[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 79 (Monday, May 24, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4145-S4146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. Pryor, Mrs. Lincoln, and Mr.
Brown of Massachusetts):
S. 3396. A bill to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to
establish within the Department of Energy a Supply Star program to
identify and promote practices, companies, and products that use highly
efficient supply chains in a manner that conserves energy, water, and
other resources; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Supply Star
Act of 2010 to drive widespread improvements in supply chain energy
efficiency.
Companies today are facing pressure on many fronts--from customers,
stockholders, business partners, and regulators--to improve their
energy performance in hopes of maximizing profit, minimizing
environmental impact, and shielding themselves against the price
volatility of fuels. Nearly 90 percent of a company's energy use can
come from its supply chains, making supply chain energy efficiency--
encompassing raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, transport, use,
and disposal of goods--of significant importance in the transition to a
more energy efficient marketplace.
For these reasons, many: corporations are examining supply chain
efficiency, not only in hopes of being better corporate citizens, but
because it makes good business sense. Decreasing energy use in the
supply chain can lead to significant cost reductions and increase
competitiveness. However, these efforts face hurdles--especially in
small companies--that limit their widespread implementation. Earlier
this year, I attended the MIT Energy Conference in Boston, where these
hurdles were discussed in some detail by an expert panel. The hurdles
include a lack of information and analysis tools for important parts of
far-flung supply chains, which often lie far upstream or downstream,
and therefore out of sight, of a particular firm, as well as a lack of
leverage with which to rive global suppliers toward more efficient
practices. Overcoming these challenges requires significant resources
and access to global information that is often not available to any one
single firm. I was persuaded that efforts to address these challenges
would have significant benefit to the country.
The Supply Star Act of 2010 would establish a Supply Star Program
within the Department of Energy that builds on the Energy Star Program,
as well as existing best practices in industry and the U.S. and
international research communities to give companies access to the
resources and information they need to successfully drive supply chain
efficiency improvements.
The Supply Star Program would provide all companies, particularly
small and medium sized businesses, with financing, technical support,
training, and sector-wide networks to help significantly improve their
supply chain efficiency. The program would also provide public
recognition to those businesses that achieve the highest supply chain
efficiency standards, rewarding them with a tangible and credible tool
to use in external communications about all of their good work and
giving consumers and businesses an easy way of seeking out good actors
as they make purchasing decisions.
I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill and work to
improve the energy efficiency of our economy.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3396
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supply Star Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. SUPPLY STAR.
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act is amended by
inserting after section 324A (42 U.S.C. 6294a) the following:
``SEC. 324B. SUPPLY STAR PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--There is established within the
Department of Energy a Supply Star program to identify and
promote practices, companies, and, as appropriate, products
that use highly efficient supply chains in a manner that
conserves energy, water, and other resources.
``(b) Coordination.--In carrying out the program described
in subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
``(1) consult with other appropriate agencies; and
``(2) coordinate efforts with the Energy Star program
established under section 324A.
``(c) Duties.--In carrying out the Supply Star program
described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
``(1) promote practices, companies, and, as appropriate,
products that comply with the Supply Star program as the
preferred practices, companies, and products in the
marketplace for maximizing supply chain efficiency;
``(2) work to enhance industry and public awareness of the
Supply Star program;
``(3) collect and disseminate data on supply chain energy
resource consumption;
``(4) develop and disseminate metrics, processes, and
analytical tools (including software) for evaluating supply
chain energy resource use;
``(5) develop guidance at the sector level for improving
supply chain efficiency;
``(6) work with domestic and international organizations to
harmonize approaches to analyzing supply chain efficiency,
including the development of a consistent set of tools,
templates, calculators, and databases; and
``(7) work with industry, including small businesses, to
improve supply chain efficiency through activities that
include--
``(A) developing and sharing best practices; and
``(B) providing opportunities to benchmark supply chain
efficiency.
[[Page S4146]]
``(d) Evaluation.--In any evaluation of supply chain
efficiency carried out by the Secretary, the Secretary shall
consider energy and resource use throughout the entire
lifecycle of a product, including production, transport,
packaging, use, and disposal.
``(e) Grants and Incentives.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may award grants or other
forms of incentives on a competitive basis to eligible
entities, as determined by the Secretary, for the purposes
of--
``(A) studying supply chain energy resource efficiency; and
``(B) demonstrating and achieving reductions in the energy
resource consumption of commercial products through changes
and improvements to the production supply and distribution
chain of the products.
``(2) Use of information.--Any information or data
generated as a result of the grants or incentives described
in paragraph (1) shall be used to inform the development of
the Supply Star Program.
``(f) Training.--The Secretary shall use funds to support
professional training programs to develop and communicate
methods, practices, and tools for improving supply chain
efficiency.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such
sums as are necessary.''.
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