Oppts Contract Support Group, Environmental Protection Agency, Fairchild Building -- 7th Floor, 499 S. Capitol Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20024

A -- THE POTENTIAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AS A CREDIT EVALUATION TOOL SOL K1J078 DUE 092697 POC Melissa Revely-Brown WEB: NOT AVAILABLE, NOT AVAILABLE. E-MAIL: NOT AVAILABLE, revely-brown.melissa@epamail.epa.gov. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing an intent to award for services to which the Government intends to award a firm fixed price contract using the Simplified Acquisition Procedures of FAR Part 13 to: Environmental & Finance Enterprise, LLC; 100 Brighton Court; Chapel Hill, NC 27516. The EPA is FACNET certified. NO PHONE CALLS ACCEPTED. Two copies of all proposals, for the following statement of work, should be delivered to the following address, (fax/e-mail copies will not be accepted): US EPA; 401 M Street, SW; Mail Code 3803R; Washington, DC 20460 Attn: Melissa Revely-Brown -- HANDCARRY TO: 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Bid and Proposal Room -- 6th floor; Washington, DC 20003; Attn: Melissa Revely-Brown -- Due Date: 9/29/97, 1997; -- 2:30pm EST (Any proposal received after the due date will not be considered or opened.) Quotes are due in writing no later than 15 days of notice of this solicitation. This is a combination synopsis/solicitation for these services and will be the only solicitation to be issued. Any contractor/vendor able to meet the requirements must demonstrate in writing by the closing date. All responsible sources solicitated my submit a bid, proposal, or quotation, that shall be considered. STATEMENT OF WORK -- The Potential of Environmental Management Systems as a Credit Evaluation Tool Purpose: 1. To identify practical ways for the financial services industry to include the environmental performance of its clients as an integral part of its core credit, investment, and underwriting processes. 2. To identify the characteristics of current (and projected) environmental management systems (EMSs) and practices that could help correlate environmental performance and financial performance. Background: Over the past several years, the financial services industry has become more interested in environmental issues -- initially as a defense against possible liabilities, but more recently out of a recognition that an individual firm's environmental management practices may serve as an indicator or risk -- and therefore potential profitability -- when considering the financial needs of that firm. The financial community sees potential value in using a firm's environmental management practices as criteria in evaluating the financial exposure of that firm, but standard measures do not currently exist to translate environmental performance into probable financial performance. TASK 1. Review of Relevant Trade and Academic Literature The purpose of this task is to determine the scope of additional research needed under this effort with respect to the following entities in the financial services industry: (1) commercial banks; (2) investment banks; (3) property and casualty insurance companies; (4) life insurance companies (in their role as investors); (5) mutual funds; (6) pension funds; (7) foundations; and (8) other banking and insurance entities as appropriate. Based upon this literature review, the contractor shall articulate in operational terms the extent to which each of the above entities perceive themselves (or are perceived by others) as having a tangible financial interest in promoting environmentally responsible behavior by their clients through EMSs or other related approaches. Deliverable 1-1: A report which: (1) profiles the financial interest of six selected entities in the financial services industry in promoting the adoption of EMS approaches by their clients; (2) identifies which such entities are worthy of further study, based on this degree of interest; and (3) articulates the rationale for their inclusion/exclusion. Due Date: 2 months after award of contract. TASK 2. Identification of Relevant Staff Functions The purpose of this task is, for each of the entities deemed appropriate for further study in Task 1 above, to identify those staff functions which touch directly upon the issue of whether and how the entity in question might benefit from its client's adoption of an EMS or other similar practices/approaches. For example, EPA has been told that for an investment bank, the most relevant person to speak to this issue is, not the environmental affairs officer, but rather the securities analyst. Deliverable 2-1: report of staff functions. Due Date: 2 months after completion of Task 1. TASK 3: Identification of Specific Companies and Persons to Be Contacted The contractor shall develop a list of companies and persons to be contacted for the purposes of Task 4 below. The list shall contain at least 20 persons that will be contacted, and shall include the name, title, company, address, and phone numbers of each person that will be contacted. The Project Officer will approve the list of contacts before proceeding with Task 4. Deliverable 3.1: draft list of contacts. Due Date: 3 weeks after completion of Task 2. Deliverable 3.2: final list of contacts. Due Date: 4 weeks after completion of Task 2. TASK 4: Assessment of Perceived Utility of EMSs and Other Similar Approaches Based upon interviews (via telephone or face-to-face), the contractor shall qualitatively assess the extent to which the entities identified for further study in Task 1 above: (1) perceive value in their clients' use of EMSs and related approaches; and (2) incorporate information derived from some EMSs into their investment/underwriting decisions. Where relevant, the contractor shall describe in general terms the methodologies used to incorporate such information for each entity that is interviewed. At least 80% of the people on the final list from Task 3 will be interviewed. Deliverable 4.1: report of assessment of perceived utility. Due Date: 3 months after completion of Task 3. TASK 5: Formulation of Recommended Actions Based upon the information obtained from Tasks 1, 2, and 4, the contractor shall formulate recommended actions that should be undertaken by: (1) each group identified in Task 1 as appropriate for further study; (2) EPA and/or state environmental agencies; and (3) state and Federal regulatory agencies for the financial services industry. Deliverable 5-1: draft report Due Date: 2 months after the completion of Task 4 Deliverable 5-2: final report which incorporates all EPA comments and edits on Deliverables 1-1 through 5-1. Due Date: 3 months after the completion of Task 4. TASK 6: Develop Case Study The contractor shall develop a case study for one publicly-traded company which has previously implemented an EMS, in order to illustrate in operational terms the financial effects resulting from such implementation. The study shall be based upon both publicly available information, as well as upon in-depth interviews with company officials. Primary considerations in selecting a company for a case study shall be: (1) scope of the EMS -- company-wide being preferable to plant or process-specific); and (2) timing -- sufficient time must have elapsed since implementation to allow for observable changes. Deliverable 6.1: draft case study Due Date: 2 months after the completion of Task 4. Deliverable 6.2: final case study, which incorporates company comments, and allows for formal EPA peer review. Due Date: 3 months after the completion of Task 4. (0252)

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