Greener Business: Insights from Strive for Sustainability 2018
by Lauren Laibach, NAPCOR Director of Data Services
“Strive for Sustainability” reads the prominent title on the banner for the 2018 Federation of New York Solid Waste Association’s conference and trade show. It’s the biggest state recycling conference in the Northeast, with over 500 professionals in the solid waste and recycling fields attending annually. And it’s no wonder that the word “sustainability” should be front and center at such a gathering – recycling is undoubtedly the cornerstone of the public’s perception of what environmental responsibility entails.
This focus was evident in the content of the presentations. In fact, an entire breakout session was devoted to the concept of green business. Given that the world of recycling enjoys an inherent reputation as a green industry, it can be easy to become a bit complacent and fall into the trap of thinking that as individual companies, our sustainability obligations are already taken care of. But with a concept as far-reaching as sustainability, it’s not just about the industry we’re in, but how we run our businesses. That’s what the “Business Programs Lead to Greater Sustainability” session was all about – getting back to basics such as the triple bottom line and third-party environmental certifications.
Within the plastics industry, there’s an interesting paradox in terms of public perception. On one hand, we’re the folks who are committed to ensuring that the recycling infrastructure for single-use plastics, and particularly PET – the most widely recycled plastic in the world – continues to support the sustainability premise that underpins our branding. But the other side of the picture is regular headlines and disturbing photos garnering concern over the amount of plastic pollution in marine environments. When environmental problems such as this one arise, the tendency is to villainize industry and lash out against the product in question – which has led to proposed legislation and corporate initiatives to phase-out or ban plastic packaging. But as we in the PET industry know, this is a simply a flawed approach to solving a very real problem. When contained in a closed-loop system, PET can be recycled again and again, which results in substantive environmental and economic benefits. The question, then, is how can sustainable closed-loop PET recycling be reconciled with environmental threats such as marine pollution?
It’s certainly a complex challenge, but perhaps the simplest step that individual companies in the PET value chain can take is to go the extra mile to demonstrate a commitment to the communities and environments they impact. Many companies have established Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives related to sustainability and the environment. For those that haven’t yet, or don’t know where to start, there are many resources available to businesses, such as state affiliates of the American Sustainable Business Council (for example, New York Sustainable Business Council) that offer online workshops and conferences to help you reduce your company’s environmental footprint. The EPA offers a step-by-step approach to greening your small business in its Smart Steps to Sustainability 2.0 online resource; its stated objective is to help you “move beyond environmental compliance and into sustainable practices by providing awareness, understanding and resources to help develop sustainability goals.” A variety of free resources are available online – the first step is just doing your research!
Perhaps your business already has a sustainability strategy. If so, the next step is to identify where there’s more work to be done. Sustainability is not something that can really be attained – it’s a vision that we must constantly work towards through an ever-evolving process of assessment and creative problem-solving. With the help of the resources outlined above, you’ll be on your way to ensuring that you’re not just a part of a green industry, but can call yourself a green business as well.