For Immediate Release: July 13, 2009
Contact: Lorri Crowley  (202) 482-3809

COMMERCE OFFICIAL PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING AT FOUR SEATTLE AREA FIRMS

Acting U.S. Commerce Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services Mary Saunders led a tour of four Seattle-area manufacturing facilities as part of the department’s Sustainability 360 initiative.

The tour, Sustainability 360: An Aerospace Supply Chain Event, is designed to showcase the benefits of sustainable manufacturing throughout an aerospace manufacturing supply chain.

“When suppliers become more sustainable,” said Saunders, “the benefits extend throughout the supply chain. It decreases risks and costs for the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) because components can be made more efficiently, with fewer hazardous materials and often at a lower cost. Supplier competitiveness then translates into OEM competitiveness.”

The event began with a presentation at Puget Sound Energy, a local utility company in Bellevue, and continued with site visits to Tyee Aircraft, Goodrich Aerostructures, and the Boeing Company.

The tour highlighted the various gains U.S. companies have reaped as a result of incorporating cleaner, more resource-efficient technologies and product “life-cycle” approaches in their manufacturing processes.

Sustainability 360 events allow U.S. companies, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), to tour facilities in a given regional supply chain that use sustainable manufacturing or business processes, or otherwise encourage the use of those practices. Sustainable business practices yield many benefits such as enhanced profitability through reduced energy use; materials and water use; lower regulatory compliance costs; and enhanced company image. The tours will demonstrate that utilizing sustainable practices can enhance U.S. companies’ competitiveness.

For more information on the Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative and the other regional tours, please visit: www.manufacturing.gov/sustainability.

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