Electric Utility Industry Executives Meet to Move toward a More Sustainable Supply Chain

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Electric Utility Industry Sustainability Supply Chain Alliance (The Alliance) hosted its inaugural Utility Alliance Sustainability Forum, in Phoenix, AZ at the Phoenix Sheraton Downtown with more than 160 electric utility executives in attendance sharing best practices, networking and visiting with 15 industry suppliers showcasing their products and services during the 1-1/2 day event.

Matt Bogoshian, U.S. EPA's Senior Policy Counsel at the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention was the keynote speaker for the event. During his 50 minute conversation with the audience, Matt reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's commitment to the complex issue of sustainability. He also expressed that trust between the public and government is necessary to move the needle for a more sustainable environment.

The event had a full morning of presentations sharing the progress The Alliance has made in its short three-year tenure as a 501(c)6 voluntary standards setting organization. The history and development of The Alliance's working teams were explained and the results of the Life Cycle Analysis conducted on Wood Poles, Wire and Cable and Transformers were also shared. The Alliance's suggested best practices from the working teams' research will be posted for public view on their website www.euissca.org. The results from The Alliance's third annual supplier survey were revealed, and questions and answers were provided to those in attendance about the value and importance the organization places on participation and results of this survey.

The Alliance's goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within their members' supply chains and to have their suppliers commit to reducing GHG emissions took a major step forward with the premier of two videos. One, a motivation video urging companies to commit to reducing GHG emissions and to reduce energy usage and the other, a descriptive video demonstrating the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) review process within a cable manufacturing company. Both of these videos will be available to the public in the first quarter 2012.

A series of concurrent workshops were scheduled throughout the afternoon. The first set of workshops included eight suppliers in the industry sharing how their companies reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. The second workshop showcased four utility best practices to move towards a more sustainable supply chain. One utility explained how their procurement process uses a scorecard as a tool to evaluate suppliers on their environmental performance. Another explained how the voluntary RFP questions suggested by The Alliance are utilized in their procurement process. The next utility shared information about a self-designed employee program to reduce miles driven to and during work that plays an important role to help the utility reach their GHG reduction goals. The last organization in this workshop was an industry interest group that shared a report identifying sustainability priorities in the electric power industry.

The final workshop was presented by representatives from three United States Federal Agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce's NIST-MEP. They shared a plethora of resources available to all companies to help reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions.

The participants agreed this Forum engaged the industry and was a step in the right direction to advance sustainability. Plans are currently underway for the 2nd Utility Alliance Sustainability Forum during the fourth quarter of 2012 in Phoenix, AZ. Please visit The Alliance's website frequently for an update.

To see the complete schedule of events and a list of those attended, please visit www.euissca.org.

SOURCE Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance