Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released three improved pollution prevention (P2) calculator tools.

These tools — the P2 Cost Calculator, the P2 Greenhouse Gas Calculator, and the P2 Calculator for Reductions in Hazardous Substances, Pollutants and Contaminants — 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.

The updates to the Cost Calculator and the Greenhouse Gas Calculator include:

• Streamlined design to more easily account 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).

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.

The calculators use Microsoft Excel and perform best when used with the most current Excel version.

For help with the calculators, please visit the P2 Hub or email p2hub@epa.gov.

Learn more about the calculators.

Original source can be found here.