U.S. Department of Commerce

Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership
The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a nationwide system that helps manufacturers maximize their potential and grow their businesses.

• Green Suppliers Network
  By partnering with the Green Suppliers Network, you will learn lean manufacturing techniques coupled with sound environmental strategies, which we call the Lean and Clean Advantage.
• Interagency Network of Enterprise Assistance Providers (INEAP)
  Interagency group created to support small manufacturers, thereby supporting the U.S. economy. INEAP members from federally funded assistance and extension programs have joined together to eagerly explore and implement innovative ways to work together. We are committed to offering the best information and assistance that can be provided, particularly at this time when the economy is transitioning, global competition is building exponentially and every program and organization is scrambling to find ways to maximize resources while serving larger numbers to achieve greater impacts.
• E3 - Economy, Energy, Environment
  A coordinated federal and local technical assistance initiative that is helping manufacturers across the nation adapt and thrive in a new business era focused on sustainability.

Tech-Based Ecomonic Development Resource Center
A cooperative project of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy and SSTI has resulted in this interactive website that permits you to tap into the wealth of information that is available in those reports. Hundreds of reports have been prepared over the last four years on topics ranging from strategic plans to research on entrepreneurship from best practices to addressing the brain drain.

NIST National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI)
A resource that provides standards research services to help businesses determine which standards they need to develop to gain market access.

Notify U.S.
Notify U.S. is a free database and alert service that enables manufacturers  and exporters to learn about proposed regulations that might pose  barriers to exporting their products and gaining entry to markets  outside the U.S.

U.S. Export Assistance
An international network comprised of trade specialists and commercial officers in over 250 cities worldwide, the U.S. Commercial Service is in a unique position to serve the needs of U.S. exporters and help them succeed internationally.

Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative
Information portal for U.S. companies on U.S. federal government support for sustainable manufacturing in the United States.

State Economic Development Agencies
EDA helps distressed communities address problems associated with long-term economic distress, as well as sudden and severe economic dislocations including recovering from the economic impacts of natural disasters, the closure of military installations and other Federal facilities, changing trade patterns, and the depletion of natural resources.

Small Business Administration

Small Business Administration
SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
SBA ensures that the nation's small, high-tech, innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal government's research and development efforts. Eleven federal departments participate in the SBIR program; five departments participate in the STTR program awarding $2billion to small high-tech businesses. The U.S National Science Foundation administers the SBIR.GOV site on behalf of the federal government.

U.S. Department of Labor

Public Works System
The public workforce system is a network of federal, state, and local offices that function to support economic expansion and develop the talent of our nation’s workforce.

Career Voyages
Career Voyages provides career and labor market information for high-growth and demand-driven jobs.

Workforce Investment Act State Plans
ETA required states to submit a State Plan modification to describe the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and required states to submit responses to a limited set of questions in the State Plan Guidance. Many states submitted a stand-alone document that responded to the specific questions for which ETA required response, as ETA encouraged.

Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED)
Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) is a groundbreaking approach to workforce and economic development.

U.S. Department of Education

American Competitiveness Initiative
President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative aimed to strengthen education in the U.S. by improving math and science education, foreign language studies, and high schools.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

For U.S. Industry
The central site for EPA’s work with industry. It includes links to EPA-run technical assistance program sites, EPA’s Design for the Environment program, its Sector Strategies Program, and a link to the EPA partnerships site where businesses can search for partnership opportunities with EPA.

Environmental Stewardship
This site allows users to search for EPA programs for business that support efforts for environmental stewardship.  Search results can be narrowed down by environmental issue, industry sector, type of information and geographic location.

Sustainability
This site is divided into four key sections: Built Environment; Water, Ecosystems, and Agriculture; Energy and the Environment; and Materials and Toxics.  There are, under each section, links to policies and programs, research tools and technologies, and assessments and performance measures.

SmartWay Transport Partnership
The SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaboration between EPA and the freight industry to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution.

Climate Leaders
Climate Leaders is an EPA industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. Partner companies commit to reducing their impact on the global environment by completing a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions based on a quality management system, setting aggressive reduction goals, and annually reporting their progress to EPA.

Green Power Partnership
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary Partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and organizations that are interested in reducing their carbon footprint through the purchase of ‘green power’. Through this program, the EPA supports organizations that are using or who are planning to use green power. Members range from local governments to Fortune 500 companies.

WaterSense
This site provides information for businesses on best ways to conserve water and information on EPA’s WaterSense program. Links to the EPA Portfolio Manager, which can help businesses monitor their energy and water usage, can also be found on this site.

Green Buildings
This site provides general information on green building with links to various EPA sites that support green building practices.  Certain sections of this site are dedicated to green building for business.

EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR)
Part of the government-wide SBIR program, EPA funds research and development projects in areas such as clean technology, pollution prevention, water treatment, innovative manufacturing practices and many others.

Business Opportunities
This site has a section for business and industry where companies can find information on government administered, sustainability-related technical assistance programs, public-private partnerships, small business resources, financial resources, government contracts and research tools.

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
EPEAT is a procurement tool to help large volume purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare, and select desktop computers, notebooks, and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also provides a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products and provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their products.

Small Business Gateway
This is the starting point for information on environmental management for small businesses.  It includes information on financial resources available to SMEs in the area of environmental management as well as EPA technical assistance programs focused on regulatory compliance and cost savings.

U.S. Department of Energy

Industrial Technologies Program
DOE’s Industrial Technologies program works with U.S. industry to improve industrial energy efficiency and environmental performance. The program invests in high-risk, high-value R&D projects, conducts on-site energy efficiency assessments for U.S. companies, and disseminates best practices in the field of energy management.

DOE Small Business Innovation Research Program
DOE’s SBIR program provides funding to small businesses for research and development on projects related to “clean” technology innovation.

Loan Guarantee Program
DOE’s loan guarantee program provides loan guarantees for environmentally-friendly energy projects in areas such as solar, wind, and alternative fuels.  The goal of the program is to encourage innovation and deployment of “clean” technologies.

Energy Savers
The Energy Savers program is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help companies improve energy efficient business practices.

EERE Financial Opportunities
This site provides information on financial assistance opportunities for businesses to increase their use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies.

Energy Star
Energy Star is a joint program between EPA and DOE that aims to help consumers and businesses save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. The program develops energy management programs in conjunction with U.S. companies and helps them track their progress and cost savings over time.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

USDA National Research Initiative
The National Research Initiative is a competitive grants program that provides research funding to organizations in areas such as water and air quality as well as bio-based product development.

USDA Small Business Innovation Research Program
Provides research and development funding to small businesses in the area of alternative and renewable energy technology.

BioPreferred
USDA’s BioPreferred site provides a resource for businesses seeking to purchase bio-based products or sell bio-based products to the public and/or private sectors. This site includes a list of USDA-approved bio-based products.