World Trade - December 2008 - (Page 46)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY equipment and if they have no-idling policies. Maybe they use APUs (auxiliary power units) on their trucks, which mean they use a fraction of the fuel required to heat and cool the cab. In fact, Wal-Mart has saved $25 million and 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year just by installing APUs on their ﬂeet.” Hoel also points to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay (www.epa.gov/smartway) program as a good example of collaboration. The program, begun in 2004, aims to reduce emissions in the supply chain. Most of the more than 700 members are trucking ﬁrms, but railroads and shippers are increasingly being represented. Companies that participate in SmartWay save money, reduce fuel consumption, and are recognized for their social responsibility and leadership. The EPA is strengthening its presence in the green arena with another program called the Green Suppliers Network (www. greensuppliers.gov). The Green Suppliers Network is a collaborative venture among industry, the EPA, and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP). Speciﬁcally, the Green Suppliers Network works with large manufacturers to engage their small- and medium-sized suppliers in low-cost technical reviews that employ Lean and Clean methodologies to increase productivity, reduce waste, and boost proﬁtability. At the recent eyefortransport Sustainable Supply Chain Summit in San Francisco, Kristin Pierre, an executive with the Green Suppliers Network, noted that 5 years ago, only 12 percent of companies de-selected suppliers for failing to meet sustainability criteria. Today, that number has risen to 32 percent, and within the next ﬁve years it’s estimated that 76 percent of companies will choose not to work with a supplier if they don’t meet sustainability criteria. “Green and ethical is no longer an option; it’s a necessity,” stressed Pierre. While most companies are familiar with lean methodologies, the addition of “clean” practices boosts the costs savings, she explained. Clean opportunities can be found in energy and water conservation, reduction of water pollution and air emissions, and reduction of solid waste and hazardous waste. One supplier that participated in the Green Suppliers Network—a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and manufacturer of Listerine mouthwash—reduced its annual waste by 200,000 gallons and saved 40,000 gallons of water annually, which helped it attain savings of $250,000 annually. An executive with the company remarked, “We had never looked at product packaging, water use, or energy use as part of our lean discussions. We now know how wasteful our practices really were and understand the connection between lean initiatives and clean beneﬁts.” The Green Suppliers Network assessment costs $4,500 and takes 2 to 3 days to complete. Furthermore, companies need not worry about the federal government getting a glimpse into their operations either, assured Pierre, because the assessment team does not include EPA personnel and all information is conﬁdential. Richard Yim, Vice President, Products and Marketing, for SmartTurn (www.smartturn.com), a provider of on-demand inventory and warehouse management system (WMS) solutions, also appreciates the relationship between lean and green, particularly in the warehouse environment, which is still very paperintensive. Indeed, Yim estimates that about half of the 500,000 to 600,000 warehouses in the U.S. still rely on paper rather than an automated system. BRINGING YOUR TOGE FOLD ON THE DOTTED LINE. BRING TO OPPOSITE PAGE http://www.epa.gov/smartway http://www.greensuppliers.gov http://www.greensuppliers.gov http://www.myyellow.com http://www.smartturn.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - December 2008

World Trade - December 2008 Contents The Promise of Peril The Current Reality with IP in China Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds Performance Partners: Awards of Excellence Managing With Mobility What 2009 Bodes for the Supply Chain Small Business Takes to Export Green is Here for Good Fast Fashion

World Trade - December 2008

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