Greener cleanup metrics quantify contributions to the environmental footprint of activities directly involved in cleaning up a contaminated site. EPA developed a set of 14 universal metrics to help stakeholders understand the total amounts of materials, waste, water or energy that are used or generated during the life or particular portion of a cleanup project:
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The metrics provide an optional means for regulators, private industry and other cleanup partners to collect and track site-specific footprint information across multiple sites in a uniform and transparent manner. On a site-specific level, use of the metrics can help decisionmakers prioritize and select best management practices (BMPs) that could be implemented to minimize the footprint. The metrics may be applied to any type of site cleanup, including ones conducted through Superfund, RCRA or brownfield regulatory programs or voluntary initiatives.
EPA developed a companion Excel-based Greener Cleanup Metrics Workbook that may be used to document and report each of the 14 metrics for a cleanup project. The needed input typically exists in project planning and implementation documents or supporting records. The output depends on predetermined delineation of the timeframe in which selected activities occur, such as one or more cleanup phases or calendar years. To learn more about the metrics, view the Greener Cleanup Metrics Q&As.
Due to wide variations in cleanup project scopes and regional or local priorities, environmental footprints associated with other core elements of a greener cleanup may be quantified through additional metrics chosen by project stakeholders. Parties interested in quantifying a cleanup project's environmental footprint at a more detailed level may use EPA's Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis (SEFA).
