ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
- Endorsement of the Arizona Environmental Strategic Alliance Principles. Member organizations must endorse the Alliance Principles.
- Compliance. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the county/city government appropriate for the facility or operation will provide information on the organization's environmental performance relative to their respective jurisdictions.
- Prospective members must demonstrate a substantial compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations over the previous twelve months. Applicants must resolve all compliance orders against the organization prior to membership review. Continuing members must maintain a good compliance status in all applicable criteria.
- Published Environmental Policy. Applicants shall have a published environmental policy.
- Environmental Measurement System. Applicant organizations should subscribe to the axiom "what gets measured gets managed." The Alliance expects its members to quantify the environmental impact of the organization's Arizona operations (facilities) and to make the information available to its stakeholders, such as customers, employees, and communities. Prospective members should provide goals and targets for reducing their environmental impacts and porting environmental benefits.
- Environmental Stewardship. Members should actively participate in environmental programs enhancing the communities in which they reside. Volunteer efforts, community projects, and sponsorships, industry trade groups, and mentoring involvement are a few examples of stewardship.
- Pollution Prevention Program. The concept of "reduce, reuse, and recycle" has existed for 25 years. At a minimum, a prospective member should demonstrate programs consistent with the pollution prevention theory of the Three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle; members should employ source reduction as the primary means to prevent pollution.
- Transparency. “Transparency” addresses the degree of openness and candidness that Alliance members exhibit during interactions with various stakeholders and acts as a measure of the organization's environmental performance. The Alliance seeks to increase transparency without compromising attorney/client privilege, revealing trade secrets or disclosing audit findings outside voluntary efforts. Members work to become more transparent in their environmental dealings with stakeholders and communities.