Speeches - By Date

President Bush and I believe that forging strong partnerships such as these are an important tool in our efforts to achieve real and lasting results for the environment. Through this new program, EPA will work closely with a hand-picked group of sectors B from construction to colleges and universities B in order to address some of our most important environmental priorities.

Each of the sectors represented here has already demonstrated a strong dedication to environmental stewardship and your enthusiastic support of this new program is a sign of your continuous commitment to greater environmental improvement.

Through our Sector Strategies partnership we will focus on three key areas. First, we want to work with you to help create the right set of tools and strategies to expand the use of Environmental Management Systems. Second, as we all know, working as partners is a two way street. As your industries work to improve environmental performance, we want to help reduce the regulatory burden and other barriers that can often impede those environmental performance efforts. We understand that complex environmental regulations often prove difficult to navigate, and we want to ensure that you are able to meet these regulations in an efficient and cost- effective manner. By working together in a cooperative manner we can help support both your economic health and the health of our environment. Finally, through the Sector Strategies program, we want the focus of our success to be on achieving real, measurable results for the environment.

We look forward to working with you to think strategically about how to achieve results and improve environmental performance without increasing reporting burden. At the end of the day, I want our partnership in the Sector Strategies Program to help EPA move in the direction of a more performance-based approach to environmental protection B pursuing our shared environmental goals through collaborative work, creative thinking, and common sense outcomes that benefit all citizens.

As we move forward, we want to do so with a full understanding of your expectations and goals, which is why Jessica Furey, EPA's Associate Administrator for Policy, Economics, and Innovation will be leading a roundtable discussion this afternoon to hear your thoughts and suggestions. I want to thank each of the sectors represented here today for your leadership and willingness to be a part of this innovative program. Through your efforts, you are not only setting an important example within your own sectors, but for the business community as a whole.

By working together in partnership, I know that we will be able to make significant strides towards a healthier and safer environment for this and future generations. Thank you.