Why A Sustainability Strategy Is So Important

How — and why — to achieve sustainability in the supply chain was the focus on Wednesday during the “Sustainability Strategies Luncheon: Inside and Out,” hosted by Mike Compton, product marketing manager, Top Value Fabrics. The chair of SGIA’s Sustainability, Health, Safety, and Personnel Advisory Council introduced a panel of three industry experts who offered perspectives gained from their experiences with their companies.

Jenny Dela Cruz of Snowball Print Marketing stated that she spends a lot of time on contract pricing for paper for her direct mail customers. “There’s a lot of compromising that happens” in providing the right solution, she said.

Texas Nameplate’s Dale Crownover described how his company created a vision statement on sustainability to be a role model for the industry. Among other steps, the company reclaims solvent, recycles about 250,000 gallons of water a year, and eliminate VOCs — all saving about $220,000 a year. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said.

Brett Thompson of Piedmont Plastics, representing the distributor channel, offered how his company looks at what products are recyclable or biodegradable, the carbon footprint involved in their transportation, the impact of their facilities, and “our people.”

“Selling with purpose is what drives everything,” he said. “The key to doing this the right way is the process,” not the product.

One audience member asked how marketers can decide what sustainability claims or statements to believe by the industry. “There’s so much disinformation out there,” Thompson replied. “There’s a big disconnect between what is theoretically recyclable and what is economically viable.” The challenge now is to “create a domestic infrastructure for what we can do very well,” he said.