P2Rx Admin Group Conference Call

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Attendees: Beth Anderson and Yvonne Watson (EPA), Jean Waters and Veronica Doga (P2Rx), Andy Bray (NEWMOA), Gary Hunt, Curt McCracken, and Tom Edgerton (WRRC), Bob Iverson (GLRPPR), Thomas Vinson-Peng and Lynn Turner (Zero Waste), Rick Yoder (P2RIC), Elizabeth Bird and Mike Vogel (Peaks to Prairies), Chris Wiley (PPRC)

Action Items:

All: Review draft report from Abt to be ready for the call on May 6, 2008

All: May 6, 2008 at 02:00 PM ET / 01:00 PM CT / 12:00 PM MT / 11:00 AM PT Call with Abt to discuss final PPIN Evaluation report.

Jean: will present at the Federal Environmental Symposiums; June 2-4 in Bethesda, MD; June 17-19 in Big Sky, MT. http://www.fedcenter.gov/calendar/conferences/symposium2008/

SHE NEEDS YOUR TOOLS TO HIGHLIGHT DURING HER 20-MINUTE PRESENTATION.

NEWMOA: continue to update P2Rx web page and will do the consolidation of Topic Hubs (planned by late June)

Update on Abt evaluation report:

Yvonne Watson of EPA presented an update on the PPIN evaluations being completed by Abt Associates. Abt completed the interviews and is analyzing the data for the final report. Abt will send a draft report along with a summary power point presentation and a fact sheet to all center directors on April 30, 2008 for them to review. The call with center directors and Abt is scheduled for May 6, 2008 (the GoToWebinar software will be used for this call). PLAN TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULE BETWEEN APRIL 30 AND MAY 5 TO REVIEW THE REPORT. Any feedback that center directors provide on the call will be reflected in the final report.

Update on EPA review of PPIN proposals:

Beth gave an update on the EPA review of PPIN proposals. She said proposals are reviewed and next week there is a call scheduled with EPA for further discussion of handling and funding of proposals. In mid-May the feedback should be out. Also it is more likely that EPA will say that they want to fund proposals, but certain changes should be made. Center directors will have about 2 weeks to make changes. P2 coordinators are may join us on the Abt call/webinar May 6, 2008.

Update on Summit:

Jean talked about Fun Walk which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 8:00 to 9:00 am.

Rachel, Andy and Terri (NEWMOA), Thomas and Lynn (Zero Waste), Ed (WRPPN) Ken (PPRC), and Jean (P2RIC) plan to attend. She also mentioned that she sent some emails about the CO2 saver application in order to give it away at the summit, but she did not receive any reply. She will try again to get the CO2 saver application, but if not, then they have to give away something else, like tattoos and/or mugs. P2 Measurement workgroup is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 at 9:00. Thomas and Ken will present at the Summit about measuring P2 data and the designing program and Audrey Miller will talk about metrics database. Lynn will present the public health measurements on Thursday morning.

Activity & Web measures:

Jean raised the issue of activity and web measures. Centers appear to be inconsistent in reporting their technical assistance activity and in measuring web activity. Is it time to revise the Web and Activity Standards?  Andy proposed waiting until the Abt final report and then review the standards in June. Gary is using these data to measure activity on the specific web products, and makes decisions to remove or add new topics based on the usage. However, it takes a while to process all this information. Rick said that we have to wait until Abt will come up with the results to see how effective these data are. Everybody voted for revisiting the measures.

Update on current P2Rx grant activities:

NEWMOA

• Finished work on previous grant and are reviewing the initial draft of the new P2 Internship Topic Hub, and also sent the review to Jean. Jean asked if they identified topic hubs they and PPRC will review this year (two from every center). Andy replied that they are making sure they have the right topic hubs.
• Working on climate change information and leading an effort among states to look at climate & waste reduction information exchange, and alternative energy for next year.
• Going to pursue something in the area of carbon footprint if funded. 

WRRC

• Active with P2 Results but haven’t finished entering Region 3 results.
• Redesigning the library.
• Working on adding a Google box and search engine for the website.

GLRPPR

• Being reorganized from state-funded to being part of the University of Illinois; they might loose the librarian and the library.
• Working on projects but no current reports.

Zerowaste

• Met commitments for case studies and research of source reduction.
• Conducted 20% more training than the 24 hours committed to in the grant. Topics have included pollution prevention; how to manage process, cost, and risks; and how to sell ideas to employees and management.
• Conducted state needs assessment on P2 Planning.
• Identified 33 barriers to pollution prevention.
• Will begin collecting environmental outcome data in June for workshops and in August for P2 Planner; may also have outcomes from material exchange.
• Will meet with Washington State and PPRC to determine partnerships and potential exchange of information through a national P2 Planning network.

P2RIC

• Collaborated with Region 5 for the R5/R7 P2 round table currently taking place in Omaha.
• Completed five case studies from Sustainability for Business Managers class.  These include why it is important and good to “go green.”
• Working on report on Greening the Supply Chain in ethanol production.
• Updating P2RIC website by adding Google calendar and web applications.
• Identifying people in private sector to help provide training to verify if businesses are green.
• Facilitating Green drinks in Lincoln and Omaha.

Peaks to Prairies

• Sponsoring link to Zero Waste, and doing case studies.
• Established connection with GLPPR to feed their news.
• Identified topical conference calls on topics, added members to the listserv, and analyzing the recent survey results.
• Continuing to work on the school cleanout program.
• Working with South Dakota to see how recently developed tools are useful; Sustainability topics are in review.
• Conducted training on green home construction; received almost 50% feedback.
• Converting the info from rapid response into topic hubs.
• Working on a P2 Results regional report. 

PPRC has the template for reporting P2 Results which was developed during the last round of funding.  Chris pointed out that there is a negative side to those results. People are always concerned about the number of respondents, and usually this number is not that high as anyone would expect.

WRPPN

• Will have their first webinar April 16^th, on the alternative dry cleaning solvents. He will send instructions to center directors on how to register.  He will also send out the schedule of the other webinars.
• Will organize the next WRPPN regional conference in Monterey, CA, October 22-24.
• Expanding the scope of WRPPN to include sustainability.

PPRC

• Conducting review on topic hubs (two from each center, in conjunction with NEWMOA). Center directors should review the draft list by Friday, April 11, and make suggestions for any changes.
• Continuing their monthly P2 newsletter.
• Progressing on P2 results work.
• Continuing to populate the P2 options database which is managed by Thomas.
• Working on putting together the topical webinars; partnering with WRPPN for webinar on alternatives dry cleaning solvents.  Webinars will take place every third Thursday of each month. They plan to pre-test and post-test the webinar attendees. Other webinars topics may include, lean environment integration, chemical policy initiatives, green cleaning and energy efficiency beyond light bulbs.
• Working on practical carbon footprinting from business standpoint, specifically how they can track/measure footprint and how to use this information.