Published by the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
Published by the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
September/October 1997
Contents:Featured Topic: Consultants and P2
What Are the Barriers and Opportunities?
Other P2 News
Consultants and P2:
What Are the Barriers and Opportunities?Barriers Stand Between Consultants and P2 Projects. But Knowing Industries Thoroughly Creates Opportunities.
For environmental consultants, the pollution prevention market is a mixed bag of barriers and opportunities, both of which result from the differences between pollution prevention and pollution control projects.
The barriers to marketing P2 are economic and institutional, which are subtly related and can be traced partly to the origins of the environmental consulting business. "We're an industry that was born of regulations," said David Welsh, executive director of the Northwest Environmental Business Council, a trade association for consulting and other environmental firms. Industries faced with regulatory requirements purchased end-of-pipe control technologies, which kept the companies in compliance and were profitable for the consulting firms that marketed, installed and maintained them.
The dollars-and-cents difference between control and prevention projects is a significant barrier to consultants entering or expanding their P2 business. Marketing a control technology that is capital- intensive and which requires followup services such as maintenance and compliance audits is difficult to pass over in favor of a smaller, one- time P2 project-even though the client may be better off in the long run eliminating costly, pollution-generating inefficiencies via P2. "What's been slow to take hold is thinking of pollution as economic as well as resource waste, and that environmental technology can help you be more competitive, rather than be a hindrance to the bottom line," Welsh observed.
P2 Projects Generally Cost Less Than Control Projects
Bob Pojasek, a Boston-based pollution prevention consultant who works extensively in the Northwest, offered an example to illustrate the problem. The cost of monitoring emissions and preparing a permit under Title V of the Clean Air Act can range up to $250,000. In contrast, he estimates that most P2 jobs come in under $20,000. "I've done five or six jobs where I've obviated the need for that permit by eliminating the chemical that causes the emissions," Pojasek said. This approach relieves the client of future compliance costs, but it also relieves the consultant of future business with that client. Another barrier, which has both economic and institutional components, is uncertainty. The results of pollution control are more easily quantified than the results of pollution prevention. For example, a consultant can assure the client that an incinerator will destroy enough volatile organic compounds to prevent air permit violations. There are more variables associated with pollution prevention, said Susan Fife- Ferris, a P2 consultant with Sound Resource Management in Seattle. An emissions reduction may well be tied to a process change or chemical substitution recommended by a P2 consultant, but unrelated economic factors may be at work as well, and it may be difficult to tease the two factors apart.
The uncertainties may lead to a client opting for the tried-and-true control strategy, even though prevention in the long run will save on operating and compliance costs. That's especially the case if the prevention strategy doesn't have a long track record. "If you have a technology that's unproven, it's tough to get capitalization. You need money to demonstrate it and acquire data. No one wants to be first" and take on the risk of paying for both a failed P2 project and an end-of-pipe solution, Welsh said.
Other barriers, listed in an article prepared by Massachusetts P2 consultant Tim Greiner, include:
• POINT OF CONTACT: For pollution control projects, the client's environmental manager is most often the point of contact for marketing and implementing an end-of-pipe project. But pollution prevention projects need the full involvement and commitment of plant operations managers who can oversee the necessary process and work practice changes.
• CUSTOMIZATION: Different industries rely on differing processes, materials and practices, and companies within industries have differing cultures. For those reasons, P2 projects must be custom-designed for each client's needs, and are not easily transferable to other industries.
• CLIENT EDUCATION: The consulting firm may have to spend more time educating the client on a P2 project's benefits than the firm would have to spend communicating a control project's results.
But from other perspectives, pollution prevention is an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with a client that may yield a lasting stream of projects for consulting firms, or alliances of consulting firms, with the right sets of skills. P2 goes to the heart of how companies conduct their business, and P2 opportunities often will cover the full scope of a company's operations, such as product design, chemical usage, energy and water requirements, manufacturing processes, materials management, and equipment maintenance. Consultants traditionally have been "projects-based," Pojasek observed. More productive would be building relationships that "offer long-term service showing that you really understand their industry," he said.
Mid-sized firms likely to succeed in implementing P2 share a number of characteristics, according to an EPA study of more than 1,500 such firms in the Southeast. The firms tended to welcome employee input; they had experience or knew an industry colleague with experience in cleaning up past environmental liabilities, and they were focused on product quality.
There are a wide range of P2 project opportunities available to consultants. They include:
Currently, pollution prevention activities are being conducted both by large and small companies, and at all levels of government. Among the companies and organizations providing P2 consulting services are Battelle Memorial Institute, Kennedy/Jenks, WasteMinCo., Science Applications International Corp., HartCrowser, Shapiro & Associates, Ross & Associates, Cascadia Consulting Group, and Sound Resource Management Group.
- Assessing P2 opportunities
- Preparing P2 plans
- Assisting the client with preparing a P2 plan
- Evaluating barriers and opportunities
- Analyzing cost-effectiveness and drawing up specifications for equipment changeouts
- Engineering process changes
- Planning and overseeing supplemental environmental projects (SEPs).
(Research for this article was provided by Jennifer Eden and Laura Kennedy Gould.)
Productivity, Cost Control, Risk Management are Drivers P2 Consultants Can Focus OnThe keys to consultants successfully marketing pollution prevention are to talk the language of business and to show how P2 is aligned with the potential client's business needs.
Beyond meeting regulatory compliance requirements, company managers may have only a passing interest in minimizing waste releases for purely environmental reasons. But minimizing waste releases in order to improve productivity, competitiveness and quality, and to better manage risk are drivers more likely to focus managers' attention on pollution prevention.
"It's dollars and cents. That's what will get their attention. That's the door to walk through," said David Welsh, executive director of the Northwest Environmental Business Council, a trade association for consulting and other environmental firms.
For consultants to find the most promising clients, and to send the right marketing messages to the right people within the companies requires some understanding of how new technologies and practices are adopted. The seminal work on this topic, Diffusion of Innovations, was written by Dr. Everett Rogers, a leading researcher in the diffusion field. Key factors that determine whether an innovation is adopted include the compatibility of the innovation's characteristics with the potential users' needs, whether the industry's informal opinion leaders adopt the innovation, and the credibility of communications channels that deliver information about the innovation to the potential adopter.
A prerequisite to successfully marketing pollution prevention is to understand an industry inside and out, said P2 consultant Bob Pojasek, whose Massachusetts firm, Cambridge Environmental, Inc., works extensively in the Northwest. "Consultants should understand how a company designs and makes its products, understand their processes and just be knowledgeable about the industry," he said. Helpful to learning about industries and marketing is attending trade shows and networking with the industry's trade associations, Pojasek said.
Because P2 addresses the root causes of waste, an understanding of the link between P2 and total quality management (TQM) is helpful also, Pojasek said. TQM is a philosophy of adaptive management that focuses on continuous innovation and improvement in a company's products and processes, through employee empowerment and open communication. "The consultant needs to be cognizant of TQM, of cycle time reduction. You have to talk to production people in their language."
Management consulting firms may not be thought of as environmental consultants, but several such firms emphasize pollution prevention's cost and risk reduction benefits. Arthur Andersen, for example, recommends integrating environmental issues into business operations, through understanding sources of environmental costs, reducing costs and risks through prevention and resource efficiency projects, and establishing appropriate performance measures.
Charlie Scott, principal with Cascadia Consulting Group in Seattle, sees increasing private-sector interest in improving resource efficiency comprehensively. That approach argues for small, specialized consulting firms banding together into alliances offering a broad range of expertise in, for example, water efficiency, energy efficiency and solid waste reduction.
Competitiveness concerns may drive companies toward obtaining ISO certification of quality and environmental management systems, potentially opening the door to pollution prevention, Welsh said.
Appealing to less tangible drivers, such as corporate image and employee relations, are other marketing points mentioned by P2 consultants. A "green" image may be especially salient in the environmentally conscious Northwest. "It's a natural transfer from being a mountain climber or a camper to running a business that doesn't pollute the environment," said Susan Fife-Ferris, a P2 consultant with Sound Resource Management in Seattle.
Another marketing opportunity for P2 consultants is designing and overseeing supplemental environmental projects (SEPs). Pollution prevention is one of seven types of projects that can be implemented. "The whole goal of regulation should be environmental performance," Fife-Ferris said. "Levying a fine alone will not necessarily achieve that objective."
P2 Consulting Projects Assist Private Sector and Government Facilities With Waste Minimization
INDUSTRY
Waste Reduction, Recycling
WasteMinCo in Seattle, Wash., worked with a plastics manufacturer to reduce hazardous air emissions from the use of the solvent methylene chloride. WasteMinCo outlined ways to reduce solvent use and emissions by an estimated 6.4 to 9.3 tons per year, resulting in emissions between 2.2 and 5.1 tons per year. Outcome: WasteMinCo estimated that implementing the recommended pollution prevention opportunities will save the company an estimated $6,400 to $12,600 in annual solvent purchases. Reductions in solvent usage also will keep the company as a Title V "Synthetic Minor" (fewer than 10 tons of any one Hazardous Air Pollutant), thus avoiding the approximately $10,000 cost of an air permit application and the associated annual fees of about $2,500. Contact: Mike Oddo, WasteMinCo, 206-623-5066
Eco Compliance Corporation in Renton, Wash., assisted Ingersoll-Rand, a heavy equipment manufacturer, in developing procedures to reduce solid waste at the facility, which consists primarily of wood from pallets, iron and steel, and cardboard. Procedures selected for waste reduction at this facility included design of reusable packaging containers, consolidation of purchases, reduction in personnel authorized to make purchases, and employee incentive programs. Outcome: Eco Compliance estimated that implementing the procedures would reduce annual solid waste generation by 45 tons, or 50 percent. Contact: William Kane, Eco Compliance Corporation, 425-271-5629
Kennedy/Jenks Consultants in Federal Way, Wash., assisted TAM Engineering in implementing a program to reduce wastewater discharges through source reduction and recycling. Wet processes to clean engine parts were eliminated by switching to a dry process for removing gross contamination. Grinding and honing fluids, as well as rinses to clean metal fragments and trace contaminants, were recycled. As a result of these activities, TAM eliminated wastewater discharges. Outcome: This project was initiated as a result of a Washington Department of Ecology compliance order. The company's commitment to resolve the issue through source reduction earned the company an Environmental Excellence Award from the Association of Washington Business. Recycling of process wastewaters significantly reduced TAM's use of raw materials, such as honing, grinding and cleaning fluids, as well as fresh water. Contact: Nathan Graves, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, 253-874-0555
Kennedy/Jenks Consultants in Federal Way, Wash., assisted The Boeing Company in designing facilities to reduce chromium emissions. A chromic acid anodizing process was replaced with a less hazardous process that was effective, yet resulted in waste reductions. Outcome: Hexavalent chromium was reduced in two waste streams. Contact: Nathan Graves, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, 253-874-0555
P2 Evaluation and Design
WasteMinCo in Seattle, Wash., worked with The Boeing Company to develop comprehensive pollution prevention plans for all eight of the Defense & Space Group's Puget Sound facilities. WasteMinCo characterized wastes and reviewed processes such as coating, stripping, machining, bonding and adhesion, degreasing, lab operations, printed circuit board operations, and photographic/graphic processing. WasteMinCo established Total Quality Management teams to verify the accuracy of the process characterizations and to conduct brainstorming sessions on pollution prevention opportunities. Outcome: More than 800 pollution prevention opportunities were developed and evaluated for priority setting and scheduling. Contact: Mike Oddo, WasteMinCo, 206-623-5066
Waste Reduction, Recycling
Shapiro & Associates in Seattle, Wash., prepared pollution prevention plans for Whidbey Naval Air Station's Ault Field and Seaplane Base in Oak Harbor, Wash. In 1994, the facility produced nearly 500,000 pounds of wastewater. One of the largest waste sources was cleaning water contaminated with paint stripper, degreaser and anti-corrosive coating bath acids. Shapiro worked with Navy engineers to design a closed loop rinsing system to keep the water and chemicals separate and allow reuse of the water. Also recommended was purifying the parts dipping bath so that chemical usage could be reduced. Outcome: The Navy estimated that the rinsing system and other recommendations will reduce wastewater by about 70 percent. Contact: Lawrence Spurgeon, Shapiro & Associates, Inc., 206-624-9190
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in Poulsbo, Wash. conducted a pollution prevention assessment for the Air National Guard facility in Klamath Falls, Ore. The facility's engine cleaning process was to spray parts with a highly corrosive detergent, scrub by hand, then rinse with a steam cleaner. Wastewater was discharged to an oil-water separator, then to a sanitary sewer. The practice was time-consuming, and the detergent was corroding the separator, leading to sewage discharge violations. SAIC recommended an aqueous-based cabinet washer allowing unattended cleaning and recycling of detergent solution. Outcome: Estimated cost savings are expected to exceed $5,000 per year and the use of detergent chemicals has been reduced by more than 80 percent. Since the oil/water separator is no longer needed, all its costs, including maintenance and sampling, have been eliminated. Contact: Dave Goodwin, SAIC, 360-779-4500
SAIC in Poulsbo, Wash., developed a pollution prevention plan for the U.S. Coast Guard Integrated Support Command facility in Kodiak, Alaska. The facility maintains hundreds of vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment. The shops have produced a substantial amount of waste engine oil from oil changes conducted on a set schedule, regardless of the oil's quality. SAIC recommended an oil analysis program to test the oil and change only when necessary. SAIC estimates oil changes will be reduced 50 percent, with reduced risk of spills. Estimated cost savings are $11,000 per year, with payback in one year. Contact: Dave Goodwin, SAIC, 360-779-4500.
P2 Evaluation and Design
Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNL) staff in Richland, Wash., has helped the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) implement the P2 by Design project. The goal of the project is to make pollution prevention a routine part of all design activities within the DOE, since up to 70 percent of future project costs are fixed in the design stage. PNL staff designed training materials and a design methodology, along with accompanying software tools. Outcome: Battelle estimates that the design methodology incorporating pollution prevention has helped DOE facilities save an estimated $3.8 million per design project. More information can be obtained at this Web site: http://p2.pnl.gov:2080/DFE/ Contact: Kim Fowler, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 509-372-4233
Waste Reduction, Recycling
Sound Resource Management Group in Seattle, Wash., was hired by Snohomish County to develop ways to reduce packaging waste. The consultant contacted more than 70 manufacturing, wholesale, retail and service businesses. With help from packaging professionals, the consultants provided packaging waste reduction and recycling assistance to 26 businesses. Outcome: Sound Resource Management completed more than a dozen case studies, documenting $350,000 in savings and hundreds of tons of waste diverted from solid waste landfills or incinerators. Contact: Jim Jensen, Sound Resource Management Group, 206-622-9454
Cascadia Consulting Group in Seattle, Wash., was hired by Seattle Solid Waste Utility and King County Solid Waste Division to examine the feasibility of food waste composting in food processing operations, restaurant and institutional food services, and retail grocery environments. Cascadia surveyed more than 750 food waste generators and met in focus groups with 25 generators to determine attitudes about space, time and labor barriers, as well as cost incentives for participating in composting programs. Outcome: Cascadia organized a pilot collection program in King County. Contact: Charlie Scott, Cascadia Consulting Group, 206-343-9759.
Projects compendium compiled by Jennifer Eden and Laura Kennedy Gould.
Publications Benefit Three Sectors
Three publications that will assist three industry sectors with implementing pollution prevention in their facilities are being published by the PPRC and are either available or close to being available for distribution. The reports are:
• Washington: 360-407-6803
• Idaho: 208-373-0497
• Oregon: 503-229-6147
• Alaska: 907-269-7571
Fact Sheets Address HAP Requirements With P2The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center is preparing a series of 12 fact sheets that assist businesses with complying with the Clean Air Act through pollution prevention.
The following fact sheets are available on the Northwest Business Assistance Network page of the PPRC Web site: http://www.pprc.org/pprc/sbap/factshts.html.
Additionally, the page includes an emissions estimating worksheet and a list of the 189 chemicals classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs).
- Solvent cleaning equipment regulations
- Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
- Risk management planning requirements
- Wood furniture manufacturing
Call Chris Wiley, 206-352-2050, for information.
Pollution Prevention News Briefs
Alaska Booklet Describes Habits Of Highly Efficient Businesses
Businesses in Alaska, from small dry cleaners to large oil refineries, have a new resource to help them stay competitive while protecting the environment. The guide, Habits of Highly Efficient Alaska Businesses, focuses on activities conducted by all businesses, such as purchasing, inventory, shipping, employee training and accounting, and describes actions taken by successful Alaskan businesses to increase profits and reduce costs.
To receive a free copy of the guide, or for more information, contact the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Pollution Prevention Program at 907-269-7582 (compasst@envircon.state.ak.us).
H-P, United Paint Win Awards
• Hewlett-Packard wins Washington State Recycling Award
Hewlett-Packard, which manufactures computers, communications equipment and measurement products, was honored by the Washington Department of Ecology, winning the award for the best large business waste reduction and recycling program. H-P operates a recycling center that saved more than $300,000 last year and earned revenues of $537,000 by diverting more than 75 percent of its waste. The company also was praised for its employee education and rewards program.• United Paint and Coating wins EPA's Evergreen Award
The Evergreen Award for corporate environmental excellence was presented to United Paint and Coatings of Spokane, Wash., which manufactures paints and coatings for roofing, industrial and architechtural uses. Since 1993, United has prevented pollution by reducing or eliminating certain hazardous waste streams, reducing or eliminating use of several hazardous chemicals during the production process, and working with suppliers and customers to purchase and sell less toxic products.
"Sustainable Building Northwest" Conference Planned Oct. 27-29
This conference and trade show, to be held in Seattle, Wash., on Oct. 27-29, will highlight proven, practical methods for applying sustainable concepts and techniques to building projects and developments.
Keynote speakers are Paul Hawken, author of The Ecology of Commerce, and Alana Probst, vice president of EcoTrust Partnership, which fosters sustainable economic development.
For more information, visit the Web site at http://pti.nw.dc.us/seattle.htm, or contact Kathleen O Brien at obrien@halcyon.com or at 206-842-8995.
Idaho Offers P2 Resources
The Idaho Division of Environmental Quality has a new "Pollution Prevention Resource Center" — a database of most of its library resources that is available to the public.
The center uses Inmagic software to open key pollution prevention fact sheets, assessments, reports, and guides. The information is divided into three main topics — industries, processes and wastes — and is searchable by keywords.
For more information, contact Katie Sewell or Charley Rains at 208-373-0502.
Hawken to Speak at Symposium
The first Sustainable Business Symposium in the Northwest will be held at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Nov. 10-12.
Organized by students, faculty, local business and community organizations, the conference will address the links between environmental and economic issues, and teach skills for incorporating sustainable business principles into curricula, business practices, building design and energy usage.
The keynote speaker will be Paul Hawken, author of The Ecology of Commerce.
For more information, contact Alex Tynberg at atynberg@law.uoregon.edu or 541-338-2944.
Pollution Prevention Info: Web sites, Publications
Test Your Environmental Literacy
Pass an online exam in environmental literacy and you may have a better chance of getting a job. The 125 international member companies of the Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) will recognize the environmental literacy certificate in job applications.
Some of the "Business Concepts for the 21st Century" covered are: eco-efficiency, sustainable shareholder value and sustainable consumption patterns.
Visit http://www.wbcsd.ch/foundation to read background papers and to take the test.
Weyerhaeuser and CH2M Hill are Northwest members of WBCSD.
Environmental Conference Taking Place on the Internet
The first environmental conference to take place entirely on the Internet, Environment 97, is scheduled for Nov. 3-14. The international conference will open discussion among engineers, scientists and the general public on environmental issues.
The conference will feature: 150 technical and general papers, with discussion groups; a life-cycle assessment comparing the environmental impacts of face-to-face and Internet conferences; and a chat bar.
Registration is free, and space is limited. Visit the Web site at http://www.environment97.org to register, and read materials already available.
Small Business Funding Sources
The following Web sites offer funding information for developing new environmental technologies:
• Ace-Net, http://ace-net.sr.unh.edu/ — This is an "angel" investor network designed to help small business (under 500 employees) seeking to raise $250,000 to $5 million in equity financing.• America's Business Funding Directory, http://www.businessfinance.com/ — This directory contains more than 13,000 funding sources.
• Sustainable Business Network's Directory of Funding Assistance, http://www.envirolink.org/sbn/fundingassist.html — This Web site offers additional information and links to funding sources.
Environmental Conference Taking Place on the Internet
WRI Analyzes Resource Flows A new report entitled Resource Flows: The Material Basis of Industrial Economies, examines the amount of natural resources that industrial economies use. The authors of the report suggest that the standard economic measurement-gross domestic product (GDP)-be augmented with a total material requirement (TMR) index, which accounts for natural resources that go into the national economy. A TMR/GDP ratio would measure an economy's efficiency. Copies of the report are available for $14.95 from the World Resources Institute at 202-638-6300. More information is available at: http://www.wri.org/wri/data/matflows/.
POLLUTION PREVENTION Northwest
Editor & Designer: Jim DiPeso
Pollution Prevention Northwest is published bimonthly by the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center. To receive a free subscription (please specify electronic or hard copy), link to the newsletter order form or contact the PPRC, 1326 Fifth Ave.,
Technical Editors: Madeline M. Sten
Web Version Format: Crispin Stutzman
Suite 650, Seattle, Washington 98101
Phone: 206-352-2050; Fax: 206-352-2049
E-mail: office@pprc.org
http://www.pprc.org/pprcAbout this Newsletter
Articles from this newsletter may be printed or distributed electronically only in their entirety with written permission from the PPRC. Please credit the author (if any), followed by "Pollution Prevention Northwest, Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center."Advisory Board
Pat Barclay, Idaho Council on Industry and the Environment; Scott Butner, Battelle Seattle Research Center; Fred Claggett, Environment Canada; Jim Craven, American Electronics Association; Gil Omenn, University of Washington School of Public Health; and Kathy Vega, U.S. Department of Energy.About the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) is a nonprofit organization formed to identify opportunities and overcome obstacles to pollution prevention implementation in the Pacific Northwest. Headquartered in Seattle, Wash., the PPRC serves Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.Financial support for the PPRC is broad-based, with contributions from organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Northwest states and British Columbia, The Boeing Company, Intel Corporation and the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable. The PPRC accepts environmental settlement moneys to further its work on pollution prevention.
Significant in-kind support has been provided by organizations such as: Hewlett-Packard Company, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle Seattle Research Center, Microsoft Corporation, Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd. and Perkins Coie.
Staff: Madeline M. Sten, Executive Director; Chris Montovino, Technical Director; Jim DiPeso, Communications Director; Chris Wiley, Small Business Liaison; Scott Allison, Business Manager; Crispin Stutzman, Research Associate; and Dana Heisler, Administrative Assistant.
Board of Directors: Richard Bach, President, Stoel Rives, Portland, Ore.; Rodney Brown, Vice President, Marten & Brown LLP, Seattle, Wash; Joan Cloonan, Vice President, J.R. Simplot Company, Boise, Idaho; William June, Secretary, On Point Communications Strategists, Portland, Ore.; Dana Rasmussen, Treasurer, Seattle, Wash.; Scott Forrest, Forrest Paint Co., Eugene, Ore; Johanna M. Munson, State of Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska; Gilbert Omenn, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Univ. of Wash., Seattle, Wash.; T. Murray Rankin, Arvay Finlay, Victoria, British Columbia; Alan Schuyler, ARCO Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska; Kirk Thomson, The Boeing Company, Seattle, Wash.; Randy Tucker, OSPIRG, Portland, Ore.; and Forrest Whitt, Hewlett-Packard, Boise, Idaho.
© 1999, Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
phone: 206-352-2050, web: www.pprc.org