[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 76 (Friday, April 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21110-21111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8359]


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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]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P