Voluntary Partnerships

Partners for the Environment - EPA reaches out to business, industry, trade associations, communities, universities, and state and local governments to solve environmental problems not generally addressed by laws and regulations, such as reducing greenhouse gases, encouraging the design and use of energy-efficient products and buildings, and encouraging green chemical product design and engineering.

Information Exchange Partnerships

Environmental Information Exchange Network - An Internet and standards-based secure data exchange between partners, built on the principles of integrated information, secure real-time access, and the electronic collection and storage of accurate information. The Exchange Network is made up of several components, including:

Central Data Exchange (CDX) - Enables fast, efficient and more accurate environmental data submissions from state and local governments, industry and tribes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and participating program offices.

Other Partnerships

Binational.net - The governments of Canada and the United States work cooperatively towards restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem as stated in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Binational.net is a collaboration between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada, to provide a single window on joint Great Lakes programs.

Children's Environmental Health and Safety Inventory of Research (CHEHSIR) - Created to ensure that researchers and federal research agencies have access to information on all research conducted or funded by the federal government about adverse health risks in children resulting from exposure to environmental health risks or safety risks.

Labs for the 21st century - Is a voluntary program dedicated to improving the environmental performance of U.S. laboratories. The goal of the program is to encourage the development of sustainable, high-performance, and low-energy laboratories nationwide.

Metabolic Engineering Working Group - A new approach to understanding and using metabolic processes.

Midwest Partnership for Watershed Management Decision Support Systems - Develops, promotes, and disseminates web-based spatial decision support systems to help manage watersheds in the Midwest.

Multi-Agency Sitewide Survey and Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) Workgroup - An ongoing, collaborative effort to bring consistency to the methods and processes used to demonstrate compliance with federal and state radiation regulations.

National Environmental Performance Partnership System - In 1995, State and EPA leaders recognized they needed to work together more effectively – as partners – to solve the nation's remaining environmental challenges.

OPPT and Tribal Environmental Network - The EPA's Office of Pollution and Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) has established a Tribal program to better communicate its programs and activities with Native American Indian tribes and to build more effective partnerships with Native American tribes in protecting and safeguarding the environment.

West Coast Diesel Emissions Reduction Collaborative - a partnership of federal, state, and local agencies, business and non-profits, that are working to reduce air pollution emissions from diesel sources along the West Coast.