[Federal Register: January 4, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 1)]
[Notices]
[Page 104-106]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04ja10-31]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Manufacturing & Services' Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative;
Update
ACTION: Notice and request for input on proposed new areas of work for
the Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative which could include a series
of events nationwide.
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SUMMARY: The International Trade Administration's (ITA) Manufacturing &
Services Unit held a Sustainability and U.S. Competitiveness Summit on
October 8, 2009. Manufacturing & Services is notifying the public of
outcomes of this summit and requesting input on next steps.
DATES: Submit comments no later than 30 days after publication date of
this notice.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to the
Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room
2213, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at susmanuf@mail.doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William McElnea, Manufacturing &
Services' Office of Trade Policy Analysis, 202-482-2831.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ITA's Manufacturing and Services (MAS) unit
received a great deal of constructive feedback from individual U.S.
firms at its October 8, 2009 Sustainability and U.S. Competitiveness
Summit. More than 120 representatives from private industry, industry
associations, non-governmental organizations, academia and major
federal agencies attended the all-day event to: (1) Discuss the
accomplishments of the Department's Sustainable Manufacturing
Initiative (SMI); (2) discuss the sustainable manufacturing-related
challenges facing U.S. industry; and (3) identify possible areas of
future SMI work.
Individual participants indicated that the U.S. government must
remain engaged in the area of sustainable business in order to help
increase American competitiveness through implementation of
manufacturing and
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services practices that are cost-effective and environmentally sound.
MAS has formulated tentative ``next steps'' based in part on the
individual feedback received at the Summit and feedback from public and
private sector stakeholders that the agency continues to receive. As
the Department moves forward in this arena in collaboration with other
relevant federal government agencies, it will keep in mind several
over-arching issues voiced at the Summit:
In these tough economic times, U.S. companies need easy
access to federal programs and resources that can help them stay in
business and maintain profitability;
There is a need for constant evaluation and engagement
with stakeholders on what constitutes the most appropriate role for the
federal government in addressing U.S. industry's sustainability needs
and challenges (e.g., facilitation vs. direct action);
Stakeholders face general uncertainty, unease, and in some
cases confusion regarding all of the competing sustainability-related
product and process information, data, metrics and standards (domestic
and international); and,
There is a desire for a common sustainability ``language''
and framework to increase interoperability between firms and
industries.
Taking into account individual feedback received at the Summit, the
input Commerce continues to receive, and being mindful of the over-
arching issues above, MAS proposes the following tentative ``next
steps'' to address U.S. industry's sustainability needs:
1. Expanding Outreach of Commerce and U.S. Government Resources That
Support Sustainable Business
Phase 1 of MAS's Sustainable Business Clearinghouse design and
operability is complete. Accessed here, www.manufacturing.gov/
sustainability, the Clearinghouse currently contains links to all major
federal government programs that support sustainable business.
Next Steps: MAS will implement Phase 2 which involves inclusion of
state-level information in the Clearinghouse, coupled with a more
aggressive industry outreach plan aimed at widely advertising both the
Clearinghouse and its many programs to U.S. firms across the country.
2. Utilizing the Sustainable Manufacturing American Regional Tours
(SMART) Model To Achieve Greater Industry Specificity
The SMART program has been effective at closing the familiarity gap
among U.S. manufacturers on the benefits of sustainable manufacturing
and business practices. To date, five SMARTs have been held across the
country (St. Louis, MO; Grand Rapids, MI; Rochester, NY; Seattle, WA;
and Columbus, OH) in which over 100 companies have learned first-hand
about the cost-effectiveness of greater natural resource efficiency and
waste minimization. The SMI team proposes to utilize this model to
accomplish greater industry specificity.
Next Steps: Commerce will hold industry-specific SMARTs and
facilitate industry discussions via SMART-like events that identify
specific sustainability challenges in a selected sector as well as ways
to address these challenges.
3. The Creation of Metrics for Sustainable Manufacturing
The SMI team's primary effort on metrics for sustainable
manufacturing is focusing on a Commerce-initiated study in the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that will
result in a ``toolkit'' of metrics for companies to use to help them
assess and then measure the benefits of implementing sustainable
manufacturing practices. Commerce has been working to ensure this study
will result in a toolkit that is useful to both large and small U.S.
companies. The study has entered its final phase and the U.S.
government is optimistic that the toolkit will be ready for use
sometime in 2010.
Next Steps: Commerce will successfully guide completion of the OECD
study through active participation in the Advisory Expert Group.
Commerce will facilitate greater engagement with the private sector to
determine the appropriate role of the federal government in
establishing useful, comparable sustainable manufacturing metrics for
industry.
4. Information and Analysis of Legislation/Regulations Related to
Environment and Health
At the October 8 Summit, private sector representatives were
particularly concerned about the potential impacts of environment and
health-related legislation and regulations on U.S. firms' bottom line,
but few have time to follow the legislative or regulatory process, or
know where to find or access information or analysis of pending
legislation or new regulations.
Next Step: MAS will work internally as well as with other relevant
federal government agencies to publicize legislative and regulatory
information and analyses that would enhance private sector
understanding of potential industry and economic impacts on business
operations.
5. Sustainable Manufacturing 101
Summit participants stated that many small-to-medium sized U.S.
companies are interested in producing environmentally sound, healthy
products in resource-efficient ways, but are unfamiliar with
sustainable manufacturing practices and the potential scope of these
practices. Currently, there is a lack of resources that provide basic
information on sustainable manufacturing in a way that is easy to
understand.
Next Step: MAS will work with its interagency group on sustainable
manufacturing to develop an easy-to-follow ``Sustainable Manufacturing
101'' training module that companies can use to begin the process of
considering sustainable manufacturing practices in their own
facilities. The online training could be a companion piece to the
Clearinghouse, helping to teach basic concepts and terminology and
tying concepts to programs and resources available through the
Clearinghouse.
6. Addressing Increased Industry Demand for ``Green'' Skills
Summit participants expressed an ongoing and growing need for
``green'' skills, in a variety of capacities, at the workplace. Whether
it be providing educational opportunities to our future engineers in
the field of clean technology development or training opportunities to
U.S. manufacturers in the area of remanufacturing, arming the U.S.
workforce with sustainability-related skills sets will be key to
maintaining our innovation-based competitive advantage in world
markets.
Next Step: MAS will reach out to and work with as appropriate the
Department of Labor and Department of Education in identifying the
sustainability-related skill demands of U.S. industry and provide input
on the various ``green'' skill-focused workforce development and
educational initiatives launched by these agencies.
7. Conducting Sector-Specific Analyses of U.S. Industry Sustainability
Challenges and Opportunities
To comprehensively address the myriad challenges U.S. firms face in
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their efforts to enhance natural resource efficiency, minimize waste,
and compete in world markets, public and private sector stakeholders
require a better collective understanding of these challenges and ways
these can be addressed. Thus, there is a need for more in-depth
analyses that can educate these stakeholders on where significant
challenges and opportunities for enhanced profitability lie.
Next Step: MAS will launch a ``Sustainable Manufacturing Sector
Focus Study'' series aimed at informing public and private sector
stakeholders about the specific sustainability-related challenges,
ongoing efforts, and unrealized opportunities that exist in specific
U.S. manufacturing sectors. These studies would be designed to provide
clarity on the specific hurdles U.S. firms are facing in their efforts
to become more resource efficient, what firms are doing to overcome
these hurdles, potential cost-saving and value-adding opportunities
that exist in a selected sector, and unexplored areas of public-private
collaboration.
Dated: December 18, 2009.
Matthew Howard,
Office of Trade Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. E9-31188 Filed 12-31-09; 8:45 am]
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