News
ERG Supports New EPA Report on a Changing Climate (April 27, 2010)
A new EPA report presents evidence of rising sea levels, melting glaciers, changing bird migration patterns, and other important trends related to climate change. ERG helped EPA develop this report by collecting data from numerous organizations, analyzing the data, creating compelling charts and graphs, writing text that explains the trends in “plain English,” and creating an attractive, magazine-style layout to showcase the indicators. In all, the report features 24 indicators of climate change in the United States. Read EPA’s report.
ERG to Support Connecticut’s “Mower and Blower” Equipment Exchange Program (April 21, 2010)
ERG is a member of a team that was recently selected to support Connecticut’s Lawn and Grounds Maintenance Equipment Exchange Project—a large undertaking designed to replace older lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and similar equipment with newer, lower emitting models. ERG will provide the majority of contractor support and assist the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection with all phases of the project. Specific activities will include developing a project implementation plan, preparing a list of eligible equipment, promoting the project to municipalities, and quantifying emission reductions. With $550,000 in funds from a Supplemental Environmental Project, the “mower and blower” program is expected to replace more than 2,000 pieces of grounds maintenance equipment with cleaner and more efficient devices.
ERG to Support Department of Justice Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (March 22, 2010)
ERG recently was awarded a contract to help the U.S. Department of Justice write its Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP). Required under Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, the SSPP encompasses each federal agency’s energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, green building, waste diversion, pollution prevention, and other sustainability goals in support of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.
ERG to Support EPA’s First-Ever Biofuels Report to Congress (January 22, 2010)
ERG was recently awarded a task order under its GSA Environmental Advisory Services contract to provide technical, analytical, communications, and meeting support to EPA in preparing its first Biofuels Report to Congress. The report, which is a new requirement under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, will assess the environmental and resource conservation impacts (including air quality, water quality and availability, soil quality and conservation, land use, ecosystem services and biodiversity, and invasive plants) across the full life cycle of biofuels. The report will also provide recommendations for actions to mitigate adverse impacts.
ERG to Support Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Modeling and Strategy Development in Massachusetts (December 23, 2009)
ERG recently was awarded a one-year, $1.4-million contract to assist the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources with GHG modeling and strategy development. The effort will support an economywide, enforceable, statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limit for 2020 that is 10 to 25 percent below 1990 levels, and an emission limit for 2050 that is 80 percent below 1990 levels. For this project, ERG will use the Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) model, developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). The LEAP model is used in more than 85 countries for energy policy analysis and GHG mitigation scenarios.
ERG Will Continue to Support EPA’s Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) Program (December 1, 2009)
ERG recently was awarded a five-year, $1.7-million contract to continue its support for EPA’s Labs21 program. ERG has supported this program for more than a decade—from before its inception, when it was a loosely based network of federal and private sector sustainable lab officials, through its growth as an EPA partnership program and its evolution as an internationally recognized network and annual conference.
ERG Provides Broad Support for EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding (December 2009)
ERG recently completed a series of tasks in support of EPA’s high-profile Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Endangerment Finding. In the finding, proposed on April 24, 2009, and finalized on December 7, 2009, the EPA Administrator makes a determination that the current and projected concentrations of the six key well-mixed GHGs—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)—in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. In its support of the finding, ERG staff processed all comments received on the draft endangerment finding, which included over 20,000 different docketed documents. In addition, ERG set up and helped organize two public hearings on the finding, tracked and recorded all references cited in the comments, and edited and conducted QA/QC on the 11 volumes of response to comments, among many other smaller tasks.
Boston Globe Names ERG One of 100 Top Places To Work - November 8, 2009
The Boston Globe recently designated ERG as one of the 100 top employers in Massachusetts in 2009. ERG was ranked 27th on the overall list and also was listed as 10th on the small employer list. The Globe selected ERG based on responses to employee surveys covering such topics as career development opportunities, working conditions, and pay and benefits. ERG has always placed a strong emphasis on creating a workplace atmosphere in which all employees, at every level of the organization, are treated with respect, and this award affirms a solid connection between ERG’s core values and employees’ satisfaction. For more information about the award, see our press release, or check out opportunities for careers at ERG.
ERG To Conduct Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Audits Under a $3.4-Million EPA Contract - November 6, 2009
ERG was recently awarded a second five-year, $3.4-million contract with EPA’s Safety, Health and Environmental Management Division (SHEMD) to conduct monthly safety, health, and environmental management (SHEM) program audits at EPA offices and laboratories across the nation. We also will be conducting dive safety audits and SHEM audits of EPA’s maritime vessels. These audits will verify compliance with regulatory requirements, evaluate the effectiveness of SHEM systems, identify workplace hazards and their root causes, confirm previous audit findings have been corrected, and assess risks resulting from both regulated and unregulated materials and work practices.
ERG Wins Contract in the Buckeye State - November 5, 2009
ERG recently won a new contract with Ohio’s Department of Development to support fleet owners and operators in retrofitting engines with clean diesel technologies. ERG will provide technical and administrative assistance to these parties, who were selected by Ohio to receive funding from EPA’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. ERG staff from Austin, Sacramento, Boston, Lexington (Mass.), Cincinnati, Research Triangle Park, and Gainesville (Florida) will collaborate on this project to verify technologies, track project implementation, and report back to Ohio and EPA on progress and impacts.