Moving Toward Sustainable Production

Updated May 2013

For over 15 years since the passage of the Pollution Prevention Act, manufacturers and government agencies have consistently faced the challenge of poor information systems for evaluating pollution prevention (P2) opportunities. Successful pollution prevention is based on an entity's ability to understand and improve its choice and use of materials and the associated financial impacts.

NEWMOA and the Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) for Toxics Use Reduction have collaborated to develop the materials use and profitability software tool, called Energy & Materials Flow & Cost Tracker (EMFACT™). The project builds upon the current application of environmental management accounting as a critical aspect of sustainable production and P2.

The primary beneficiaries of this project are those companies and organizations that implement this environmental management accounting tool to aid them in setting P2 priorities, identifying value-added opportunities for sustainable production, and implementing other materials and energy efficiency improvements. State and local environmental and technical assistance programs and private sector consultants benefit by having the tool to help their client companies identify P2 opportunities and quantify the benefits and costs.

To download EMFACT™ and the supporting materials, go to http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/emfact/register.cfm.

In 2013, NEWMOA and MA OTA released the EMFACT™ source code by creating an open source site, SourceForge, to encourage interested software developers to help improve and enhance the tool and to enable companies and consultants to customize it to address their needs. The site welcomes suggestions and encourages potential developers to share ideas.

NEWMOA contracted with Sullivan International Group to develop EMFACT™ and to provide training support. Sullivan was selected by NEWMOA and MA OTA after a lengthy procurement process and competition among a number of highly qualified vendors.

For more information, contact Andy Bray at .