EPA Releases Improved Calculators to Measure Impact of P2 Activities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 3, 2023, the release of three improved pollution prevention (P2) calculator tools -- the P2 Cost Calculator, the P2 Greenhouse Gas Calculator, and the P2 Calculator for Reductions in Hazardous Substances, Pollutants and Contaminants. According to EPA, these tools convert information on P2 activities at a business, such as reductions in energy use, into information on cost savings and pollution reductions. They help P2 grantees, technical assistance providers, and others measure environmental outcomes and economic performance related to P2 activities. EPA states that the updates to the Cost Calculator and the Greenhouse Gas Calculator include:

• Streamlined design to account more easily for fuel use;

• Instructions on how to use the calculators for grant reporting; and

• Newer data on prices and the environmental characteristics of power generation, incorporated into default values from sources including the U.S. Energy Information Administration and EPA’s Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID).

According to EPA, the updates to the Reductions Calculator include expanded categories of pollutants and releases -- including hazardous materials used, hazardous wastes, air emissions, water pollutants, and solvent remanufacturing -- that EPA tracks and measures.