Resource Conservation Planning Course

Registration is now open!

Resource conservation (RC) planning is a powerful way to identify opportunities to save money, reduce environmental impacts, and improve operational efficiency.

The 2006 amendments to the Toxics Use Reduction Act allow facilities that have completed a toxics use reduction (TUR) plan and two plan updates to refresh their TUR planning by choosing an alternative planning option:

• implementing a TURA environmental management system or,
• completing a resource conservation (RC) plan, every other planning year.

Resource conservation is defined as “…an action that decreases the use or consumption of a natural asset such as water, energy, or raw materials, or increases the efficiency of the use of the asset, without increasing the risk to the public, including workers and consumers, or the environment and without increasing the amount of the waste generated” (310 CMR 50.00). RC planning is a voluntary pollution prevention planning option, which allows experienced TURA filers to apply the framework of TUR planning to a different natural asset: energy, water, solid waste, or non-TURA regulated chemicals. 

By targeting energy, water, solid waste, and non-regulated materials, RC planning can reduce operating costs, improve efficiency, strengthen resilience to resource price volatility and supply disruptions, and advance sustainability goals without increasing risk to workers, the public, or the environment. RC planning also helps organizations align environmental performance with business priorities, engage staff, and demonstrate leadership in resource management while maintaining a strong foundation in toxics use reduction.

Course Schedule:

• Access to the asynchronous online coursework begins the week of February 17, 2026. The online course includes written materials, case studies and examples, and a practicum assignment to help complete an RC plan for the fictional company, Lampworks.
• The course also includes three, 2-hour webinars on energy, water and materials contributing to solid waste. These will be scheduled throughout Spring 2026. 

For toxics use reduction (TUR) planners, this course provides the required 12-CEUs of initial training for planners seeking accreditation with MassDEP to write and certify RC plans. Planners must also complete 9-CEUs of RC training every 4 years thereafter to maintain accreditation. Please see the MassDEP requirements for more information.