by Brianna Crandall — September 20, 2010—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced September 15 that it will phase down services the agency offers under its Climate Leaders program over the coming year and encourage participating companies to transition to state or non-governmental programs.
Factoring into the agency’s decision are the many new developments in regulatory and voluntary programs that address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including the first-ever mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule that took effect on January 1, 2010. In addition, several states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) now offer climate programs that are robust enough to serve companies in the Climate Leaders program, says EPA.
As EPA phases down services the agency provides under the program—including technical assistance and setting greenhouse gas reduction goals—the agency says it will take steps to assist the transition of the partners into non-federal programs that will allow them to go above and beyond mandatory reporting requirements to meet their goals.
The agency will work with these programs to continue to stay involved in important initiatives related to corporate greenhouse gas accounting and to support companies’ actions to reduce their GHG emissions, in particular through other EPA programs such as Energy Star and the Green Power Partnership. The agency will also seek new ways to promote, support and recognize climate leadership.
EPA is reportedly confident that this transition will allow the agency to realign resources to better assist companies in learning from the emissions data collected under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. This data will facilitate the exchange and application of best practices and innovative technologies across a wide range of industries. EPA’s other voluntary programs will remain in place and continue to work with partner organizations to reduce emissions and increase sustainability.
