Pollution prevention (P2) plans are required in many industries as a measure of the environmental due diligence of the corporations. P2 plans include aspects of environmental auditing to identify potential noncompliance points with respect to existing regulations, and to plan for the replacement and/or reduction of the use of hazardous chemicals. P2 plans can include aspects of environmental management systems which can be incorporated to provide annual or quarterly monitoring/performance.

P2 plans will soon replace the "end of pipe" permit monitoring and will result in elimination of many problems at the source. Companies can benefit from cost recovery analysis inherent in the P2 process which can result in reduced liability and lowered operating costs.