[Federal Register: July 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 140)]
[Notices]
[Page 42328-42329]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy08-28]
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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 susmanuf@mail.doc.gov).
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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