by Hank Boerner – Chair and Chief Strategist – G&A Institute
In these closing days of the year 2018, of course, we’ll be seeing shared expert perspectives on the year now ending and a look into the new year, 2019. Sustainable Brands shared one person’s perspectives on three sustainability trends that are gaining momentum heading into 2019.
The commentary is authored by Renee Yardley, VP-Sales & Marketing of Rolland Inc., a prominent North American commercial & security paper manufacturer established in 1882. The company strives to be an environmental leader in the pulp and paper industry. A wide range of fine paper products is made using renewable energy, recycled fiber, and de-inked without the use of chlorine. Rolland started making recycled paper in 1989 and adopted biogas as an energy source in 2004. The company is privately-owned and headquartered in Quebec, Canada.
The trends the author explains, do of course, affect users of all types of paper products — but also are useful for businesses in other sectors & industries. He sees: (1) a shifting of global recycling mindsets and in the circular economy; (2) more open collaboration and partnerships for impactful change; and (3) the need for more measurement and efforts to quantify impact.
Rolland is a paper supply company and so there is a focus on recycled (post-consumer) paper, fiber, forests, the recycled paper process, moving toward zero waste, municipal recycling in North America, and so on.
On recycling: we are seeing reports now of problems arising in the waste stream; in the USA, municipalities are calling for a reduction of waste and automating processes (to help reduce costs). There are new on-line marketplaces as well for buying and selling recovered items. The “market solution” is a great hope for the future as we continue to use paper products (we are not quite a paperless society, are we?).
Part of the issues recycling advocates are dealing with: China is restricting the import of recyclable materials (think: that paper you put at curbside at home of business). Consumers can be encouraged to reduce consumption but paper is paper and we all use it every day – so new approaches are urgently needed!
That leads to the second trend – developing and leveraging partnership & open collaboration: Yardley writes that collaboration across the spectrum of an organization’s stakeholders can help to address supply-chain wide sustainability if an organization can “understand the wider system” it is operating in (citing Harvard Business Review). And, if an organization can learn to work with people you haven’t worked with before.
Rolland, for example, leverages biogas as a main energy source, partnering with a local landfill to recover methane (since 2004). This trend is on the rise, with the EU biogas plants expanding by 200% (2009-2015).
And then there is Measure and Manage: Environmental measuring and reporting is an important part of a company’s sustainability journey – at the outset and continuing and at G&A Institute we stress the importance of reporting year-to-year results in a standardized format, such as in a GRI Standards report — most important, including a GRI Content Index.
At the Sustainable Brands New Metrics conference in 2018, SAP explained that organizations integrating ESG objectives see higher employee retention, and minimizing of risk for investors.
Renee Yardley’s commentary is our Top Story choice for you this week – do read it and you’ll find excellent examples of how companies in various sectors (Ford, Microsoft, Starbucks, Patagonia, Unilever) are dealing with their sustainability commitments in the face of challenges posed.
This Week’s Top Story
Three Sustainability Trends Gaining Momentum for 2019
(Friday, December 14, 2018) Source: Sustainable Brands – In the spirit of looking ahead to 2019, we’ve identified three important societal trends for 2019, relating to sustainability in business…