Sustainability 101 for Wisconsin Manufacturers

Sustainability 101 for Wisconsin Manufacturers

John B. Tweddale, PG, CHMM
BT Squared, Inc.

Deconstructing the Buzzword

How do you define “sustainability”?  Ask 10 people that question and you’ll hear vastly different opinions, depending on their perspective:

• Plant manager           
• Homeowner            
• Banker
• Wal-Mart executive       
• Real estate developer       
• Regulatory agent

In the broadest sense, sustainability is the capacity to endure.  As a business manager, it means your company will be a viable, going concern for generations to come, even if the products and services change.  In the current social setting, sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  It also encompasses the “triple bottom line” of social, economic, and environmental issues, also known as the “Three Ps” of people, profit, and planet.

What does this mean for your industry?  The U.S. Department of Commerce established the Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative and defines Sustainable Manufacturing as:

The creation of manufactured products that use processes that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees, communities, and consumers and are economically sound.

Makes sense, right?  Streamline process inputs, and maximize useful outputs.  Most of the manufacturers we work with view sustainability as a “beyond compliance” strategy that is proactive and voluntary, rather than reactive or regulatory-driven.  This is why sustainability ties in so well with Lean/Six Sigma, systemic continuous improvement (SCI), quality and environmental management systems, etc.  Businesses that run lean are simply more productive, profitable, and have a smaller “footprint” than companies with waste-filled operations and processes.

Getting Started

Many manufacturers start down the path of sustainability with one or more ad-hoc projects to improve their bottom line or respond to a customer expectation.  For example, energy efficiency/retrofit projects address two of the three P’s – quick payback (Profit) and reduced CO2 emissions from electricity consumption (Planet).  With time and experience, businesses incorporate more sustainability objectives into their long-term corporate strategy, annual operational/capital budgeting plans, employee satisfaction metrics, and community relations plans (People).

According to a Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council Survey conducted in 2009, the most common sustainability projects in our state were designed to improve energy efficiency, establish metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs), and calculate carbon footprint or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  The driving forces were:

• Cost reduction
• Improved efficiency, and
• Corporate/brand image. 

The top barriers to progress were cost, perceived lack of monetary return, and lack of staff time.  How about you?  What have been your barriers to making progress on sustainability?

The 2008 Wisconsin Next Generation Manufacturing Survey revealed that more than half of the 500 respondents were making little or no progress toward world-class sustainability, and that most companies did not have company-specific metrics, regular monitoring, or transparency in their green/sustainability efforts.  However, success stories from Wisconsin Manufacturers like Reliable Plating Works and Johnson Controls highlight multiple levels of opportunity for revenue growth, cost savings, innovation, and differentiation.  What are your sustainability success stories?  Please share them here!

Do you need help with your sustainability program?  We understand the unique challenges of small and midsize manufacturers and we’d be happy to discuss your program. If you have any questions about this blog, getting started, or improving your sustainability program, feel free to contact WMEP at 608.240.1740 or sm.mgr@wmep.org