Reshoring Initiative’s Corporate Social Responsibility Estimator (CSRE) Project

An extension of the Reshoring Initiative’s Total Cost of Ownership Estimator®

CSRE is an engine for including social responsibility in corporate sourcing and siting decisions. The CSRE will advance the domestic economy and minimize manufacturing’s worldwide environmental impact while maintaining or improving corporate earnings.

The Reshoring Initiative has a long-standing commitment to helping bring good, well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the U.S by assisting companies to more accurately assess their total cost of offshoring with our Total Cost of Ownership Estimator™ (TCOE). We seek support to build on the success we have achieved for domestic manufacturing, as recognized by the U.S. Commerce Department, and expand the TCOE to incorporate a more detailed quantification of social impacts beyond the corporation.

CSRE will focus on quantifying the societal impacts of sourcing decisions in two key areas: the environment, and the domestic economy. By giving corporations a clearer and more accurate understanding of their decisions’ impacts, we will accelerate the reshoring of manufacturing to the U.S., yielding a better outcome for the U.S. economy, the planet and the participating companies. The mission of the CSRE Project is twofold: to improve the sustainability of the U.S. economy and to reduce corporate supply chain footprints on the world environment. Upon funding, the timeframe of the project from development to initial launch is anticipated to be one year.

Environmental impact: CSRE will estimate the relative environmental impact of companies’ individual offshoring or reshoring decisions. Production shifted offshore, especially to China, is negatively impacting the environment. A recent study entitled “Targeted opportunities to address the climate–trade dilemma in China” by Dr. Zhu Liu of Harvard et al, is one of the many studies that reach this conclusion. By shifting production from China to the target market, the U.S., companies will reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation, industrial production and goods transport. The CSRE project will reduce manufacturing’s worldwide environmental impact.

Sustainability of the U.S. economy: Accelerated reshoring will promote national economic sustainability by adding more jobs, increasing individual and corporate taxes paid and decreasing unemployment compensation and other safety net and government stimulus expenditures. Manufacturing has the highest multiplier effect among the major sectors. Every job created in manufacturing creates additional jobs in other sectors that supply, support and service manufacturers. The CSRE will estimate companies’ individual offshoring or reshoring decisions’ impacts on the net aggregate national budget deficit due to resulting changes in government revenues and expenditures.

By using both the TCOE and the planned CSRE companies will recognize that they can do well while doing good. The combined quantifications will help the companies decide which products can be brought back at a desired level of profitability and social responsibility. User data suggests that about one million jobs (25% of what is offshored) would come back if companies universally shifted their sourcing decisions from price/wage rates to TCO. Adding CSRE will motivate more companies to act on the 25% and, hopefully, increase the eligible percentage.

We appreciate your consideration in this important national project. We would be pleased to provide any additional information for your review.

Sincerely,

Harry Moser

Founder/President

E-Mail: harry.moser@reshorenow.org