Memoranda

On April 1, 2002, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairman James L. Connaughton and Office of Budget and Management (OMB) Director Mitchell Daniels sent a memorandum to the heads of all federal agencies emphasizing the importance of developing environmental management systems (EMS). The Administration supports significantly increasing the number of federal facilities using EMS and federal agencies are required by Executive Order 13148 to implement EMSs by the end of 2005 at all applicable facilities.

April 1, 2002

Dear Secretary/Administrator:

The President strongly supports our effective and efficient management of the nations' resources. Enhancing our environmental management capabilities empowers local resource managers' stewardship of the resources entrusted to their care and management. Over the past year, several agencies have taken great strides in developing and implementing environmental management systems (EMS). We applaud the leadership those agencies have demonstrated and urge agencies that have not begun developing and implementing EMS to begin that process.

At the annual meeting of the Environmental Council of the States in Hawaii this past summer, the Administration stated its support for significantly increasing the number of private and federal facilities using EMS in the United States. Effective EMS, where decision-makers integrate environmental performance into daily business decisions, improves awareness and assures compliance with regulatory requirements and can result in significant cost savings at federal facilities. The federal government must be a leader in using this tool of effective management.

In order to chronicle successes in implementing EMS and to establish a baseline for measuring continual improvement, the calendar year 2001 Executive Order 13148 annual report will include a report on your progress in establishing and implementing EMS. On February 20, 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Governor Christie Todd Whitman, sent you the guidance for the annual report that was coordinated through the Interagency Environmental Leadership Workgroup over the past several months. As noted in Governor Whitman's cover letter, EPA will provide copies of the annual report to the Council on Environmental Quality.

Your support is critical to the success of the Administration's goal to promote environmental leadership. We urge you to actively participate in your agency's efforts to make EMS a priority at all levels of your agency. Thank you for your support in this important undertaking.