improved industrial environmental performance in the United States. It assesses the relative successes and shortcomings of current methods of measuring industrial environmental performance. And it recommends a set of industrial environmental performance metrics that defines current best practices and identifies directions for future improvement. The study is based on in-depth analyses of four manufacturing industries: automotive, chemical, electronics, and pulp and paper.
Continuity, Credibility and Comparability: Key Challenges for Corporate Environmental Performance Measurement and Communication (PDF, 85 pp., 324KB)
The European Environment Agency summarizes current trends, problems and developments in the areas of Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs), Environmental Reporting, and Environmental Performance Ranking, and their interconnections as a contribution to enhancing the eco-efficiency of companies. There is also a supplementary report focusing on environmental reporting and small-and-medium-sized-enterprises (SMEs).
Measuring Environmental Performance: A Primer and Survey of Metrics In Use (PDF, 69 pp., 174KB)
The Global Environmental Management Initiative provides a survey of tools (metrics) for measuring environmental performance, considerations for designing, implementing, evaluating, and improving a metrics program, and trends in environmental performance measurement.

General Environmental Measurement Resources

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