Sustainability and the U.S. EPA

This framework provides recommendations for a sustainability approach that both incorporates and goes beyond an approach based on assessing and managing the risks posed by pollutants that has largely shaped environmental policy since the 1980s. Although risk-based methods have led to many successes and remain important tools, the report concludes that they are not adequate to address many of the complex problems that put current and future generations at risk, such as depletion of natural resources, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. Moreover, sophisticated tools are increasingly available to address cross-cutting, complex, and challenging issues that go beyond risk management.

Sustainability is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment. The environment provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.
Recognizing the importance of sustainability to its work, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working to create programs and applications in a variety of areas to better incorporate sustainability into decision making at the agency. To further strengthen the scientific basis for sustainability as it applies to human health and environmental protection, the EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide a framework for incorporating sustainability into the EPA's principles and decision-making.

The report recommends that EPA formally adopt as its sustainability paradigm the widely used "three pillars" approach, which means considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of an action or decision. Health should be expressly included in the "social" pillar. EPA should also articulate its vision for sustainability and develop a set of sustainability principles that would underlie all agency policies and programs.

Contents
SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION
EPA’s Mission and Role
Committee’s Task
Committee’s Approach to the Task
Structure of the Report
References
2 HISTORY OF SUSTAINABILITY
Conservation in the United States
Environmental Protection in the United States
Sustainable Development
Findings and Recommendations
References
3 A SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK FOR EPA
Introduction
The Sustainability Framework
The Sustainability Framework: Level 1 Components
Findings and Recommendations
References
4 SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT: PROCESS, TOOLS, AND INDICATORS
Elements of Sustainability Assessment and Management
Findings and Recommendations
References
5 HOW RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT RELATE TO THE SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK
Inference Guidelines and Operational Procedures
Limitations of the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Paradigm
Evolution of the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Paradigm
The Interface Between the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Paradigm and Sustainability
Findings and Recommendations
References
6 CHANGING THE CULTURE IN EPA
Effecting Cultural Change in the Agency
Research and Development
Findings and Recommendations
References
7 BENEFITS OF A SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH AT EPA
Daunting Challenges
Probable Benefits of a More Robust Approach to Sustainability
Conclusion: The Journey Ahead
Findings and Recommendations
References
APPENDIXES
A THE COMMITTEE ON INCORPORATING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
B STATEMENT OF TASK
C GLOSSARY
D SUSTAINABILITY IN THE OECD
E SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS
References