Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the review process following
submission of an application?
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Does an organization have to be an
Environmental Partner or Rising Environmental Steward
before becoming an Environmental Steward?
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If an organization applies for and is
not accepted as an Environmental Steward, does the
organization automatically become a Rising Environmental
Steward or Environmental Partner?
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How long are applicants accepted into
the program?
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Does an Environmental Partner or Rising
Environmental Steward have to wait the five-year period
before applying to be an Environmental Steward?
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If an organization does not have an
environmental management system based on the ISO 14001
model, does the organization have to demonstrate all of
the 17 elements required by the ISO 14001 model?
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What is required in the annual report
for ESI program participants?
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If an organization wants to apply and
has multiple sites or locations, does each site need to
submit a separate application?
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If an organization is applying to be an
Environmental Steward, how long must the organization’s
EMS have been in place?
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What is the definition of
"significant violation" for the purposes of this
program?
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What is the definition of
"functionally equivalent" for the purpose of
this program?
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What is the function of a
"coach" for the purpose of this program?
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Is there an annual limit on the number
of applicants selected to participate in the program?
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What is the review process following
submission of an application?
Following receipt of an Environmental Steward
or Rising Environmental Steward application, DENR will complete a compliance review. An
on-site verification visit is scheduled to verify
activities provided in the application and assure the
environmental management system is functioning. Site
visits are planned for July through September.
Information gathered and all application materials will be
given to the Advisory Workgroup to review and to make
recommendations regarding program participation to the
DENR Secretary. The Advisory Workgroup is tentatively
scheduled to meet in November. At his discretion, the
Secretary will announce organizations accepted into the
program by December. This proposed schedule may change
based upon the number of applications received.
Following receipt of an Environmental Partner application, only a
compliance review will be completed; no site visits are
required.
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Does an organization have to be an
Environmental Partner or Rising Environmental Steward
before becoming an Environmental Steward?
No. An organization does not have to first be an
Environmental Partner or Rising Steward before becoming an
Environmental Steward.
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If an organization applies for and
is not accepted as an Environmental Steward, does the
organization automatically become a Rising Environmental
Steward?
No. If an organization is not recommended for the
Environmental Steward level, the Advisory Workgroup may
recommend the applicant for the Environmental Partner or
Rising Environmental Steward, but no new application is
necessary. The organization will have the option to accept
or decline this recommendation.
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How long are applicants accepted
into the program?
Organizations are accepted into the program for a period
of five years with a review of Environmental Stewards
and Rising Environmental Stewards to assess
progress toward meeting the organization’s overall
program goals at the end of three years. An organization
may apply for renewal after five years. Environmental
Partner participants are reviewed after the first year
to assess progress made toward environmental performance
goals and overall program goals.
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Does an Environmental Partner or
Rising Environmental Steward have to wait the five-year
period before applying to be an Environmental Steward?
No. An organization that is an Environmental Partner or
Rising Environmental Steward may apply to become an
Environmental Steward in subsequent application cycles.
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If an organization does not have an
environmental management system based on the ISO 14001
model, does the organization have to demonstrate all of
the 17 elements required by the ISO 14001 model?
Yes. While there are many EMS models in existence, for the
purposes of this Initiative, all 17 ISO 14001 elements
must be addressed within an organization’s EMS and each
organization’s EMS will be examined for evidence of
these elements. While each of the 17 elements must be
present, not all of the ISO 14001 requirements within each
element are required. These elements help ensure:
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that there has been a thorough evaluation of
regulated and non-regulated impacts the organization’s
operations have or may have on the environment (short
and long term, actual or potential),
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that the EMS requirements are interconnected
and refer to each other,
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that the environment has the attention of top
management,
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that the environment is the responsibility of
all employees,
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that management of the environment is
system-dependent rather than person-dependent, and
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that an organization strives for continual
improvement of its efforts.
A detailed functional
equivalent checklist has been developed detailing
this.
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What is required in the annual
report for Partners, Rising Stewards and Stewards?
Organizations agree to report annually on progress toward
environmental performance goals, reductions in
environmental emissions or discharges of releases, solid
and hazardous waste disposal, use of energy and water and
any reportable non-compliance events. The annual report
should also include any new environmental performance
goals, changes to previous environmental performance goals and any improvements to the organization’s EMS.
If the organization is an Environmental Partner, its
annual report should also include information regarding
the progress of EMS implementation if appropriate.
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If an organization wants to apply
and has multiple sites or locations, does each site need
to submit a separate application?
Multi-site applications are allowed at the Partner level only. If an organization applying at the Rising Environmental Steward or Environmental Steward level has multiple
sites that it would like to have apply to the program,
each site must submit a separate application. It is
understood that some material contained on the application
may be duplicated under another’s application.
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If an organization is applying to be
a Rising Environmental Steward or Environmental Steward,
how long must the organization’s EMS have been in place?
There is no specific time period an applicant's EMS must
have been in place, but the organization must be able to
demonstrate the EMS is mature. Maturity of the EMS can be
demonstrated through the length of time an organization
has been certified or the length of time specific elements
of the EMS have been in place. Maturity of the EMS can
also be demonstrated through the type and success of
performance goals established by the organization.
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What is the definition of
"significant violations" for the purposes of this
program?
For the purposes of the Environmental Stewardship
Initiative, significant violations are defined as a civil
penalty, a special order of consent, an injunction, a
temporary restraining order, a stop work order or more than
two Notice of Violations from one DENR division.
Exceptions can be made if the regulatory program determines
that the nature of the violations resulting in more than two
NOVs is not environmentally significant.
If there are one or two NOVs from multiple DENR divisions,
then DENR will review the applicant's compliance patterns
and responsiveness to determine if the NOVs, as a group,
will be considered significant.
The Advisory Workgroup will considers NOVs and special
orders of consent on a case-by-case basis, using this
definition as guidance.
- What is the definition of
"functionally equivalent" for the purposes of
this program?
For the purposes of the Environmental Stewardship
Initiative, whether an organization's EMS is functionally
equivalent to the ISO 14001 standard will be determined
through use of the Functionally
Equivalent Checklist.
- What is the function of a
"coach" for the purpose of this program?
A coach from DPPEA is made available to each
Environmental Partner, Rising Environmental Steward and
Environmental Steward. These coaches are available to
provide technical assistance as each organization continues
to improve its environmental performance. Coaches are
environmental engineers, chemists or specialists with varied
manufacturing, regulatory and consulting backgrounds. All
DPPEA coaches have received either ISO 14001 lead or
internal auditor training. Examples of assistance coaches
can provide include:
- Help with all stages of EMS development and
maintenance including policy development, identification
of significant impacts and legal requirements, setting
objectives and targets, training, etc.;
- Assistance with EMS gap analysis to the ISO14001
standard or the “functionally equivalent”
Environmental Steward requirement;
- Guidance on meeting the Environmental Steward criteria
(please note that assistance by coaches does not
guarantee acceptance as an Environmental Steward);
- On-site multi-media waste assessments to identify
waste reduction opportunities;
- Assistance with research on techniques and
technologies to assist organizations in meeting their
environmental goals;
- Identification of markets for recyclable materials;
and
- Assistance with annual reporting on progress
toward
the organization’s environmental performance goals,
net reductions of releases, emissions and disposal and
net reductions in the use of energy and water.
Coaches are available to answer questions and help guide
organizations to find the information they need.
- Is there an annual limit on the
number of Environmental Partners, Rising Environmental
Stewards or Environmental Stewards invited to participate
in the program?
No. Each application is considered individually. There is
no limit to the number of Stewards, Rising Stewards or
Partners that can join the program in a single year.
For more information please view News
and Information
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