For Immediate Release: February 22, 2010
Contact: Cory Churches (202) 482-3809
ITA HELPS ATLANTA FIRMS FIND SMARTER WAYS TO DO BUSINESS
ATLANTA – More than 60 Atlanta manufacturing firms and service providers learned how to apply sustainable business practices, enhance profitability through reduced energy costs, and work within their supply chains to become more efficient during today’s “SMART Companies Work Together” event.
“Our focus is on sustainable manufacturing and services and how concentrating on a supply chain can make a firm more competitive,” said Joel Secundy, deputy assistant secretary for services. “We can point to thousands of examples, both nationwide and internationally, of firms small, medium and large that reap substantial cost savings due to resource efficiency enhancements.”
Today’s Sustainable Manufacturing American Regional Tour (SMART), co-hosted by the International Trade Administration (ITA) and Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, is part of ITA’s Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative. This initiative strives to teach firms how to apply sustainable business practices that yield many benefits such as enhanced profitability through reduced energy, materials, and water use; lower regulatory compliance costs; and enhanced company image. The tours demonstrate that utilizing sustainable practices can enhance U.S. companies’ competitiveness.
After a morning session featuring remarks from state and federal officials, and industry roundtable discussions, participants visited Caterpillar Logistics Services and INTERFACE, INC., two local companies who have adopted many of the sustainable business practices presented in the morning session.
SMART also highlights ITA’s Sustainable Business Clearinghouse, an online and user-friendly database of virtually all federal government programs and resources that assist businesses in their sustainability efforts whether their needs are tax incentives or technical assistance.
For more information on the Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative, other regional tours, or the Sustainable Business Clearinghouse, please visit: www.manufacturing.gov/sustainability.
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International Trade Administration
The International Trade Administration (ITA) is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace. ITA has 2,100 employees assisting U.S. exporters in more than 100 U.S. cities and 77 countries worldwide. For more information on ITA visit www.trade.gov.
The International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, manages this global trade site to provide access to ITA information on promoting trade and investment, strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. This site contains PDF documents. A PDF reader is available from Adobe Systems Incorporated.