On November 6-7, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) convened its first committee meeting to initiate the US-AEP-sponsored study, "The Use of Industrial Environmental Performance Indicators by APEC Economies to Set Environmental Improvement Objectives and Track Progress." The NAE committee comprises representatives from U.S. multinationals in the automobile, chemical, electronics, and pulp and paper industries, as well as universities and nongovernmental organizations. Presentations were made by Owen Cylke, US-AEP Policy Coordinator; Randy Yamada, US-AEP Secretariat; and Ambassador John Wolf, Senior U.S. Official/Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC). APEC economies participating with the U.S. include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Chinese Taipei. (China is still considering its position.) Through this high-profile initiative, metrics will be recommended that assess characteristics such as material use, efficiency, energy consumption, disposal costs, and internal recycling. The initiative will culminate in a 1998 APEC conference in California, where APEC economies will present the results of their studies on performance indicators.

Along with World Bank researchers, US-AEP's Shakeb Asfah discussed the design and implementation of public performance audits (PPAs) during a November 5 Resources for the Future seminar in Washington, DC. In attendance were approximately 30 participants from research institutions, academia, government agencies, and the private sector. The discussion focused on the rationale for PPA systems--in which regulators evaluate the performance records of polluters and make the records public--and included a segment on the success of Indonesia's Program for Pollution Control, Evaluation and Rating (PROPER). PROPER has resulted in a significant improvement in participating companies' average performance and wastewater pollution control and is now being emulated in the Philippines, Mexico, and Colombia. In related efforts, Asfah will provide technical assistance over the next year to Indonesia's Environmental Impact and Management Agency (BAPEDAL) to expand the performance rating system to include air pollution and hazardous waste disclosure.

Several US-AEP staff members and partners acted as speakers and moderators in the First Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Cleaner Production, held November 12-14 in Bangkok, Thailand. Andrew Blelloch, Senior Advisor to the Clean Technology and Environmental Management (CTEM) program, spoke about corporate competitive advantages resulting from cleaner production-oriented environmental management systems, while Michael Rock, Senior Economist with US-AEP partner Winrock International, and John Butler of US-AEP's Policy Group, discussed leveraging market forces to promote cleaner production (CP). CTEM Technical Manager Sam Tumiwa moderated a session on greening the supply chain and spoke about establishing, supporting, and networking among CP information centers in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, Tumiwa made a presentation on environmental/industrial extensions. Dennis Zvinakis, Asia Coordinator of US-AEP's Policy Group, moderated a session on tools for evaluating benefits and costs of industrial CP options. David Moldavsky, Program Officer for the US-AEP's Environmental Exchange Program, provided an exploration of available CP education and training resources, and Steve Newburg-Rinn, US-AEP Managing Director for Environmental Policy, moderated a panel on emerging models of public environmental performance disclosure. Finally, Kevin McDonald of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable --another US-AEP partner--moderated a session on procedures, problems, and opportunities for country-level CP roundtable organizations in the Asia Pacific region. McDonald also moderated a panel on goals and procedures for planning future Asia-Pacific regional CP roundtables.

Bob Beckman, Managing Director of US-AEP's Technical Support Services Contract, presented an overview of US-AEP activities at the November 12 International Energy & Environmental Summit in Portland, Maine. During a segment on "International Opportunities," Beckman outlined US-AEP programs to help local businesses sell their technologies in Asia. Other speakers included Braden Allenby, AT&T Vice President for Environment, Health and Safety, and John DeVillars, regional EPA Administrator for New England. DeVillars addressed the need for the EPA to go beyond regulation and enforcement, instead working with industry to make technology and product life cycle choices that will create the next wave of sustainable growth. Allenby discussed the disconnect between the current regulatory focus on manufacturing and the fact that the services sector constitutes 70 percent of the economy. "What is the environmental impact of a Fedex in a developed economy?" he asked, posing a question that can't currently be answered.

Julie Haines, Managing Director of US-AEP's Clean Technology and Environmental Management (CTEM) initiative, was one of two speakers invited to address UTC's International ISO 14000 Forum held October 30. The other speaker was the Environmental Director for AT&T's Lucent Technologies, Inc. The meeting provided a forum for UTC operating companies to discuss lessons learned and plans for ISO 14000 certification. Haines announced the progress of the CTEM/UTC Memorandum of Understanding on greening the supply chain, a program scheduled to begin in Malaysia this December. Other topics discussed included US-AEP's ISO 14001 programs and ISO 14001 reciprocity issues.

According to a report by Environmental Business International, Inc. (EBI), the U.S. environmental industry posted the lowest annual growth ever in 1996--only 1.2 percent--as opposed to growth rates of 8-14 percent during the '70s and '80s. EBI President Grant Ferrier states, "The environmental industry must radically reorient its products and services to meet the changing needs of its customer base, whether or not there is the much-needed substantial innovation in environmental policy." EBI reports that companies faring best are those exploiting economic drivers rather than lagging environmental policy and moving away from a focus on waste management towards resource management based on customer service and technology. A flat market in the U.S. has led to greater investment in building international business--60 percent of the $2.2 million revenue gain for the entire environmental industry in 1996 resulted from exports.