Speaker: Daniel J. Fiorino, Director, National Environmental Performance Track, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Discussion Topic: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and many state environmental agencies have developed partnerships in recent years as a way of supplementing their more traditional role as regulators. One form that such partnerships are taking is that of a "green club." In government-sponsored green clubs, agencies agree to provide recognition, networking opportunities, and other benefits to organizations (facilities, companies, government agencies, nonprofit) in exchange for commitments to deliver environmental value beyond what is required by law and regulation. One example of such a green club is EPA's National Environmental Performance Track., in which facilities, both private and public, that meet specified criteria (such as using an Environmental Management System or committing publicly to achieving measurable goals for environmental improvement) may apply and qualify for membership. As members, they are eligible for EPA recognition, flexible air permits, access to government and member networks, and other benefits.

This presentation will describe the Performance Track and similar state programs as illustrations of this concept of green clubs. It will also offer general observations on the role of such clubs in environmental governance and the ways in which they may be used to complement regulatory programs.

About Daniel: Daniel J. Fiorino is the Director of the National Environmental Performance Track at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Performance Track is EPA’s premier partnership program for recognizing and encouraging strong environmental performance. Currently some 540 facilities from about 200 companies and organizations participate.

Previously at EPA, Dan held several management positions within the policy office, including Associate Director of the Office of Policy Analysis and Director of the Emerging Strategies Division. He has published over two dozen articles on regulation and public policy in professional journals and books and is the author or co-author of four books on environmental policy, including Making Environmental Policy (University of California Press, 1995), Environmental Governance Reconsidered (MIT Press, 2004), and The New Environmental Regulation (MIT, 2006). Elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) in 2001, he has won nine national awards for his publications, including (in 2007) NAPA’s Louis Brownlow Award for The New Environmental Regulation.

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