Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Figures -- Tables -- Summary -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Chapter One : Introduction -- Purpose -- Context for Assessing Performance Track -- Solicitation, Study Questions, and Scope -- Organization of This Report -- Chapter Two : Voluntary Environmental Programs -- U.S. Environmental Policy and the Development of Voluntary Environmental Programs -- Academic Views on the Development of Voluntary Environmental Programs -- Early Experiences with Voluntary Programs -- Chapter Three : An Overview of Performance Track -- The Creation of Performance Track -- Aiming for Excellence Recommended Creating a Performance Track -- Initial Announcement of Concepts for a Performance Track System -- EPA Announces Performance Track's Achievement Track but Defers Development of the Stewardship Track -- Program Philosophy -- Major Program Features -- Admission Criteria -- Member Benefits -- Environmental Improvement -- Major Program Activities -- Recruiting -- Marketing -- Knowledge Sharing -- Application Processing -- Site Visits -- Review and Processing of Annual Performance Reports -- Membership Trends -- Member Improvements -- Program Resources -- The Stewardship Track Evolved into the Corporate Leader Designation -- Program Termination -- Chapter Four : Methodology -- Literature Review of Voluntary Programs -- The Challenge of Evaluating Voluntary Environmental Programs -- Research on the Effectiveness of Voluntary Programs Remains Inconclusive -- Previous Evaluations of Performance Track -- Performance Track Interviews and Information Collection -- Development of the Logic Model and Identification of Core Program Elements -- Stakeholder Interviews -- Pilot Interviews -- Individual Interviews -- Focus Groups -- Interviewee Confidentiality -- Characteristics of the Interviewed Population.

Analysis Framework -- Chapter Five : Assessment of Performance Track's Concept and Design Phases -- An Expanding Academic Literature Explores Why Firms Join Voluntary Programs and Why They Might Improve the Environment -- Private-Sector Participation in Voluntary Programs Depends on the Relative Costs and Benefits of Participation -- Voluntary Programs Might Be Able to Improve Environmental Quality -- Concept Phase -- Recruiting and Screening -- Member Benefit Development and Delivery -- Facilitation of Environmental Improvement -- Findings -- Design Phase -- Recruiting and Screening -- Member Benefit Development and Delivery -- Facilitation of Environmental Improvement -- Findings -- Chapter Six : Assessment of Performance Track's Implementation Phase -- Recruiting and Screening -- Performance Track Rejected 16 Percent of Applicants, Removed 10 Percent of Members, and Had 7 Percent of Members Voluntarily Withdraw -- Several Stakeholders Believed That Some Members Violated the Compliance Criteria or Were Undeserving of Membership -- Some Stakeholders Found Performance Track's Marketing Messages to Be Inconsistent with Its Member Facilities -- Perceived Inconsistencies Began to Undermine Performance Track and Its Brand -- Member Benefit Development and Delivery -- Facilitation of Environmental Improvement -- Nearly 86 Percent of Goals Related to Reducing Waste, Energy Use, Material Use, Water Use, and Air Emissions -- After 2004, 80 Percent of Facility Goals Related to Significant Environmental Aspects -- Nearly 60 Percent of Facility Goals Related to Performance Track's Core Indicators -- Nearly 12 Percent of Facility Goals Set in 2008 Were Challenge Goals with Targets Set by EPA -- Most Facility Goals Were Met and Many Were Exceeded, Sometimes Significantly, but Some Facilities Performed Poorly.

Members Reported Changes in Corporate Culture That Increased Employee Engagement and Motivation to Improve Environmental Performance -- Findings -- Chapter Seven : Cooperation with Other State and EPA Programs -- Developing and Delivering Regulatory Benefits -- Collaborating on Nonregulatory Matters -- Supporting and Collaborating with State Voluntary Programs -- Including States and Regional Offices in Program Activities -- Findings -- Chapter Eight : The Role of Voluntary and Regulatory Programs in Accelerating Environmental Improvements -- Practitioners Identified a Broad Range of Benefits That Performance Track and Voluntary Programs Offer Beyond Traditional Regulations -- Voluntary Programs Are Widely Supported as a Supplement to Regulation -- Some Benefits Are Widely Supported, but Others Remain Controversial -- Stakeholders Differ on Whether Government or NGOs Should Run Voluntary Programs -- Members Experienced a Broad Range of Cultural Changes -- An Expanding Academic Literature Shows How Voluntary Programs Might Supplement Traditional Regulation -- Private-Sector Participation in Voluntary Programs Depends on the Relative Costs and Benefits of Participation -- Voluntary Programs Might Be Able to Improve Environmental Quality -- Research on the Effectiveness of Voluntary Programs Remains Inconclusive -- Findings -- Chapter Nine : Findings, Conclusions, and Lessons Learned for Moving Forward with Voluntary Programs at EPA -- Were the Concepts on Which Performance Track Was Based Sound? -- Summary of Findings -- Conclusion -- Did the Program Design Reflect the Original Concepts? -- Summary of Findings -- Conclusion -- How Effective Was Performance Track at Implementing the Program Design? -- Summary of Findings -- Conclusion -- How Did Performance Track Work with Other State and Federal Environmental Programs? -- Summary of Findings.

Conclusion -- Did the Approach Represented by Performance Track Have a Role, in Tandem with Other Approaches, in Accelerating the Nation's Environmental Improvement? -- Summary of Findings -- Conclusion -- Lessons Learned for Moving Forward with Voluntary Programs at EPA -- Continue to Experiment with Voluntary Programs -- Promote Information Sharing and Networking Among Regulated Entities -- Strive for Program Concepts, Designs, and Expectations That Are Complete, Clear, and Understandable by All Stakeholder Groups -- Design Voluntary Programs That Are Tightly Focused -- Protect the EPA Brand -- Identify and Independently Evaluate Key Program Elements and Their Overall Effectiveness -- Continue to Experiment with Ways to Change Corporate Culture to Benefit the Environment -- Identify Innovative Ways to Enable Independent Validation of Environmental Performance -- Closing Thoughts -- Appendix A: Semistructured Interview Questions -- Appendix B: Discussion Guide for Focus Groups with Performance Track Members -- Appendix C: Discussion Guide for Focus Group with EPA Regional Coordinators -- Bibliography.

This report addresses the conceptual basis, design, and implementation of the National Environmental Performance Track program. The voluntary program sought to encourage facilities to improve their environmental performance and provide a more collaborative relationship between facilities and regulators. While the program had mixed success, EPA should continue to seek out new approaches to complement and enhance traditional regulatory approaches.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.