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USCIB COMMENTS ON THE
DRAFT RECOMMENDATION OF THE OECD COUNCIL
ON ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) supports the intent of the draft Recommendation on Environmental Information, for agreement at the OECD Environment Ministerial on April 2-4, to promote the gathering and dissemination of public environmental information in a manner that is coherent, focuses public attention on significant environmental and health risks, and employs fair and transparent processes. However, in order to establish sound and sustainable public environmental information programs, public disclosure must communicate meaningful environmental and health data while ensuring adequate protections for the regulated community and the public good.
The USCIB believes that the current draft of the Recommendation does not sufficiently address the needs of the business community in a number of critical areas, and therefore recommends that the following issues be addressed in the Recommendation prior to its agreement at the EPOC Ministerial:
1. Environmental information gathering and dissemination should be consistent with national policy goals:
The goal of public environmental information programs should be to provide the public, government, business, environmental advocates, and labor with meaningful risk information that will enable these groups make knowledgeable decisions and to best apply resources to high priority issues. In order for environmental information programs to meet that objective, governments should give careful consideration to the following issues:
a) Reporting of environmental information must be linked to explicit environmental or health risk-based goals and priorities (as opposed to simple hazard-based approaches);
b) The process for identifying environmental and health risk priorities should be open and transparent; and
c) The decision to compile and disseminate environmental information should proceed from an assessment of the intended audience and its needs, the best means to meet the information need, and the measurable benefits from any new data relative to the overall burden and risks imposed.
2. Environmental information programs require effective management of the data:
In order for environmental information programs to contribute meaningful and useful information to the many sectors which make up their audience, the data collection, management, and distribution processes must be properly managed to ensure that the information is of high quality and useful in addressing priority risk issues.
a) The database must be accurate and up to date, with due consideration of the process for data input and resulting risk of error (e.g. use of prison labor in the U.S. to key-in data).
b) Mechanisms for data corrections must be instituted to allow for speedy and efficient changes to inaccurate data.
c) Data collection processes should be efficient and non-duplicative in order to minimize the burden imposed on reporters.
d) Data presentation and distribution must convey to the fullest extent possible the nature of the data contained in the database, the context in which it is reported, and its limitations. This may require educational programs for some target audiences.
3. Environmental information programs should protect confidential business information:
Public environmental information programs must balance public disclosure with the need to protect confidential business information, the basis for innovation and economic development.
a) Environmental information programs must protect against the loss of confidential business information, including through the accumulation of individual pieces of data from multiple public databases into sensitive business information (the mosaic effect).
b) Data which should be presumed to be confidential and proprietary include:
- process information used in the manufacture, processing, or use of a chemical;
- research and development plans or results;
- pricing information;
- customer identification; and
- production capacity (in some cases).
4. Environmental information systems must be protected from inappropriate access:
Expanding global access and ease of access to government and commercial databases through computer networks poses a serious threat to the competitiveness of the reporting community by reducing the barriers and costs associated with economic intelligence collection and industrial espionage. A recent U.S. Government report stated that:
“Many collectors [of confidential information] take advantage of the vast amount of competitive information that is legally and openly available in the United States. Open-source information can provide personality profile data, data on new R&D and planned processes, new manufacturing techniques, and competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.” (President’s Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, July 1995, p. 18)
Another serious threat that may result from increased global access to environmental data, particularly facility data, is the risk of terrorism against sites included in environmental databases. Inappropriate, anonymous, and easy access to certain kinds of facility data, including off-site consequence analysis or worst-case scenarios, could pose significant security threats to facilities.
It is vital that the government or private computer systems which contain databases for public environmental information programs be adequately protected, and access to such databases be appropriately restricted to prevent both industrial espionage and security threats. The design and implementation of these protections should be an integral element of an environmental information program.
5. Conclusions:
The USCIB supports the gathering and dissemination of public environmental information in a manner that is coherent, focuses public attention on significant environmental and health risks, and employs fair and transparent processes. However, in order to establish such programs in a manner that will not undermine the competitive position of the reporting community, the public disclosure of information must be balanced with adequate protections for confidential business information.
Creating this balance requires that environmental information gathering and dissemination programs be consistent with national policy goals, include effective management of the data, protect confidential business information, and be protected from inappropriate access.
Insofar as the current draft of the Council Recommendation does not sufficiently address the needs of the business community, the USCIB recommends that the draft Recommendation be revised to incorporate these points prior to its agreement at the EPOC Ministerial meeting in April.
March 17, 1998
New York
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