Sustainable Practices Creating
Business Value

‘Connecting the Dots’ — Generating Value with a Story

Overview - There are very few products with no competition on the retail shelf.  Suppliers are always looking for their next competitive advantage or that unique selling proposition. Retailer and consumer awareness of how the products they purchase are made and what raw materials are used to make them continues to increase, and along with that is continued pressure to deliver high quality products at a lower cost. 

In this competitive environment, creativity becomes a key element to success – In essence asking: “How can my products become more relevant to my customers and consumers?”  Sustain has an ever increasing network of value generating resources that help our clients answer that question with creativity and integrity by executing tailor-made initiatives that identify and connect sustainability technologies and opportunities to their core business platform.  Examples may include:

• Energy management technology that cuts energy use and extends the life of key equipment.
• Utilizing waste streams from unrelated industries to replace virgin raw material sources.
• ‘Not for resale’ retailer waste suppliers can convert to ‘value streams.’
• Transport/logistics services that leverage daily ‘direct-to-store’ deliveries of retailer operational shipments.

Project Example -  A large manufacturer of disposable consumer products that historically needed to landfill it’s trimming waste streams due to its multiple raw material content and color came to Sustain seeking help.  We worked with multiple affiliates to identified a use for the waste stream in order to turn a cost center into a revenue generating by-product of their existing manufacturing process. The result -- a domestically produced stuffing for pillows and dog beds that reduced transportation costs and the carbon footprint of that company’s product line.  As an additional “win” Sustain connected more dots to identify a national organization capable of creating employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and other barriers to employment to fill the pillows and the dog beds in their facilities under their own supervision.

Benefit - Every successful company will one day have a sustainability ‘story’ to tell their customers and consumers.  Often it simply requires seeing opportunities through the lens of sustainability. For this client, the unseen value within their grasp was lower waste disposal costs, a new revenue source, a better environmental footprint, and credit for supporting for their largest customer’s own sustainability goal of “zero waste.” In addition, the pillow and dog bed manufacturers lowered their finished cost of goods, and improved their environmental and social footprint.  All the result of “Connecting the Dots” for our clients.