P2E2 - History

The PAEP Roundtable was originally Northeastern Pennsylvania Pollution Prevention Roundtable which organized on August 6th, 1997 and has held quarterly meetings ever since. In the summer of 2005 the Northeastern Pennsylvania Pollution Prevention Roundtable joined with the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals (PAEP). By joining PAEP the Roundtable was able to continue activities with PAEP recourses to further fulfill its Vision. At that time a new name was given to the Roundtable as the Pollution Prevention/Energy Efficiency (P2E2) Roundtable of PAEP.

In our new role as part of PAEP:

• Enjoy new acquaintances and learn from their experiences

• Network in a professional fashion by sharing information to better enhance the environment in PA.

• Take advantage of the PAEP's well developed infrastructure to better communicate the goals of our group.

• Reestablish the Statewide P2 Roundtable to maintain our contacts from other regions

• Strengthen the ties of the environmental community across the state.

• Enhance our Competitiveness and Continually Improve Environmental Performance

Past meetings have included:

• A field trip to Phillips Lighting;

• Compliance Assistance type seminars (Air, Waste, TRI);

• A visit to the Electrotechnology Applications Center (Coatings technology and VOC reduction)

• Educational Workshops (Compressed air, Motors, Environmental Accounting)

• Security

•  Environmental Management Systems

• Environmentally Preferred Purchasing

• Measuring Environmental Performance

• Beneficial Use

• A wide variety of P2 Issues

• Tours of many member plants emphasizing their P2 efforts

Past accomplishments:

Working with the Roundtable, the GeoEnvironmental & Engineering Department of Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre offered an online course entitled “Sustainable Organization Development.” The course began January 17th, 2005 and provided a survey of topics for organizations considering sustainable development and corporate social responsibility.

The course was developed by Marleen Troy, Ph.D., P.E., an associate professor at the university, and Robert B. Pojasck, Ph.D., of Pojasck & Associates. The Northeast Pollution Prevention Roundtable assisted the university in developing the course, which is being offered for college credit or non-credit continuing education units. The course will be taught online and students will communicate through a dedicated bulletin board. The course outline includes case studies and opportunities for sustainability; environmental and economic responsibilities; sustainability using the systems approach; social responsibility and social marketing; and measuring performance.

We hope the course will be offered again in the future.

What some have said about our Roundtable:

Kim McDevitt, United Panel:

For our company, the networking alone has led me to exploring options I would not have considered for solving various environmental issues we face. It's hard to put numbers to that benefit of the Roundtable.

I look at the size of the group and ask where are all the other organizations that could be taking advantage of the networking opportunity. Formal feedback loops to collect data on pollution prevention activities, networking opportunities, etc. that developed out of participation in the roundtable should be able to be developed. How the roundtable is marketed could significantly change the outcome/ activity and outcome/impact numbers. Outreach activities could be key.

Mike Parrent, Tobyhanna Army Depot:

As a result of implementing the recommendations from the P2 Opportunity site visit to our electroplating shop, we were better prepared for our ISO14001 certification. The site visit recommended several standard operating procedures be developed. The SOPs developed were in place for our ISO14001 audit, which looked closely at our procedures and documentation of those procedures.

Through our Roundtable contacts we learned about the Strategic Goals and National Waste Minimization Partnership Program and became the first Federal Facility nationwide to become a partner in this forward-looking program.

Through the Roundtable visit to the Philips Lighting plant in Somerset, NJ, we learned about their low mercury Alto bulbs, which have become the standard on the depot, reducing potential mercury exposure by over 70% (from the over 10,000 fluorescent bulbs used to light our facility).

From our visit to the PPL plant in Martin's Creek, we learned about energy savings contracts whereby an energy provider assists a company in reviewing energy use and even assisting in replacing equipment to conserve energy. Tobyhanna subsequently participated in an Energy Savings Performance Contract which has reduced air emissions 50% overall (this project also replaced all fluorescent lights with low mercury bulbs).

Through contacts made at Roundtable meetings, we learned about several sources of lead free silk screen inks to replace leaded inks that were used.

These are a few of the benefits we have received. In addition, the Roundtable gives us an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day business and focus on pollution prevention issues, stay up to date with regulatory changes, share experiences with others as well as visit other sites and see first hand how they have implemented various programs to reduce pollution, become more efficient, promote environmentally friendly products and increase recycling.

Tim Tuttle, Scranton Army Ammunition Plant:

Talking to colleagues from other industries, even if different from our own, is interesting and helps to get the creative thought process going. Also, hearing about others' problems can alert me to potential problems at my facility. For instance, another member was talking about an EPA inspection and a possible issue that could affect other facilities. (Mike Parrent told us about an inspector that is looking into the possibility of a HW shipping violation if some defective material returned to the manufacturer is disposed instead of re-processed.)

The Roundtable also provides me with new sources of information, e.g. web sites and Roundtable members who may have special expertise. The P2-E2 Finance presentation was helpful; I didn't know about the new E2 Finance software that has been developed. On a few occasions I have been able to provide some advice or information to someone. At our last meeting one of the members stated that he is having difficulty communicating the importance of environmental issues to his management. I happened to come across an article dealing with this problem and e-mailed it to him. He was very appreciative.

Regarding the current project to set up a course on a systems approach to P2: This forum also provides an opportunity for promoting and developing an educational opportunity that can be tailored to fit the needs of the group. (I really hope that this course pans out. I think it could be really beneficial to a lot of people and I'd like to take the course myself.)

John Gottshall, Environmental Manager, Sauquoit Industries

As the environmental manager of a small company (55 employees), the constraints on training time and money are acute. The roundtable discussions are a way to update my knowledge base in waste minimization solutions with other professionals in my field. The meetings usually are a few minutes drive away and don't require a full day commitment which I find beneficial. I would never get networking access to waste managers from large companies like Chamberlain, PP&G, PP&L, Tobyhanna Army depot, WEA Manufacturing and others any other way. The network facilitator conducts business smoothly, a necessary function among diverse industrial representatives.

Dr. Marleen Troy, Wilkes University:

The students (and me also) have greatly benefited by attending the meetings, hearing the speakers, touring the different facilities and getting a chance to interact with industry personnel.

John Docalovich, Gentex Corp.:

Sharing Knowledge is one of the great challenges facing any organization. Getting the appropriate information into the hands of the right person is key to facilitating educated decision -making. The roundtables are a proven way of meeting this challenge."