The May 1998 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by Nike, US-AEP, and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) holds promise for improving the environmental performance of footwear, textile, and apparel factories in Asia. As specified in the MOU, Nike will build a "model green factory" in Asia and work with US-AEP and BSR�s Apparel Working Group and Education Fund to identify and implement a number of environmental improvement projects in Asian supplier facilities. These projects will incorporate components of a "model green factory," such as green building design, process optimization, and use of environmental management systems (EMS). Based on the results of these activities, Nike and BSR will develop and distribute a "toolkit" to help other textile, apparel, and footwear companies reduce their environmental impacts.

From May 29 to June 8, US-AEP and United Technologies Corporation (UTC)�the world�s fourth-largest corporation, with factories in nearly all the world�s countries�held a pilot activity to "green" its suppliers in Malaysia. The program involved assessment of environmental health and safety (EH&S) practices in several UTC metal finishing and fabrication supplier facilities, as well as two UTC-owned factories. A senior UTC team led by Fred Johnson and Nick Shufro, with US-AEP/CTEM staff Julie Haines, Conchita Silva, and Subrata Mazumder, enabled the group to study the facilities� manufacturing inputs (e.g. raw materials, energy, water) and outputs (e.g. wastes, air emissions). The team also cited innovative practices, technologies, and products that could assist suppliers, and in turn UTC, in meeting EH&S goals and objectives. This endeavor, called the Asian Environmental Supplier Outreach Program (AESOP), is a component of the MOU signed by UTC and US-AEP in 1996 and is intended to help UTC establish EH&S standards for its many facilities.

US-AEP/CTEM conducted an ISO 14001 workshop in San Francisco, California, from June 14-21, designed to help US-AEP�s cooperating countries and territories establish internationally recognized accreditation systems for ISO 14001. In addition to attending the workshop, representatives from accreditation bodies in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand participated in meetings of the International Standards Organization�s (ISO) Technical Committee 207, which was created to establish standards for environmental management tools and systems. Workshop sessions were conducted by ISO 14000 experts from the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to TC 207, Global Environment & Technology Fund (GETF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Registrar Accreditation Board, and ISO Task Force for Developing Countries (DEVCO).

Based on the needs expressed by the Asian participants, an Action Plan was developed that leads the accreditation bodies through a time-phased process and culminates with international recognition of their accreditation system. This plan designates a six-stage path for each accreditation body, beginning with efforts to establish conformity with ISO/IEC Guide 61 (the current guide for conformity assessment for quality management); assessment of local conditions and demand for certification and accreditation; and development of preliminary timetables for self-assessment and "friendly" audits with regional colleagues and international experts to address nonconformity. Progress will be reviewed at a second, regionally based workshop supported by US-AEP in late 1998-early 1999. Through these activities, US-AEP�s cooperating countries and territories will move toward accreditation for their environmental management systems in tandem with the industrialized countries.

In continuing efforts to foster the expansion of Asian industrial environmental extension systems, US-AEP is working closely with existing Asian organizations that actively promote the use of more efficient, less polluting industry practices. US-AEP, through its CTEM initiative and Environmental Exchange Program, arranged for a delegation from Singapore and the Philippines to observe various extension models in the United States. The study tour, held June 8-19, was designed to equip Asian participants with the tools needed to design suitable extension models for their own organizations. Activities included meetings with extension organizations from Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Diego, California; and the Washington, DC, areas.

At the tour's end, participants from the Philippines�Mr. Reynaldo Esguerra and Dr. Christopher Silverio, Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI); Dr. Elias Escueta and Mr. Eduardo Reyes, Pollution Control Association of the Philippines (PCAPI); and Ms. Lisa Antonio, Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP)�drafted a blueprint for an industrial environmental extension system in their country. The blueprint identified the Philippines Pollution Prevention Roundtable (P3R) as the umbrella organization that will coordinate efforts of more than 30 extension organizations. In addition, the CTEM Center of the Singapore Confederation of Industries (SCI)�represented by Ms. Kavita Gandhi�announced that it will work with the Productivity Standards Board (PSB) and several other local organizations to establish a comprehensive industrial environmental extensions system for Singapore. The partnership will benefit from the CTEM Center's access to industry and effective outreach programs, and from PSB's technical capabilities.

US-AEP recently facilitated efforts between U.S. and Filipino organizations that will contribute to the establishment of an environmental technology verification center in the Philippines. The Philippines Department of Science and Technology�s Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) was connected by US-AEP to the Civil Engineering Research Foundation�s (CERF) Environmental Technology Verification Center (EvTEC). The two groups have agreed to enter into an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which, when implemented, will assist the ITDI in establishing protocols for the verification of environmental technologies in the Philippines. Under the agreement, ITDI will send two participants to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC) Technology Verification Workshop�sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and hosted by CERF�scheduled to be held in Seattle, Washington, in late August-early September of this year. In a subsequent trip, ITDI will send four technical managers to the U.S. to participate on an EvTEC technology verification panel, during which an environmental technology product will be evaluated.