Hey guys!
Holy Toledo it’s finally snowing in Chicago! And it’s lovely!
So my interview with the Editor of Plastics Technology Magazine for Dordan’s feature as The sustainable thermoformer in PT’s 3-part series on sustainability and packaging went vundebar. It was so fun talking shop with fellow plastic processing enthusiasts!
You know how in my last post I described how I hoped that the feature may present a daringly honest story of Dordan’s journey into sustainability? That is, not just another puff piece touting the benefits of sustainability but a company-specific reflection of sustainability as business strategy. Anywho, I think we are going for it, and I hope that it is compelling for those wrestling with “sustainability” as a business goal.
I invite you to read the email I sent my friend at PT prior to our interview, introducing these ideas. I look forward to sharing the story with you; expect it early March.
Hey!
Thanks for your patience this week! When you asked Dordan to be profiled as The sustainable thermoformer for PT’s 3-part series on sustainability and packaging I was extremely honored and excited. As I began marinating on what I wanted to prepare for the interview, however, I began to grow concerned; this is because I have not created any new sustainability tools, services, initiatives, etc., that have not already been covered in another media outlet. The reasons for this are complex and multi-faceted; reasons that I would like to explain to you in the consideration of a somewhat provocative approach to Dordan’s feature as The sustainable thermoformer. Interested?
As you know, I began working as Dordan’s Sustainability Coordinator about 3 ½ years ago. Having no idea what to do or where to start, we joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, where at my first conference, I learned thermoformed packaging was not recycled in the majority of American communities. From that point on, I began investigating waste management and the state of clamshell recycling; these efforts were narrated in my blog, which caught the attention of Walmart Canada’s Sustainable Packaging Coordinator who asked me to serve as the co-lead the PET Subcommittee of the Material Optimization Committee. This working group was dedicated to increasing PET recycling in Canada, including PET thermoforms. Six months later I published “Recycling Report: the Truth about Clamshell/Blister Recycling with Suggestions for the Industry©”, which outlined the main obstacles keeping thermoforms form being recycled in America and contained options to overcome said obstacles. I presented these findings at numerous conferences and they were covered by various publications. In 2011 these efforts were honored with a cover story feature in the Sept./Oct. issue of Green Manufacture Magazine, which was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Since the release of my Recycling Report© PET thermoform recycling has increased substantially, thanks to the efforts of NAPCOR, APR, Canadian Grocers Association, SPI, etc.
During this time Dordan developed sustainability tools and services that we thought our clients would use to design more sustainable packaging systems. We subscribed to COMPASS, which is the SPC’s LCA-based, comparative packaging assessment tool; we subscribed to the Walmart Scorecard Modeling 3.0 software, where we learned how to design packaging that would achieve better Scores; we created a 4-Step Design for Sustainability Process, where customers were provided with an easy approach to facilitate quantifiable environmental savings; and, we developed the Bio Resin Show N Tell, which now contains 9 alternative resins, like PLAs, PHAs, Bio-PETs, etc., and includes associated specs and a cost analysis.
Also during this time we also focused on developing internal sustainability initiatives at Dordan, like achieving zero-waste, composting our food and yard waste, community activism and organic gardening. From attending the Green Manufacture Networks’ ZWTL workshop at Burts Bees to converting a plot of Dordan’s land to an organic farm, we invested in making Dordan a more sustainable company.
Meanwhile, I continued to attend SPC conferences and other sustainability and packaging conferences, where I was an active participant, narrating the discourse in my blog and publishing white papers often, like our newest “How to Assess Sustainable Packaging: an Overview of the Tools and Resources Available.”
Because the clamshell recycling initiative had taken on a life of its own since the publication of Recycling Report© and because I had exhausted all other sustainability initiatives and efforts, I began brainstorming on new sustainability ideas. I was interviewed by a sustainability consultant, who after asking me a variety of questions determined that while Dordan had developed a lot of external sustainability tools, like those customer-centric items described above, it had done little to reduce the environmental burden of Dordan’s manufacturing process. Interested in this, I soon discovered that the only way to increase a manufactures’ sustainability profile is to first measure it; that is, establish a baseline off which progress can be gauged. And how best to measure one’s environmental requirements?!? Perform an LCA, but of course! I began reading “A Hitch-hikers Guide to LCA,” which described the methodology and function of the various LCA assessments. And guess what? There is practically no way a company can measure its environmental footprint without hiring a professional agency and performing a third-party review; all of which takes extensive experience and investment. For a medium-sized domestic manufacture of plastic packaging, however, such an investment is nearly impossible to justify from a business perspective.
Ok...I thought to myself. Now what? How can I optimize Dordan’s processes to reduce its environmental burden without the tools to measure our existing performance? I reached out to the SPC, which I had been an active member of for 3 years. Did they have any streamlined tools—like COMPASS for assessing packaging—for assessing the “carbon footprint” of manufacturers? I contacted the designer of COMPASS, who explained I should perform an “inventory analysis” of Dordan, selecting several metrics, like energy consumption as per our electric bill, and comparing with the industry average for packaging conversion via thermoforming per some consistent functional unit i.e. 1,000 clamshells produced. Yikes, I thought to myself. I wonder if there are other thermoformers that would be interested in this type of analysis; maybe I could form a member-working group within the SPC to tackle these issues together, thereby giving the assessment more legitimacy to outside stakeholders? I emailed the SPC, describing my dilemma and inquiring into their thoughts in these regards. Because the SPC was going through a dramatic re-staffing, my emails were not answered and I grew restless.
At the next SPC meeting the member-companies were called upon to describe how the SPC could be of value to them going forward; I explained the desire for some type of package manufacturing i.e. thermoforming, streamlined LCA working group (and suggested even entering this LCIA data to the existing databases to tackle “data holes” for packaging converters), and my struggles with achieving a economically sustainable model for zero-waste. I forgot to mention that concurrently to investigating how to perform an LCA of Dordan we joined the Chicago Waste to Profit Network, which was comprised of Chicago-land manufactures looking for “by-product synergies;” that is, actualizing the parable “Ones man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Through their data-sharing software platform Cirrus, members were allowed to input materials going to landfill and materials of interest. By identifying commonalities among the geographically related manufacturers, material was diverted from landfill and costs were saved. However, because of the limited entries to the database, few synergies were actually achieved; consequently, I introduced the tool to the SPC hoping they could encourage member companies to submit their data, thereby increasing the chances of developing more by-product synergies i.e. expanding the network.
As I continued to hit dead ends for bringing sustainability at Dordan to the next level, we began to discuss the repercussions that our efforts have made on Dordan’s bottom line. While it has earned us publicity and enhanced our brand identity as thought leaders, it is difficult to quantify the ROI. Often I hear from our sales team that the people they are selling to are not really interested in sustainability, just cost. While our corporate blog had gotten a ton of traffic, it wasn't the “right” type of traffic insofar as generating qualified leads is concerned (the tension between Marketing Director and Sustainability Coordinator perhaps). While we had hundreds of people download our white papers on sustainability, they were usually competitors, suppliers, or consultants. Suddenly I found myself at a crossroads, where the initial idealism of “sustainability” began to give way to the reality of business. Dordan has weathered the economic storm and business is thriving. Now I ask: how much so is this the result of our sustainability efforts and how much the result of 50 years experience providing quality thermoformed packaging solutions?
If “sustainability” for our customers is not a purchasing priority, if consumers won’t pay more for sustainable products and packaging, and if we are but a fraction of the contribution to the carbon footprint associated with the products we package, why do we continue to invest so heavily in it?
You have honored Dordan and our efforts to be green with the invitation to be profiled as The sustainable thermoformer for your series on packaging and sustainability. I want to take this opportunity to be honest and helpful to those loyal to your publication: not presenting another puff piece that places the sustainability movement on an unattainable and unrealistic pedestal but a true description of one company’s journey into the sustainability.
If this approach to our feature is too outlandish and odd, that is totally no problem and I look forward to the possibility of brainstorming other options with you. I was somewhat nervous even being this transparent as I don't want you to feel our previous sustainability efforts were not genuine, quite the contrary. Nor do I want you to take this as indication that Dordan holds no corporate commitment to being a sustainable manufacture and providing sustainable packaging solutions to our customers. But experience has taught me that while you can lead a horse to water, you can’t make him drink.
I look forward to your feedback,
Chandler