California's Environmental Technology Certification Program Wins 1996 Innovations in American Government Award

For Immediate Release
Contact: Communications Office (916) 324-9670
December 3, 1996

555 Capitol Mall, Suite 525
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 324-9670
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THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE DISTRIBUTED BY THE INNOVATIONS IN
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, AN AWARDS PROGRAM OF THE FORD FOUNDATION AND
HARVARD UNIVERSITY. SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS
RELEASE, PLEASE CONTACT THE NUMBERS LISTED BELOW:

CONTACTS:

Ken Ulmer/Karen Borack
M. Booth & Associates
212/481-7000

Trudy Jeffers
Kennedy School
617/495-0557

Program Contacts:
Dan Pellissier
916/324-9670

California's Environmental Technology Certification Program Wins 1996 Innovations in American Government Award

Will Receive a $100,000 Ford Foundation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C., - California's Environmental Technology Certification program, which speeds the development and marketing of promising environmental technologies through the cooperation of the state regulatory authority and private industry, has been named a winner of a 1996 Innovations in American Government Award by the Ford Foundation and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The program will be honored tonight at a ceremony at the State Department in Washington, D.C., and will receive a $100,000 award from the Foundation.

Noting that this is the Innovations program's 10th anniversary, Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation, said: "For 10 years the Innovations Awards have honored government at its best. These examples of effective government have produced extraordinary results for Americans. They are helping to restore faith in government's ability to solve tough problems."

Selected from more than 1,550 applicants, the 10 winning programs provide innovative solutions to some of the problems people care about most - solutions that save taxpayers' money, streamline services, help undeserved populations, find novel uses for new technologies or overcome bureaucratic gridlock.

"This important recognition from the Ford Foundation and Harvard will enable this unique public/private enterprise to expand more quickly across the nation and around the world," California Secretary for Environmental Protection James M. Strock said.

Fighting pollution has become a high-tech and high-stakes battle, as the public and private sectors turn to technology for solutions to pollution-prevention and cleanup.

In 1993 the California Environmental Protection Agency established the Environmental Technology Certification program, which works with the private sector to advance the development and marketing of new pollution prevention and cleanup products. The program accelerates the deployment of emerging technologies by certifying their effectiveness and increasing awareness of their availability.

State certification lends almost instant credibility to products and processes that might otherwise struggle to attract capital or gain market acceptance. With state validation, technology entrepreneurs can more easily gain regulatory acceptance elsewhere, attract customers, and achieve economies of scale.

The first technology the state certified was a long-life oil filter that allowed 100,000 miles between oil changes. The filter offered the potential of considerable reduction in waste oil generated by trucks and cars.

In all, the state has certified four dozen new technologies from additives that detoxify water pollutants to quicker and cheaper tests for measuring PCB levels in soil and water. Certification is typically granted within three months of an application, but only after a  thorough review of test and field data, independent peer review, and, if necessary, additional testing.

Five other states recently launched a pilot program that will enhance regulatory acceptance of certified technologies in each of the states. A number of nations, including Canada, Mexico, Germany, Russia, and China, have expressed interest in replicating the California program.

Considered to be among the nation's most prestigious public service prizes, Innovations Awards recognize governmental initiatives that provide creative solutions to pressing social and economic problems.

Over the Innovations program's 10 years the Ford Foundation has awarded $12 million to 180 governmental initiatives. The grants are intended to recognize, document, and help disseminate to other jurisdictions information about these creative approaches to governmental problem solving. A recent survey undertaken by the Foundation found that more than 85 percent of previous award-winning programs have been replicated or expanded in other jurisdictions both nationally and worldwide.

The winners were selected by the National Committee on Innovations in American Government, whose members include former elected officials, private industry leaders, and journalists. The National Committee is chaired by William G. Milliken, former governor of Michigan. Professor Alan Altshuler of the Kennedy School directs the Innovations program.

The Council for Excellence in Government, a nonprofit organization based in Washington,   D.C., will receive Foundation funds on behalf of the federal award winners and, with guidance from the awardees, will use the funds for dissemination and replication activities.

In addition to the $1 million in awards to the 10 winners, the Foundation will grant $20,000  to each of 15 finalists in the program.

The Innovations in American Government program reflects the Ford Foundation's longstanding commitment to strengthening the operations and processes of democratic government. Established in 1936, the Ford Foundation is a private, nonprofit institution that serves as a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. Its goals are to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. A national and international philanthropy with assets of $8 billion, the Foundation has granted more than $8 billion to some 9,000 institutions and 100,000 individuals worldwide. The Foundation maintains headquarters in New York City and has offices in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and in Russia. 

The John F. Kennedy School of Government is one of the nation's foremost schools of public affairs. Its mission is to train leaders for excellence in government and public service and to foster understanding of major public issues.

The Innovations program's World Wide Web site is http:/ksgwww.harvard.edu/innovat/.

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