II. D. 3. d. Environmental Protection
The Department is committed to protecting the environment while recognizing that teaching, research and service activities conducted in pursuit of the Department and the Technical Colleges' mission may result in environmental impacts.
The Department's goal is to reduce waste and emissions, and ensure compliance with all relevant environmental regulations. All employees and other members of the Technical College community shall strive to minimize adverse impacts on the air, water, and land through pollution prevention and energy conservation. By successfully preventing pollution at its source, we can achieve cost savings; increase operational efficiencies; improve the quality of our teaching, research and services; maintain a safe and healthy workplace for our employees and students; and improve the environment.
The Department's environmental policy is based on the following guiding principles:Preventing pollution by reducing and eliminating the generation of waste and emissions at the source shall be a prime consideration in Department and Technical College activities. The Commissioner and the Technical College Presidents shall seek to identify and implement waste minimization and pollution prevention opportunities.
Environmental protection is everyone's responsibility. The Commissioner and the Presidents of the Technical Colleges shall communicate their environmental policies to employees and other members of the Technical College community. All members of the Technical College community shall be encouraged to identify and implement feasible pollution prevention and waste minimization opportunities.
Technologies and methods that substitute non-hazardous materials and utilize other source reduction approaches shall be given top priority in addressing environmental issues. Where source reduction is not possible or feasible, the Department shall make every effort to investigate recycling as a waste management option in lieu of treatment and disposal, which shall be the least preferred waste management options.
The Department shall strive to continually improve its environmental performance by developing and implementing tools to measure performance and provide the information necessary to establish realistic objectives for continued reductions in waste generation and energy consumption. Progress in attaining these objectives shall be communicated to employees and other members of the Technical College community as well as the general public.
The Department shall demonstrate its leadership role to the citizens of Georgia by adhering to applicable environmental regulations while ensuring that the generation of wastes and emission of pollutants are minimized to the extent feasible. The Department shall promote cooperation and coordination among industry, government, and the public toward the shared goal of preventing pollution at its source, by seeking new ideas for pollution prevention and waste minimization, and by sharing the Department's experiences with the people the general public.
References
Website for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4
Created: May 10, 2001
Approved