The American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and the Management Association of the Philippines, with the support of US-AEP's Clean Technology and Environmental Management component, presented a one-day seminar entitled "Corporate Strategies in the Environmental Age." The event, held September 10, 1997, in Manila, brought together seven American-based multinational firms to share their management experiences in an effort to accelerate the on-going process of the adoption of effective environmental management systems in the Philippines. In addition, three Philippine businesses discussed their companies' adoption of environmental management techniques. For example, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) recalled its participation in a US-AEP exchange to examine how U.S. banks take environmental decisions into their credit and lending decisions. This exchange resulted in the development of an Environmental Policy Statement and the creation of an Environmental Management Unit at DBP. BPS also spoke at the seminar and highlighted the benefits of its US-AEP exchange in which its delegation became familiar with ISO 14000 promotion, accreditation, certification, and current industry experience. Finally, the Undersecretary for Industry and Investment of the Department of Trade and Industry presented the government's view on how both the government and the business sector are taking a proactive approach on environmental management standards. The seminar was well attended by Filipino CEOs and Managing Directors.

US-AEP and the World Bank co-sponsored a workshop on "Environmental Compliance and Enforcement," held September 15, 1997, in Washington, DC. Topics discussed included regulatory innovations in the United States, European Union (EU), and NAFTA, and a methodology for designing compliance policies, that is being prepared by the World Bank with the assistance of Mike Rock of the US-AEP Policy Group. Participating in the discussions were World Bank project managers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Illinois EPA, EU representatives, as well as members of the U.S. policy research community.

John Butler, US-AEP Director of Public Policy Activities, was a panelist at the Unison Institute Toxic Release Inventory and Right-to-Know Conference, held September 15, 1997, in Washington, DC. The panel, which included Natalie Roy, Executive Director of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable, and officials from the World Bank, OECD, Canada, Mexico, as well as NGO and industry representatives, addressed the challenge of how the international community can support public disclosure of environmental information.

In India, Kevin Bricknell was interviewed by "Business Week" on the potential of the environmental market in India for U.S. companies. In Korea, Chi-Sun Lee delivered a lecture at Pohang University of Science an Technology on environmental directions in the United States. More than 50 attended the presentation, including representatives from the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (RIST). RIST is the research arm for Pohang Steel --the world's second largest steel company. In Thailand, US-AEP exhibited at NRG-Con '97 to promote US-AEP programs on energy efficiency, ISO 14000, and clean technologies. In Taiwan, Kamran Ahktar gave an interview to the China External Trade Association exploring the U.S. perspective on Taiwan's environmental progress and reviewing US-AEP programs.

We continue to improve and upgrade the US-AEP Website! Check out the new section on Press Releases...it provides detailed information on US-AEP activities, such as the Indonesian Pollution Prevention Roundtable conference, new publications, and other conference participation. We've also added a new Tech Rep page that details the services they offer and provides links the U.S. Commercial Service and Department of Commerce.

The Government Institutes (GI) is presenting a two-day seminar entitled" Far East Environmental Laws and Regulations: Compliance Strategies and Business Opportunities, " October 27-28, 1997, in Washington, DC. Learn about recent developments in environmental programs in Asia and how they affect business transactions. Understand how to work with regulatory agencies in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, and India and find out what direction these agencies are taking. For more information, contact GI via phone: 301-921-2345 or fax: 301-921-0373.

Welcome to Arup Kumar Mitra, who joins the US-AEP/India team as the Technology Representative in Calcutta. Arup is a chemical engineer with four years of combined experience as a sales engineer for Exide Industries (a battery company) and a production engineer for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Ltd. Previously, he was responsible for the overall sales of the Waste Management Division of Thermax Ltd. Arup received his degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in Calcutta and is currently working on his MBA. Join us in welcoming Arup to the US-AEP team!

Farewell to Dana Mun, who served as environmental engineer with US-AEP's Environmental Technology Network for Asia for the past two years. Dana is moving on to pursue a master's program in international business at the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees in Paris, France. Though sad to leave US-AEP since she says " it has been a positive experience for me to work with such a talented group of people, " Dana looks forward to hearing more great news about US-AEP on the other side of the Atlantic!