APPENDIX E: U.S.-Mexico Business and Trade Community: The Seven Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the 21st Century
Appendix E: U.S.-Mexico Business and Trade Community: The Seven Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the 21st Century
This is the text of the Seven Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the 21st Century, a historic private/public-sector agreement that was signed in Mexico City on June 4, 1999, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mexico’s Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca, the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, and the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (USMCOC). Since that date, 10 more industry and environmental associations, at the invitation of USMCOC, have signed the Seven Principles. This proposal forges a strategic alliance and outlines an approach to implement the seven principles along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Conceptually, the principles are a natural extension of sustainable development activities embraced by numerous stakeholders—including public entities, the private sector, and non-government organizations—in the border region.
In furtherance of the goals of the Border XXI Environmental Framework, these Principles have been developed through a public/private partnership to promote sustainable development in the U.S.-Mexico border area; In recognition of the objectives of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation to foster environmental protection and improvement throughout North America for the well-being of present and future generations, promote sustainable development, enhance environmental compliance, promote economically efficient and effective environmental measures, and promote pollution prevention;
In recognition of existing obligation to comply with domestic environmental laws;
The signatories below will work together, and in conjunction with other federal and state government agencies and industry representatives, to promote voluntary implementation of the following Principles of Environmental Stewardship by corporate entities and their affiliates throughout the United States and Mexico, at all of their operational locations, consistent with the domestic laws of each country:
Top Management Commitment: Make substantive top- management commitment to sustainable development and improve environmental performance through policies that emphasize pollution prevention, energy efficiency, adherence to appropriate international standards, environmental leadership, and public communications.
Compliance Assurance and Pollution Prevention: Implement innovative environmental auditing, assessment, and improvement programs to identify and correct current and potential compliance problems and utilize pollution prevention and energy efficiency measures to improve overall environmental performance.
Enable Systems: Through open and inclusive processes, develop and foster implementation of environmental management systems which provide a framework for ensuring day-to-day compliance in process operations, pollution prevention, energy efficiency, and improved environmental performance. Encourage the use of environmental audits, pollution prevention assessments, and employee training and involvement as integral parts of the company’s culture at home and abroad.
Measurement and Continuous Improvement: Develop measures of environmental performance to demonstrate adherence to these Principles. Periodically assess the progress toward meeting the organization’s environmental goals and tie results to actions in improving environmental performance.
Public Communications: Consistent with the sovereign host country’s domestic laws and policies governing environmental protection and the protection of confidential business information, voluntarily make available to the public information on the organization’s environmental performances and releases, as well as on the performance of its environmental management systems relative to these principles, based on established objectives and targets; and voluntarily provide avenues for receiving suggestions from and establishing dialogue with the public about the company’s environmental performance.
Industry Leadership: Work with other companies operating in the same region or industry subsector to improve industrywide environmental compliance, pollution prevention practices, energy efficiency, and overall environmental performance.
Community Environmental Stewardship: Promote and give support to environmental stewardship and sustainable development in the community in which the organization operates, for example, through investments in local environmental infrastructure, health, education, and improving public environmental awareness.
