The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) is the national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders. The purpose of ECOS is to improve the capability of state environmental agencies and their leaders to protect and improve human health and the environment of the United States of America.
ECOS was established in December 1993 at a meeting of approximately 20 states in Phoenix, Arizona. A 501(c)(6) organization, ECOS relies on dues from its members as well as federal and private sources of funding.
Mission Statement
(adopted December 1993; revised October 1999; revised September 2005; revised September 2009)
The purpose of ECOS is to improve the capability of State environmental agencies and their leaders to protect and improve human health and the environment of the United States of America.
Our belief is that State government agencies are the keys to delivering environmental protection afforded by both Federal and State law. Further, ECOS provides leadership on environmental issues of national importance, and plays a critical role in facilitating a quality relationship among and between Federal and State agencies. To fulfill its mission, ECOS will:
- Articulate, advocate, preserve and champion the role of the States in environmental management;
- Provide for the exchange of ideas, views and experiences among States and with others;
- Foster cooperation and coordination in environmental management; and
- Articulate State positions to Congress, Federal agencies, and the public on environmental issues.
ECOS Five-Year Strategic Plan (2022-2026)
The ECOS five-year Strategic Plan is built around the ECOS mission, which is encapsulated in the organizational bylaws. The ECOS Executive Committee and staff will reassess the ECOS five-year Strategic Plan annually to determine if the goal areas and strategies continue to provide value to the organization.
The plan is organized into five goal areas, each of which contains a statement summarizing the goal; a series of strategies by which ECOS aims to achieve each goal; and performance measures to gauge progress toward each goal. Read more here.
