Selected Examples of United States Efforts To Promote Sustainable Consumption and Production:
Sustainable Consumption and Product Development
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Program. "Environmentally Preferable" refers toproducts or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. The EPP Program works to leverage the U.S. government’s purchasing power to minimize environmental burdens by encouraging and assisting federal agencies in the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services.
The Sector Strategies Program seeks industry-wide environmental gains through innovative actions taken with a number of manufacturing and service sectors. Launched in June 2003, the program works with select trade associations, EPA programs and regions, states, and other groups to find sensible solutions to sector-specific problems. The program focuses on three priority areas: promoting environmental management systems, overcoming regulatory or other barriers to performance improvement, and measuring and reporting industry-wide environmental and economic progress.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards establish minimum efficiency levels for vehicles sold in the United States. In April 2003. the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced new fuel economy standards for light trucks Model Years ‘05 through ‘07. The standards will save approximately 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline over the life of these fleets. The new standards would gradually increase the standard from the current 20.7 mpg up to 22.2 mpg for MY 2007, and will cover minivans, pickup trucks, SUVs, and other light trucks. Further work is under way on future changes to the CAFE program.
Water 2025. In 2003, the Department of the Interior launched its Water 2025 initiative to help the western United States to better manage scarce water resources and to develop partnerships to nourish a healthy environment and sustain a vibrant economy. Water 2025 encourages voluntary water banks and other market-based measures, technological improvements for water conservation and efficiency, and the removal of institutional barriers to increased cooperation and collaboration among federal, state, tribal, and private organizations. Water 2025 also concentrates existing federal financial and technical resources in key western watersheds and in critical research and development, such as water conservation and desalination, which will help to predict, prevent, and alleviate water supply conflicts.
Energy Star assists businesses and individuals to preserve the environment by improving energy efficiency. Products that meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy earn the Energy Star label. More than 1,200 manufacturers use the Energy Star label in 13,000 individual product models. Energy Star has partnered with more than 7,000 private and public sector organizations. In 2002 alone Energy Star helped Americans to save enough energy to power 15 million homes and avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 14 million cars -- all while saving $7 billion.
The Weatherization Assistance Program enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. The program provides a wide variety of cost-effective energy efficiency measures that encompass the building envelope, its heating and cooling systems, its electrical system, and electricity consuming appliances. It is the country's longest running energy efficiency program. During the last 27 years, the program has provided weatherization services to more than 5.2 million low-income families.
