Ecological Innovation and Integration Committee

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Ecological Innovation and Integration
Committee
MSWG Spring Meeting in association with
the National Environmental Partnership
Summit Atlanta, Georgia May 8, 2006

• Bob Donaghue
• Chairman

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Ecological Innovation and Integration What is the
Issue?
Healthy Ecosystems

• Natural Resource Law
• Commodity-based

• Environmental Law
• Media-based

Healthy Ecosystems
?
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Healthy Ecosystems

• Natural Resource Law
• Commodity-based

• Environmental Law
• Media-based

Putting natural law back into environmental law
Healthy Ecosystems
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Ecological Innovation and Integration Guiding
Principles

• Build on existing laws to sustain and enhance
  natural resources
• Adapt 20th century strategies for the 21st
  century
• Foster greater environmental performance
  through innovation and stewardship
• Draw on societys potential to protect and
  restore the environment.
• Build a conservation ethic
• Use a collaborative and adaptive process

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Ecological Innovation and Integration Strategies

• Describe how advanced ecological thinking is
  important to effective environmental protection
  and restoration laws and policies
• Document specific actions by business,
  governments and citizens that produce greater
  environmental results than the minimum required
  or expected
• Describe importance of these examples
• Provide practical ideas to create better local,
  state and national laws and policies.

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Facility Level - Examples

• Conservation (water energy)
• Process optimization
• Life cycle perspective
• Recycling
• By-product reuse
• Environmentally preferable purchasing
• Reduce ecological footprint
• Conservation easements
• Habitat enhancement

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Beyond the Facility - Examples

• Supply chain management
• EMS, packaging and toxicity
• Foster industrial ecosystems
• Carpet recovery and new product development
• Mainstream innovative energy development
• Landfill gas and renewable energy sources
• Encourage native backyard habitats
• National Wildlife Federation and others
• Expand adult environmental education (EIC)

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Changing Paradigms

• Ecology as an integrating concept - EIC
  (K through Gray)
• Adaptive systems for a changing environment
• Sustainable business development
• Obtain raw materials from sustainable and
  renewable sources
• Optimize processes to reduce threat to public
  health and environment
• Produce products that are ecologically benign or
  provide a solution to a problem

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Ecological Innovation and Integration Potential
Sectors

• Construction - Low Impact Development
• EarthCraft Communities and Homes
• LEED Certified Buildings
• Industrial Ecosystems
• Carpet Manufacturing
• Cement Manufacturing
• Traditional Agriculture and Urban Agriculture

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Ecological Innovation and Integration Summary

• Articulate ways to reduce ecological footprint
  through conservation and restoration measures
• Develop suite of case studies, tools and
  policies across sectors
• Create a framework to overlay on the current
  regulatory structure that supports placed-based
  management
• Align with state and federal non-regulatory,
  performance-based environmental leadership
  programs

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Ecological Innovation and Integration Committee
Next Steps

• Achieve committee consensus
• Develop work plan and budget
• Link with ECOS and MSWG Policy Academy
• Align with MSWGs Path to Washington

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Bob Donaghue, Director
Pollution Prevention Assistance Division Georgia
Department of Natural Resources 404-651-5122
Bob_Donaghue_at_p2ad.org www.p2ad.org