Arkansas’s NStEP members are recognized as entities that inspire and challenge other organizations to maintain higher levels of environmental performance. The voluntary and substantial commitments that members make with respect to environmental protection are recognized and valued commitments to the state of Arkansas. In exchange, the Department provides a number of guaranteed and potential benefits for NStEP members as set forth in Appendix B of the NStEP Handbook.

There are four membership levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The requirements for each level are as follows:

Bronze members must commit to one environmental improvement project, and to complete the project within two years of being accepted into the program. An annual progress report will be due each year on the anniversary date of the entity’s acceptance into the program. Bronze members must:

• Have an environmental policy signed by top management.
• Have an environmental management plan that describes active and proposed environmental projects.
• Conduct an annual self-audit of its environmental impacts.
• Be willing to complete one project which goes beyond regulatory compliance and results in quantifiable reductions or improvements to the environment (e.g. cost savings, gallons of water conserved, kilowatts of electricity reduced, regulated waste reduced) to be completed within two years of acceptance into NStEP.
• Be willing to submit an annual progress report to NStEP.
• Be willing to share general project information on the NStEP webpage and other E&E’s media outlets.
• Have a history of meeting environmental regulations, has no criminal violations, no unresolved Notice of Violation(s), and is not currently under a Consent Administrative Order.

(Note: For more information see the NStEP Handbook, Section III. – Compliance-Related Requirements.)

• Meets all Bronze requirements.
• Entity is willing to complete two projects that go beyond regulatory compliance and result in quantifiable reductions or improvements to the environment (e.g. cost savings, gallons of water conserved, kilowatts of electricity reduced, regulated waste reduced) to be completed within three years of acceptance into NStEP.

• Meets all Silver requirements.
• Entity commits to two projects which go beyond regulatory compliance and result in quantifiable reductions or improvements to the environment (e.g. cost savings, gallons of water conserved, kilowatts of electricity reduced, regulated waste reduced) to be completed within three years of acceptance into NStEP. One of the two projects must be the implementation of an environmental management system as described in Appendix A of the NStEP Handbook.
• Entity commits to complete a fully-functioning environmental management system within its three-year Gold membership period.

• Meets all Gold requirements
• Entity commits to complete two environmental improvement projects within its three-year membership period.
• Entity is willing to commit to at least one community environmental outreach program and/or serve as an environmental program mentor within three years of acceptance into NStEP.
• Entity has a third-party certified environmental management system.

This table lists a variety of incentives potentially available to members of the Natural State Environmental Program. An asterisk (*) indicates that the incentive must be requested.

1. An annual meeting will be held when the Natural State Environmental Program has acquired a membership of thirty organizations.