Press Release

Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program Honored by White House for "Greening the Government" Environmental Initiatives

June 10, 2003
For immediate release
Contact: Annmarie Hart-Bookbinder
Manager, Communications
Phone: (703) 603-0174
Fax: (703) 603-0655
E-mail: abookbinder@jwod.gov

Washington, D.C.,--The White House has once again recognized the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program for its commitment to Federal environmental and other "Greening the Government" initiatives during the 2003 Closing the Circle Awards Ceremony held today in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

The prestigious "Closing the Circle" awards program was established under Executive Order 13101: Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling and Federal Acquisition. The Presidential directive is designed to further expand and strengthen the Federal government's recycling and green purchasing efforts. Twenty-six teams from fifteen states and the District of Columbia were honored for outstanding military and civilian facility efforts in such categories as environmental management systems, education and outreach, purchase of environmentally preferable and biobased products, sustainable design for buildings, waste and pollution prevention, and recycling. The JWOD Program was selected as a winner in the civilian "environmental preferability" category.

The JWOD Program is both a public-private partnership and a unique Federal socioeconomic procurement initiative. Under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, the program's mission is to stimulate employment for individuals who are blind or have other severe disabilities that have traditionally made finding and keeping a job in the competitive market exceedingly difficult. Jobs are created when certain products and services furnished by nonprofit agencies that employ individuals with disabilities are placed on the Federal Procurement List by the Federal agency that administers the JWOD Program, the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. Once added to the Procurement List, the products and services are considered "mandatory" items that must be purchased by Federal employees.

During 2001-2002, Chimes, Inc., a JWOD-participating nonprofit agency, began to use environmentally preferable cleaning products in more than 20 million square feet of Federal office space, improving indoor air quality for as many as 90,000 Federal employees in the Washington, DC area, and putting safer products in the hands of more than 1,400 JWOD employees who have severe disabilities.

As many as ten organizations worked cooperatively to make these products readily available in the Federal marketplace, and ensured that the products met newly-adopted, stringent criteria for environmentally preferable cleaning products. The Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled developed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. EPA to work together to realize these opportunities. The ten partner organizations include: the U.S. Department of the Interior; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; National Industries for the Blind; NISH - Creating employment opportunities for people with severe disabilities; Green Seal, a nonprofit environmental certification organization; Rochester-Midland, Inc., a chemical cleaning product manufacturer; St. Louis Lighthouse for the Blind, a JWOD-participating nonprofit agency employing people who are blind; Eagle Maintenance Supply, a JWOD-authorized distributor of SKILCRAFT®/Rochester Midland products; and, Chimes, Inc., a JWOD-participating nonprofit agency that employs people with severe disabilities.

The entire JWOD Program was first recognized by the White House with a 2001 Closing the Circle Award for its "green" initiatives in the "Sowing the Seeds for Change" category.

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The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, an independent Federal agency, administers the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program, which creates jobs and training opportunities for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities. NIB and NISH are Central Nonprofit Agencies designated by the Committee to assist nonprofit organizations that employ individuals who are blind or have other severe disabilities in participating in the JWOD Program. The Committee's primary means of achieving its employment goal is through facilitating Government purchases of supplies and services from nonprofit agencies employing such individuals. To learn more about the JWOD Program and JWOD program environmental initiatives, visit www.jwod.gov.