[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104-106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31188]


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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 [email protected]).

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]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P