2011 PROJECT ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
In 2011, CEC sponsored two project meetings in the United
States, including:
In addition, Benjamin Teitelbaum, Special Projects Coordinator,
CEC spoke at the 2nd Quarter Meeting of the Suppliers Partnership
for the Environment (SP) on June 7, 2011 and project contractor
Steve Hellem, Navista reported on the project’s activities
at SP’s 4th Quarter Meeting on November 8, 2011 in Detroit,
Michigan. Information on the CEC project activities was also
shared with SP’s members through the SP Newsletter and
website.
Special Panel at the National Environmental
Sustainability Summit (NESS)
 On June
7, 2011 the CEC hosted a Special Panel at the National Environmental
Sustainability Summit (NESS) in Detroit, Michigan to launch
its project “On Improving the Economic and Environmental
Performance of the North American Automotive Industry Supply
Chain”. The NESS is an annual gathering of national
environmental sustainability leaders from nonprofits, government,
academia, and business co-hosted by the U.S. EPA, the National
Pollution Prevention Roundtable, the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality and Terrachord.
The Panel provided an overview of CEC’s automotive
supply chain project, as well as CEC’s history of support
for automotive supply chain initiatives. CEC’s work
on greening North America’s automotive supply chain
first began in 2007 with discussions to extend the Suppliers
Partnership for the Environment (SP) – an innovative
partnership between automobile original equipment manufacturers
and their suppliers and the U.S. EPA already on track in the
United States – to Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately,
the project was put on hold in 2009 due to economic challenges
facing the industry at that time. The project proposes now
to re-engage key automotive companies in Canada, Mexico and
the United States for the development and implementation of
green supply-chain programs across North America. The project
aims to create a network of industry partners to share tools
and best practices including work already done in the United
States, and share how companies are improving the environment
and creating economic opportunity throughout the manufacturing
process in each of the three countries.
Environmental Vision
- Reduce environmental impacts of the automotive manufacturing
supply chain while enhancing competitiveness through engaging
experts to facilitate the development and implementation
of formalized Automotive Green Supply Chain programs in
Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Short-Term Objectives
- Organize a core of automotive manufacturers and suppliers
to green their supply chains within Canada and Mexico
- Exchange of resources, information, and tools within
the sector towards greening the supply chain between manufacturers
and suppliers
Mid-Term Objectives
- Create and expand business-driven self-supported auto
supplier partnerships in North America (Canada, Mexico
and the United States)
- Reduce environmental impacts and improve economic capacity
through activities adopted by auto supplier partnership
programs
- Reduce the environmental footprint of the automotive
supply chain and improve competitiveness for the automotive
sector
The panel for this session included government and automotive
industry representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United
States, including:
- Maria Petrou, Chemical Management Plan Coordinator, Environment
Canada
- Sandra Galindo, Profepa
- Tom Murray, Chief, Prevention Analysis Branch, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
- John Bradburn, Staff Environmental Engineer, Global Environmental
Programs, Design for the Environment, General Motors
- Jim Laney, Senior Manager, ES&H, DENSO International
America, Inc.
Pictured: Panelists pictured as listed
above, from left to right
The panelists reviewed ongoing efforts in their country of
potential interest to the project, including the Green Suppliers
Network (GSN), E3: Economy, Energy and the Environment, Environmental
Leadership for Competitiveness, the National Environmental
Audit Program, and success stories / best practices learned
through the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP).
In addition, they discussed the opportunities to continue
to build on the CEC’s work in “Improving the Economic
and Environmental Performance of the North American Automotive
Industry Supply Chain”, such as:
- Developing resources and training programs for manufacturers
in the automotive industry in Canada and Mexico similar
to GSN / E3 in the United States
- Collaborating and sharing best practices and technology
opportunities from SP and other programs across the North
America automotive supply chain
- Sharing tools and resources that have already been developed,
and ensuring that these are easily accessible and applied.
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