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.
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.
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
- 2. Utilizing the Sustainable Manufacturing American Regional Tours (SMART) Model To Achieve Greater Industry Specificity
- 3. The Creation of Metrics for Sustainable Manufacturing
- 4. Information and Analysis of Legislation/Regulations Related to Environment and Health
- 5. Sustainable Manufacturing 101
- 6. Addressing Increased Industry Demand for “Green” Skills
- 7. Conducting Sector-Specific Analyses of U.S. Industry Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities
Source: Federal Register: January 4, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 1)
Comments Due By: February 3, 2010
More Information: The Federal Register notice is at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/E9-31188.htm
Contact: William McElnea, Manufacturing & Services’ Office of Trade Policy Analysis, 202-482-2831
Prepared by: This message was distributed by Kellen Mahoney, who may be reached at e-mail: kmahoney@eetnews.com
