Sustainability at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: 1970-2020

Perhaps reflecting the minor role that sustainability plays in EPA's statutory mission, the agency has adapted to changing environmental issues in an often slow and uneven manner to make sustainability a key element of its environmental policy. This article uses the words of past and present EPA administrators to identify major themes contributing to sustainability and assesses how a regulatory agency created to address pollution control has evolved to face new problems resulting from population increases, urbanization, and global economic growth. EPA can enhance its role in promoting sustainability by redefining relationships with the regulated community, defining and measuring sustainable outcomes, using science to support sustainable decision-making, and promoting stewardship and collaborative problem solving. Between now and 2020, as key environmental questions relate ever more closely to sustainability, EPA can draw upon the best of its experience, knowledge, and resources to play a central role in leading the public and private sectors towards sustainability.