Operating 'in the Green'

Faced with a growing awareness of the need to protect the environment, P-O-P producers are placing greater importance than ever before on ecological sustainability. Although driven in part by demand, many have found that their efforts have benefited them internally in a number of ways, including significant reductions in energy consumption. For example, Gavin Mfg., Ronkonkoma, N.Y., derives 100% of its energy from wind power. "We actually produce more energy than our own facilities consume," says Chris Gavin, president of the family-owned temporary display producer. "We feed the excess back into the grid and actually get paid for it."Pace Industries, Reedsburg, Wis., a supplier of printable plastic sheet and roll stock, not only relies on wind power for its energy needs but also focuses on various ways to reduce its overall energy consumption. "Simply by installing a more efficient HVAC system, we were able to reduce consumption by 400,000 kilowatt/hours," says Blake Pace, president. The cooling water that Pace Industries uses is a self-contained loop that normally does not require makeup water from the municipal system. "Our current cooling system evolved over time," he says. "When we first decided to use a closed loop system, we realized that we would need to use one or more additives to prevent scale buildup. We looked long and hard to find a non-toxic, biodegradable organic additive that would not be harmful to the environment if we ever needed to discharge some of our water. It is slightly more expensive than some of its toxic counterparts, but in the long run, it still saves us money by eliminating the need for make-up water."Green In, Green OutAlpak Display Group, Saddle Brook, N.J., a manufacturer of stock and custom corrugated displays, has reduced its energy consumption by adding insulation and lowering the heat when certain sections of the plant are not busy. "More importantly, however, we have gone to a slightly lighter medium, using our own proprietary process that allows it to be stretched tighter without reducing its crush strength," says Jason Taub, vice president. "Using this process, we have reduced our materials use by over 5%."All of these benefits are achieved with no increase in production costs. "They have remained essentially the same," he says. "With an additional step, the process is a little slower but our 5% savings in material cost makes up for the slight reduction in efficiency."Alpak also uses media with greater post-consumer-waste content as it becomes available. "The inks that we use are water-based and are recycled as black," says Taub. "We also recycle our tooling back to tool and die manufacturers whenever possible."Gavin Mfg. strives to reduce waste as well, primarily by re-using and recycling materials. "If anything, environmental awareness has decreased our manufacturing costs," says Chris Gavin. "We have replaced foam inserts between layers of corrugated with fluted paperboard, for example. This not only adds strength, but also makes the display 100% recyclable."Weber Display and Packaging, Philadelphia, has managed to reduce its manufacturing costs as a result of environmental awareness. "We've used soy based inks for many years now," says Tony Buscemi, vice president, marketing & sales. "We are now in the process of becoming SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) Certified." One area Weber has concentrated on is raising its product-to-packaging ratio without increasing the possibility of damage to the product. "We have realized significant savings by reducing the amount of board we use and the number of parts in our displays and packages," he says. "We also save money by using environmentally friendly paper because it is actually less expensive than bleached white board."Sustainable MaterialsProduct design changes, especially those involving increased use of environmentally friendly materials, go a long way toward improving sustainability. Some producers, however, have gone a step further by actually developing and marketing new, more sustainable materials. Pace Industries, which specializes in extruded plastics, developed a line of engineered materials that look, feel and process like standard polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene, but incorporate polymer technology that facilitates degradation into particulate form whether discarded as litter, buried with commercial or residential compost, or disposed of in a landfill. "Although these materials solve a particularly severe disposal problem, they are still produced from non-renewable fossil fuels," says Theresa Vanna, national sales manager. "Our Biographics line, however, is an exclusive sheet and roll product that starts with a renewable agri-based (non-petroleum) polymer extruded by Pace using renewable energy. It is certified through an independent laboratory as compostable per ASTM 6400-04. This certification means that it will ultimately biodegrade to its original basic chemical elements, which then disperse harmlessly into the environment."Ryan Scott Inc., Greensboro, N.C., even uses an eco-friendly green janitorial service. "A chemical free clean is very important to our entire staff," says Scott Brevda, project manager. "We have adapted recycling programs at each workstation, creating a common goal among the workforce. Our customers and prospects are glad to see this and applaud us for our efforts in this area. It is definitely something we emphasize in our discussions with them."End Users Also AwareSpreading the word is high on the agenda of some CPG marketers as well. "NBC Universal is owned by GE, which is very strongly pro-sustainability," says Elizabeth Bishop, vice president, creative services, NBC Universal Studios, Universal City, Calif. Bishop, whose responsibilities include packaging and marketing DVDs for the company's home entertainment unit. She cites, as an example, the company's innovative website (www.greenisuniversal.com), designed to "bring an environmental perspective to our networks, our platforms, our audiences, our communities [with] green-themed programming." The in-store marketing platform is no exception. "We have been under lots of pressure for the past three years to use more recycled/recyclable materials and reduce the amount of packaging used for DVDs," Bishop says. Universal has been aggressively re-designing P-O-P displays to design out as much raw material as possible. The focus is on using less pulp on the liner, avoiding bleached materials when possible, getting as much yield out of the blanket sheet as possible, and nesting everything."We also have not only increased the Post Consumer Recycle (PCR) content," she says, "but have cut 10%-20% from the overall amount of packaging we previously used." The display case for the "Evan Almighty" DVD not only contains 75% PCR, but the cover is printed with solid ink, a new color-printing technology from Xerox that's more environmentally friendly than color laser printers. It generates only 5 pounds of waste (no cartridges to dispose of in landfills) per 100,000 pages compared to 157 pounds for a conventional color laser printer. Solid ink requires less energy because of the simplicity of the process, and uses less fuel to ship because the packages are lighter and smaller than toner cartridges. "We have also developed a special paper foam packaging that is 100% biodegradable," says Bishop. "We don't use it for all of our DVD's, but we always use it for certain environmentally conscious retailers such as Wal-Mart. We also use it to package a 3-piece set of DVD's of season one of the hit television show, Eureka."The cost of sustainable packaging may have been higher initially, she says, but because NBC Universal buys in such huge volume, the company refuses to accept increased cost. "We mandate sustainability, and then leave it up to our suppliers to achieve it," Bishop insists. "Most of them seem to have figured it out. If they are passing the savings on to our competitors, that's just fine with us." NBC Universal also makes sure that its retailers and their customers and prospects are aware of their environmental efforts by labeling sustainable packaging with the line, "Contains At Least 10% Recycled/Recyclable Material." Universal has its own in-house task force, which meets biweekly to discuss alternatives, but it also is looking to an unusual source for ideas: its competitors. "We all have a common goal--to increase sustainability and to be better corporate citizens," she explains. "Being green is in part about being less selfish and more altruistic, and thinking about these concepts gets you into the spirit of collaboration. The focus on sustainability has led to the best collaboration industry wide that I've ever seen." GE has sponsored daylong events to exchange ideas, she notes, supported by the other key studios. "Everyone commits to a 10-hour day to talk about what can be done." If all of the studios can commit to one format, she notes, suppliers will be able to generate the volume needed to minimize costs. The collaboration was emphasized April 2 when the Digital Entertainment Group hosted an invitation-only "Green Media Summit" for key media companies at the Luxe Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. "I'm not completely clear on what value an aggregator adds to this process," Bishop admits. "I don't know that we, as studios, need an outside organization to arrange these programs."Intangible BenefitsBesides the obvious benefit to the environment and the cost savings that environmentally conscious companies have realized from their sustainability efforts, there are a number of intangible benefits as well. Chris Gavin says that sustainability has improved his employees' morale. "They are proud to be working for such an environmentally conscious company," he says. "Our customers also greatly appreciate it." Buscemi notes that Weber's customers appreciate Weber's efforts, in part, because they can, in turn, cite sustainability as a reason why their customers should do business with them.Pace agrees: "Employees and customers alike regularly offer suggestions as to how we can do even more, and we have adopted a number of these ideas. And it goes beyond the boundaries of our facility. During Pace's annual health fair, the company offers training courses in environmental sustainability to area residents. "We led the way in getting people to use neighborhood electric vehicles, which are basically souped-up golf carts, for short trips around town," Pace says. "Instead of filling them with gasoline, they simply plug them into an electric outlet to recharge their batteries." Joseph Pettipas, vice president and director-retail/hospitality for HOK, an architectural and display design firm located in Toronto, emphasizes community outreach too. "We have hosted quite a few 'clean up the city' days," says Pettipas. "We have also invited school children in to discuss the future of our planet over the next several decades. These efforts were, in part, a result of our celebration of the 10th anniversary of our Toronto office whereby we did not celebrate the past ten years but rather looked toward the next ten years through the telescope of environmental, societal and global responsibility. Our customers and prospects are definitely aware of this. In fact, they typically seek us out as a result of our public stance on environmental responsibility."Alpak Display Group's Taub notes that his company has begun supplying local organizations with collection boxes for recycling toys and clothing. "Our employees have taken it upon themselves to offer a variety of suggestions to reduce waste and increase sustainability," he says. "I feel better about doing my job and knowing that I work for an environmentally conscious company," says NBC Universal's Bishop. "There is more collaboration among peers, who hold regularly scheduled meetings to discuss how to do even better. And customer response has been 'over the top.' They continually challenge us to do better, asking what we have done for the environment lately."

Operating 'in the Green'

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