The Roads to Sustainability

1. The Roads to Sustainability A World Café Examination of Four Paths US Environmental Summit New Orleans-May 2007

2. Agenda • Presentation of the pathways • Supply Chain Dynamics • Product Stewardship • Sustainable Consumption and Production • Corporate Social Responsibility • World Café • Question • Logistics • Activity • Summary

3. Supply Chain Dynamics Dual pressures on Supply Chains today: • Global competition is leading to the loss of manufacturing jobs in industrialized countries. Companies must find and eliminate waste in order to reduce cost and be more competitive. • Greater pressure on OEMs to minimize their impact on the environment for the benefit of their customers, their community and their workforce (e.g. ISO 14001)

4. Supply Chain Dynamics DEVELOPING GREEN SUPPLIER NETWORKS: • Based on Lean &Clean technical assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturers within supply chains • Result is improved industry competitiveness through environmental and economic benefits • Expands the traditional lean definition of waste to include environmental wastes (materials, energy, emissions) • This dual, market-driven approach aligns the interests of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, and government interests at both state and federal level • Multi-level collaboration among State, Regional and Federal pollution prevention and economic development programs delivers technical assistance to the supply chain

5. Supply Chain Dynamics Benefits of a Collaborative Lean & Clean Supply Chain Lean Reduces: DefectsOverproductionWaitingNon-utilized PeopleTransportationInventoryMotionExtra processing • Clean strives for: • Nature-friendly Substitutes • Optimized Material Efficiency • Waste Elimination • Air/Water Emission Reductions • Solid/ Haz Waste Reduction • Toxic Material Reduction • Efficient Packaging

6. Supply Chain Dynamics OEMs partner with state, provincial, federal supply chain Technical Assistance Programs OEMs invite key suppliers to participate in a Lean and Clean Assessment of their operations Supplier agrees to participate, and identifies a key value stream as the focus of the assessment Lean & Green assessment develops a future state improvement plan Supplier implements lean & clean recommendations

7. Product Stewardship • The office furniture industryis teaming with • NSF International • National Center for Manufacturing Sciences • US EPA • & over 100 stakeholders representing business, government, nongovernmental organizations and all other interested parties to develop a BIFMA Sustainability Assessment Standard (SAS)

8. Product Stewardship - Strengths of a Standard • The BIFMASAS will be an ANSI Standard that provides a uniform definition of business and institutional furniture sustainability in the marketplace, providing a concise message to help customers specify environmentally sustainable products. • The BIFMASAS will minimize the proliferation of expensive, proprietary certification programs developed with less transparency and stakeholder involvement. • The BIFMASAS will offer a credible, consensus-based assessment standard that enables companies of all sizes create products and operate their facilities in increasingly sustainable ways.

9. Product Stewardship - Challenges of a Standard • Consensus means “general agreement” on the details of any standard. The inability of a stakeholder to accept positive steps on the road to sustainability weakens the collaborative process. • The development process of a standard takes a lot of time. Passionate, talented people may become impatient with the pace or taken away by other demands. • ANSI Standards are updated at least every five years but sustainability innovations are developing quicker than that so the BIFMA SAS may require ongoing revisions.

10. Product Stewardship -Three Action Items • Become a stakeholder in BIFMA International’s Sustainability Assessment Standard (SAS) development process. Contact Brad Miller - bmiller@bifma.org • Join the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Rating System includes commercial interiors and BIFMA was the first trade association to join. - www.usgbc.org • Act locally! Before leaving town, join the Summit’s volunteers building houses, restoring the city’s wetlands, or visit Tipatina’s and donate to their non-profit organization which has worked diligently to rebuild the New Orleans' music culture. - www.tipitinasfoundation.org

11. Sustainable Production/Consumption Production Products & Services Consumption • Sustainable production (def’n) • Creation of products & services using processes that conserve • Beneficial to well being • Sustainable consumption (def’n) • Use of products & services over entire life cycle • Minimize impact on future generations

12. Sustainable Production/ConsumptionBenefits • Operational efficiencies • reduced waste disposal, energy, raw material usage, operational & maintenance costs • Improved worker safety • Lower risks for public, staff, community and the environment • Reduced liability • Reduced regulatory compliance expense • Reduced insurance costs • Improved employee morale, public image • Less material demands resulting in less infrastructure costs

13. Sustainable Production/ConsumptionChallenges • Capital requirements • Specifications • Regulatory issues • Available time/technical expertise • Inertia • Difficulty in building the business case • Unwillingness by companies to influence consumer consumption patterns

14. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) • Corporate Social Reporting (CSR) is understood to be the way industrial firms integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their values, culture, decision making strategies, everyday operations, in a transparent and accountable manner. • CSR is voluntary & is about what companies can do, not what they must do. • Businesses utilizing CSR can add value to their operations, by taking a closer look at their environmental and social aspects.

15. Pollution Prevention Reduced Potential Business Risks Sustainable Consumption Eco-Efficiency Cost Savings Environmental Economic Payback Financial Reporting Product Stewardship Energy Efficiency Green Marketing Green Building Social Re-use/Recycle/Compost Corporate Social Responsibility Supply Chain Management Health & Safety Green Procurement Staff Training/awareness Human rights/Labour rights Volunteering in Community Stakeholder dialogue Corporate Social Responsibility: Components…. EMS (ISO 14001) Environmental Reporting Customer Satisfaction Community Investment

16. Corporate Social Responsibility: Benefits to Business • Anticipate and prevent business risks • Enhanced operational efficiencies & cost savings • Enhance corporate/brand image • Improved stakeholder relationships • Improved competitiveness & market position • Recruitment of talented staff & improved employee morale • Ability to attract & build better supply chain partners • Access to capital • Clear link between sustainable production & sustainable consumption initiatives

17. Corporate Social Responsibility: Challenges • CSR is appealing to large multi-national companies that produce voluntary sustainability reports • CSR is much more difficult to implement for small-to-medium sized manufacturers due to resource constraints • Credibility of CSR reports is suspect in minds of ENGO community because of lack of independent verification

18. World Cafe • CAFÉ OBJECTIVE: Gathers visionary and action based intelligence in an informal way. • Guidelines • Listen for insights and share discoveries • Connect diverse perspectives • Encourage everyone’s contribution.