APPENDIX A: POTENTIAL PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES
The following is a summary of potential opportunities suggested
throughout the year for consideration by project participants
in the United States, Mexico and Canada as CEC works towards
“Improving the Economic and Environmental Performance
of the North American Automotive Industry Supply Chain”.
- 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
- Addressing regulatory complexity –federal
vs. state vs. local regulations, prescriptive vs. performance,
conflicting regulations; opportunity for harmonization of
regulations across North America
- Emerging chemical regulations / chemicals
in products
- Inconsistencies in regulations across
OEMs
- Gaining support of upper management /
funding for environmental projects
- Bridging generations / cultural differences
- Gaining employee buy-in for environmental
programs
- Customer quality / driven specs
- Communicating / driving small business
environmental innovation to decision makers at OEMs and
Tier 1 Suppliers
- Understanding of Return on Investment
(ROI); business value of environmental projects
- Improved interaction between United States,
Mexico and Canada and better understanding of shared objectives
- Returnables
- Consistency
- Residential sorting
- Political tactics
- Water, output performance
- Mixed waste, standards, energy from waste
- Sharing tools / resources related to Chemicals
Management. However, a challenge for the project in Canada
would be to identify a Chemicals Management project deliverable
that would be unique and more advanced than what Environment
Canada is already doing with the Chemicals Management Plan
- On a North American basis, the CEC project
could be a valuable networking tool for companies; a resource
to share global best practices and solve environmental challenges
in the auto supply chain; tool on how companies can help
a supplier to be more sustainable, respond faster to challenges,
connect to local resources and do their jobs better
- Develop a forum of subject matter experts
in each country that can drive solutions to environmental
challenges
- Regulatory burdens on manufacturers in
Canada are increasing, including: advanced greenhouse gas
verification and reporting requirements, ongoing air standards
reviews, compliance certificate reviews and toxics reductions
requirements. Recommend a focus on outcomes based projects
- There is a concern for U.S. based businesses
regarding import of record vs. non-resident importer issues
in Canada
- Addressing creative approaches to toxics
reductions challenges; e.g. guidance documents
- Increasing harmonization of federal and
provincial environmental regulations
- Building on existing systems / processes
and models that have demonstrated success
- Working with government entities to highlight
regulatory challenges that if addressed would lead to increased
economic development in the Canadian automotive manufacturing
sector
- Developing case studies on North American
environmental technology implementation challenges, and
strategies to progress forward. Companies have encountered
challenges introducing new technologies in Canada because
of increased complexity and cost of doing business
- Sharing approaches and best practices
that have worked well in one country and adopting / adjusting
them for use in other countries
- It is important that the project address
unique issues that are not already being addressed by existing
organizations – for example, there are a number of
organizations in Canada that have as their mission advocacy
for the automotive industry.
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