[Federal Register: April 18, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 76)]
[Notices]
[Page 21110-21111]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ap08-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Manufacturing & Services' Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative;
Update
ACTION: Notice of updates and e-mail list sign-up.
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SUMMARY: The International Trade Administration's Manufacturing &
Services Unit held a Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative event on
September 27, 2007. Manufacturing & Services is notifying the public of
outcomes of the September 2007 event and of this initiative's dynamic
Web presence and e-mail list sign-up.
DATES: N/A.
ADDRESSES: N/A.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Howard in Manufacturing &
Services' Office of Trade Policy Analysis, 202-482-3703.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sustainable manufacturing practices in the
United States have become increasingly popular in recent years as
companies look for new ways to make more efficient use of resources,
ensure compliance with domestic and international regulations related
to environment and health, and enhance the marketability of their
products and services. As the trend towards sustainable manufacturing
practices grows, so do its implications for U.S. global competitiveness
and firm profitability.
At the Department of Commerce, one of our main goals is to foster
domestic and international conditions for doing business that allow
U.S. firms to successfully compete internationally. Evidence has shown
that firms incorporating both environmentally and economically
sustainable manufacturing processes can gain competitive advantages by
achieving inherent cost savings (i.e., improving their energy
efficiency, minimizing raw materials usage, etc.) while at the same
time reaping societal benefits for being good stewards of the
environment. Many U.S. firms have demonstrated that being
environmentally sustainable can also mean being profitable.
In order to provide effective and continued support to U.S.
companies in their sustainable manufacturing efforts, Commerce's
Manufacturing & Services (MAS) unit has launched a Sustainable
Manufacturing Initiative and Public-Private Dialogue that aims to (a)
identify U.S. industry's most pressing sustainable manufacturing
challenges and (b) coordinate public and private sector efforts to
address these challenges.
MAS received a great deal of constructive individual feedback from
U.S. industry at its September 27, 2007 ``Enhancing U.S.
Competitiveness Through Sustainable Manufacturing: A Public-Private
Dialogue'' event. Participants from both the public and private sectors
agreed that sustainable manufacturing is an area where the United
States must continue to increase its global competitive advantage, both
in its ability to develop and utilize cleaner, more energy-efficient
technologies and in its ability to implement manufacturing practices
that are cost-effective and environmentally sound.
MAS has developed a dynamic Web presence to help keep the public
informed of news on the Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative.
Information on this initiative can be found at: http://trade.gov/
competitiveness/sustainablemanufacturing/index.asp.
This Web site features an e-mail list sign-up function where
interested companies and individuals may sign-up for news and other
updates on Manufacturing & Services' Sustainable Manufacturing
Initiative.
To help maintain and enhance forward momentum on this initiative
and continue the follow-up to the September 2007 event, MAS plans to
take on four specific efforts in response to U.S. industry requests for
USG action on the topic of sustainable manufacturing:
1. Establishment of an Interagency Task Force on Sustainable
Manufacturing. To help maximize the value of complementary sustainable
manufacturing efforts by various federal agencies as well as ensure the
continuity of the MAS Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative, MAS is
proposing to establish and chair an interagency task force on
sustainable manufacturing. Comprised of representatives of interested
federal agencies, this task force will be responsible for carrying out
projects identified through the public-private dialogue as U.S.
industry priorities.
2. Creation of a Central Online Clearinghouse of USG Programs and
Resources That Support Sustainable Business. There are numerous U.S.
government (USG) programs currently available to support sustainable
business practices in the United States; however, there is currently no
single portal yet available to the public that catalogs these many
programs. To begin consolidating this information, Commerce will begin
working with other federal agencies via the interagency task force to
launch an online clearinghouse that U.S. companies can use to identify
the USG programs and resources that are right for them. MAS has already
begun developing the clearinghouse, which can be found at the following
Web address (please note this is not the final product, but merely a
starting point and it is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of
all relevant USG resources in support of U.S. industry's sustainable
manufacturing efforts): http://trade.gov/competitiveness/
sustainablemanufacturing/USG--PRS--Sustainable--Business.asp.
3. Leading Domestic Trade Missions to Promote Sustainable
Manufacturing. Numerous U.S. companies have voiced concerns over the
lack of visibility sustainable manufacturing receives nationwide and
the lack of information U.S. manufacturers possess in this field. In
order to continue spreading awareness of sustainable manufacturing's
benefits, both to U.S. global competitiveness and the environment, MAS
proposes and is currently exploring the feasibility of a domestic trade
mission in the United States, leading small and medium-size business
owners on a site tour of some of the leading sustainable manufacturers
in the country.
4. Creation of Metrics for Sustainable Manufacturing. Efforts in
response to U.S. industry requests for metrics that can be used to
measure the economic, environmental and social impacts of sustainable
manufacturing have been underway between the U.S. Department of
Commerce and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) since 2005. Commerce has submitted a proposal to the OECD for a
study that would propose a series of metrics to help businesses measure
sustainable manufacturing's cost-effectiveness as well as its benefits
to the environment and society as a whole. This proposal has been
accepted by the OECD and work on this study is expected to commence in
the spring of 2008. The Department of Commerce is also seeking U.S.
industry representation on a newly created OECD Sustainable
Manufacturing Experts Group that will
[[Page 21111]]
help to oversee and guide the aforementioned study. Interested
companies should contact the Manufacturing & Services' Office of Trade
Policy Analysis at the number listed above.
Dated: April 9, 2008.
Matthew Howard,
Office of Trade Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. E8-8359 Filed 4-17-08; 8:45 am]
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