[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 140 (Monday, July 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42328-42329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16524]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Manufacturing and Services' Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative; 
Update

ACTION: Notice of first round of regional showcase tours in support of 
Commerce's Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative; request for 
suggestions of other cities and regions to be considered for future 
tours.

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SUMMARY: The International Trade Administration's Manufacturing & 
Services Unit is planning a new project as part of its Sustainable 
Manufacturing Initiative, to be known as ``SMART,'' which through a 
series of regional tours across the United States will showcase 
sustainable manufacturing practices. SMART (``Sustainable 
Manufacturing's American Regional Tours'') will travel to a number of 
cities and regions in order to demonstrate the feasibility and 
viability of sustainable manufacturing practices for U.S. firms.

DATES: Submit comments no later than 30 days after the date of this 
notice.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to Sustainable 
Manufacturing's American Regional Tours, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
Room 2213, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via 
the Internet at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Morgan Barr 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, enhance the marketability of their products 
and services, and last but not least, increase profitability. 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 as globalization evolves. 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 more profitable.
    In order to provide effective and continued support to U.S. 
companies in their sustainable manufacturing efforts, Commerce's 
Manufacturing and 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) facilitate public and private sector efforts to 
address these challenges.
    To help maintain and enhance forward momentum on this initiative, 
MAS is introducing its SMART project, which implements one of the four 
``next steps'' identified by the Initiative's participants at MAS's 
September 2007 conference and enumerated in the April 2008 Federal 
Register notice (Vol. 73, No. 76/Friday, April 18, 2008): leading 
regional showcase tours to promote sustainable manufacturing.
    Numerous U.S. companies have voiced concerns over the lack of 
visibility that 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 
will hold the first round of SMART cities and regions: St. Louis, MO 
(July 28, 2008), Grand Rapids, MI (September 3, 2008), and Rochester, 
NY (September 23, 2008).
    SMART city events will most likely include tours of local 
manufacturing facilities that showcase those firms that are 
incorporating sustainable manufacturing techniques into their 
production processes or have facilities that are otherwise sustainable. 
The goal of these tours is to demonstrate to other similarly situated 
firms in the area that incorporating sustainable manufacturing 
techniques into the production cycle is not cost-prohibitive and, in 
fact, can help the long-term economic viability of American 
manufacturers.

[[Page 42329]]

    Manufacturing and Services seeks public input on possible cities 
and/or regions that would benefit from hosting a SMART event or firms 
that would be willing to demonstrate and showcase their sustainable 
manufacturing capabilities and practices as part of a possible SMART 
event in their region (SMART participants will not be paid and funding 
is considered on a case-by-case basis).

    Dated: July 14, 2008.
Matthew Howard,
Office of Trade Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. E8-16524 Filed 7-18-08; 8:45 am]
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