The New EPA.gov Website is Awesome

When I tried to get my "Environmental Economics" major approved in college back in 1995, it took me three tries and ultimately a new head of the Economics Department to get the approval through.  "The Environment" just didn't seem like a serious academic area of study at the time.

Fast forward to 2008 and even a casual observer of the news understands the concept behind carbon credits.  In an environment (no pun intended) where everyone is talking about climate change and other environmental issues, the EPA has a unique opportunity to improve outreach and to engage the public with objective and compelling content that is both "official" and current.

I was thrilled to see the new EPA.gov website today.  They have been dabbling with multimedia content and blogging for a while, but their new site takes everything to a new level.

Here's what I love about their website:

• Rotating banner with featured content at the top; they can bring forward content that fits with today's hot topics or is timely in other ways (new findings, policies, recommendations, etc.)
  
• Multimedia area on the righthand side of the page including photos, audio, and video
  
• Links to their Greenversations blog with a featured "question of the week" to engage the user instead of just saying "Click to see our blog"
• Outreach components including Widgets, RSS feeds, and of course email alerts which are provided by my company, GovDelivery) 

EPA has been using GovDelivery's email and digital subscription management service for a couple of years, but they've seen a lot more use recently adding over 5,000 new subscribers every month and sending more than 2 million email updates monthly.

If you are interested in how the EPA approached their website redesign, you should register to attend the Proactive Communication Roundtable at the Department of Treasury on November 20.  The event is open and EPA will be one of the presenters talking about "Compelling Content."