Sector Strategies Program

[logo] Sector Strategies Program: Insight, Innovation, Results

The Sector Strategies Program achieves performance improvement and burden reduction in 13 important sectors by addressing their unique issues and challenges in a collaborative setting.

Staff contacts are experts on their sectors, providing a resource to EPA and external partners, and assessing factors that are drivers or barriers to better performance. Program staffers create ad hoc partnerships with essential stakeholders, including business leaders in each sector, state and local officials, and others. Through informal dialogue, stakeholder teams design tailored strategies to improve environmental performance and reduce regulatory burden.

[cover] Download the 2008 Sector Performance Report, PDF

New 2008 Performance Report (PDF) (138 pp, 11.2MB)

[cover] Download the Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions report, PDF

GHG Report (PDF)
(132 pp, 1.5MB)

New 2007 Energy Report

[cover] Beneficial Reuse of Industrial Byproducts in the Gulf Coast Region

Beneficial Reuse report (PDF) (116 pp, 1.8MB)

Sector strategies may include targeted regulatory changes, sector-based EMS programs, and easier links to assistance services. Action plans are supported by shared knowledge and objective analysis. Innovative measurement approaches track performance with a more strategic allocation of resources by all stakeholders.

2008 Sector Performance Report

Welcome to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2008 Sector Performance Report, the third in a series started in 2004. The report provides a comprehensive picture of the environmental performance of 12 sectors of the U.S. economy, currently and over time.

Download the 2008 Sector Performance Report (PDF) (138 pp, 11.2MB, About PDF)

Participating Sectors

At present, there are 13 manufacturing and service sectors participating in Sector Strategies:

There are many participants in these sector partnerships who engage with EPA on wide range of activities, such as issue analysis, policy dialogue, project planning, pilot testing, and long-term program change. Participation varies from sector to sector, and issue to issue. Active participants include over 24 national trade associations, hundreds of involved companies, major colleges, all EPA programs and regions, state and local agencies (and their national associations), and NGO, and academic groups that are actively involved with specific issues.

Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Key Industrial Sectors in the United States

This report seeks to provide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles for key sectors of U.S. industry (including indirect emissions from electricity consumption), which combined accounted for 29% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2002, more than any other economic sector. Emission profiles are provided for 14 key industrial sectors.

Download the full report (WORKING DRAFT) (PDF) (132 pp, 1.5MB, About PDF)

Beneficial Reuse of Industrial Byproducts in the Gulf Coast Region

The Sector Strategies report: Beneficial Reuse of Industrial Byproducts in the Gulf Coast Region describes how participating sectors can turn "would be wastes" into substitutes for raw materials and/or sources of energy. This report identifies the major industrial byproduct streams for 9 major sectors that have a significant presence in the Gulf coast region. The report summarizes state beneficial material reuse programs in that region, and offers a detailed summary of factors that support or inhibit the creation of market connections to the reuse of industrial byproducts (i.e., drivers & barriers). The report is intended to provide information to state and federal regulators, trade associations, and other stakeholders to support and promote beneficial material reuse.

Download the full report (PDF) (116 pp, 1.8MB, About PDF)

For additional information, please contact Keith Chanon (chanon.keith@epa.gov, phone: 202-566-1410)

Environmental Management Systems and other sector tools

Sector teams work with trade associations to develop and implement a plan for delivering needed outreach, training resources, and support to build a 'business case' for EMS.

In 2003 and 2004, Sector Strategies released brochures highlighting the benefits of EMS implementation at various industrial facilities. Environmental Management Systems: Systematically Improving your Performance was created in partnership with multiple trade associations. Business cases exist for six industry sectors: Agribusiness (meat packing), Construction, Metal Casting, Metal Finishing, Ports, and Shipbuilding and Ship Repair.