VI. Moving Toward Sustainability: Continuous Improvement, Pollution Prevention, and Product Stewardship

Series participants strongly believe that "better" is not necessarily good enough, and that those who seek the flexibility and efficiency offered by the Alternative Path must strive to operate sustainably through improvements in their products and processes. The following guidelines are recommended.

1. Environmental performance under the Alternative Path should exemplify product and process innovation and continuous improvement.

2. Those performing on this path should have environmental management systems that lead the entity to pursue environmental excellence. Among the desired components of such systems would be:

• incorporating pollution prevention into core business practices;
• avoiding the production of waste and pollution in products and processes;
• accounting for the total environmental impact of choices throughout the life cycle of products and services;
• improving efficiency;
• considering environmental costs to society in business decisions;
• employing planning processes to illuminate pollution prevention and product stewardship opportunities;
• protecting and enhancing natural resources; and
• striving to improve continuously.

All of these are aspects of operating sustainably. Entities operating in the current regulatory system also should be encouraged to adopt these practices.

3. Transparency of information is critical to build trust among stakeholders, to ensure accountability to environmental objectives, and to make better decisions. Information and data should be shared among stakeholders to enable them to understand and evaluate alternatives and to track progress toward pollution prevention and product stewardship goals. Information and reporting systems should illuminate pollution prevention and product stewardship opportunities, but should respect trade secrets.

4. Alternative Path agreements must be accountable. This includes assurances that agencies will enforce obligations.