EPA's Innovation Strategy

2004 Innovation Progress Report

Innovation in the News

Phoenix, Mesa and Valley Metro Rail Receive EPA assistance to Promote Transit-oriented Development

Phoenix, Mesa, and Valley Metro Rail are getting assistance from EPA in developing a regional strategy that will encourage compact, mixed-use and transit-oriented development. A team of national experts, assembled by the Smart Growth Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has developed options designed to promote transit-oriented development along Phoenix’s new light-rail line in ways that are also consistent with Arizona’s statewide private property rights act, Proposition 207. More...

Residential Development Shifts Toward Urban Centers

EPA is today releasing a new report, “Residential Construction Trends in America’s Metropolitan Regions,” which examines building trends in the 50 largest metropolitan areas from 1990 to 2007. The report shows that while a large share of new residential construction still takes place on previously undeveloped land at the urban fringe, more than half of the county’s larger metro regions have seen a sharp increase in residential building in urban core areas. EPA believes this trend reflects growing appreciation in many communities for smart growth development that reuses already developed property and infrastructure, protects air and water quality, and preserves natural lands and critical environmental areas. More...

New EPA Guide to Help Businesses Confront Climate Challenge

EPA is releasing a new resource, A Business Guide to U.S. EPA Climate Partnership Programs, for businesses committed to addressing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.  More...

Industry Makes Green While Going Green

Major manufacturing and business sectors are improving environmental performance to cut waste, improve economic competitiveness and gain other important benefits. Steel recycling in the United States reached an all-time high in 2005. Chemical manufacturers cut air emissions in half from 1995 to 2006. During the same decade, cement manufacturers reduced their waste per unit of production by one quarter. These environmental trends are highlighted in a new EPA report released today on some of the nation's most important economic sectors. More...

42 New Performance Track Members Set Environmental Improvement Goals Going Above and Beyond Environmental Regulations Dallas First Major City to Join

The City of Dallas, facilities from Intel Corporation and John Deere, and Dyess and Barksdale Air Force Bases in Texas and Louisiana are among the 42 new members setting goals to go above and beyond environmental requirements as part of EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track Program. More...

Missouri, New Hampshire and Rhode Island Receive Funding for Innovative Environmental Protection Strategies

EPA has awarded $825,000 to Missouri, New Hampshire and the Narragansett Bay Commission in Rhode Island to support innovative approaches for improving permitting programs, which impose limits on pollution emissions to the air, water, and land. This funding is taking place under EPA’s State Innovation Grant program, which helps states develop and test leading edge ideas in environmental protection. More...

Communities Measure Up on Smart Growth

EPA is recognizing four communities for innovative approaches to development that expand economic opportunity and protect public health and the environment. The 2008 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement goes to the Silver Spring Regional Center in Montgomery County, Md.; the Atlanta Regional Commission; the Urban Edge Housing Corporation in Roxbury, Mass.; and Mercy Housing California and the San Francisco Housing Authority. More...