01-6948. BEES Please

ACTION:

Proposed collection; Comment request.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506c(2)(A).

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted on or before May 21, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Madeleine Clayton, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6086, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet [e-mail]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Barbara C. Lippiatt, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8603, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8603.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Over the last six years, the Building and Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed and automated an approach for measuring the life-cycle environmental and economic performance of building products. Known as BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability), the tool reduces complex, science-based technical content (e.g., up to 400 material and energy flows from raw material extraction through product disposal) to decision-enabling results and delivers them in a visually intuitive graphical format. BEES Please is a voluntary program to collect data from building product manufacturers so that the environmental performance of their products may be evaluated scientifically using BEES.

NIST will publish in BEES an aggregated version of the data collected from manufacturers that protects data confidentiality, subject to manufacturer's review and approval. BEES measures environmental performance using the environmental life-cycle assessment approach specified in the ISO 14040 series of standards. All stages in the life of a product are analyzed: raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and recycling and waste management. Economic performance is measured using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard life-cycle cost method, which covers the costs of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal. Environmental and economic performance are combined into an overall performance measure using the ASTM standard for Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis.

II. Method of Collection

Data on materials use, energy consumption, waste, and environmental releases will be collected using an electronic, MS Excel-based questionnaire. An electronic, MS Word-based User Manual accompanies the questionnaire to help in its completion.

III. Data

OMB Number: None.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Business.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 90.

Estimated Time Per Response: 62.5 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1875 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Public: $0 (no capital expenditures required).

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to the notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Dated: March 15, 2001.

Madeleine Clayton,

Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.