EPA-industry partnerships often have low costs and high benefits.  An example of a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help small and medium-sized manufacturers stay competitive and profitable while reducing their impact on the environment is the Green Suppliers Network.  The Green Suppliers Network provides technical assistance and other tools and resources related to lean manufacturing, environmental improvement, energy efficiency, and chemical management. 

The program touts, among its benefits, that member companies can:

• Find customized solutions to manufacturing challenges
• Save money and increase capacity
• See immediate results through hands-on training on the shop floor
• Achieve additional savings and efficiencies beyond traditional lean techniques
• Improve supply chain relationships

The Green Suppliers Network efforts focus on its Lean and Clean Advantage.  Lean and Clean attempts to go beyond traditional “lean” processes (defects, overproduction, waste, non-utilized people, transportation, inventory, motion, and extra processing) and instead includes environmental waste as a focus (nature-friendly substitutes, optimized material and energy efficiency, waste elimination, air/water emission reductions, solid/hazardous waste reduction, toxic material reduction or substitution, and efficient packaging).

With the Lean and Clean Advantage, manufacturers quantify:

• Energy, water, or raw materials used in excess of what is needed to meet consumer needs.
• Pollutants and material wastes released into the environment, such as air emissions, wastewater discharges, hazardous wastes, and solid wastes (trash or discarded scrap).
• Hazardous substances that adversely affect human health or the environment during their use in production or presence in products.