Being Sustainable Involves Everyone

Sustainability is a growing trend, but in order to be successful, it can’t be thought of as just a passing fad. It needs to be approached as a long-term way of doing business. And doing that involves global cooperation. That is the message Poteet Printing Systems President Roger Poteet was trying to convey when he addressed attendees at TAPPI Corrugated Packaging Division’s general session yesterday.

“Sustainability is a journey. It does not have an end point,” Poteet emphasizes.

Using Montgomeryville, Pa.-based Mid-Atlantic Packaging’s dedication to sustainability as a model, Poteet says becoming a sustainable business involves everyone from the employees to the customers, to ultimately the entire planet.

To break it down, Poteet says businesses should begin with senior management and develop a mission statement that will serve as a guiding principal. Mid-Atlantic Packaging’s President and CEOAndrew Pierson has made sustainability a full-time responsibility at his company with specific goals and objectives. And that commitment is backed up with both the finances and the personnel to accomplish it.

The sustainable business accepts responsibility and that involves making decisions based on energy and resources, Poteet says. There is quite a bit of weighing the best options to make the most sustainable decision. And the right decision may vary from company to company.

He uses ink dispensers as an example of becoming a more sustainable box plant and shows advantages and disadvantages of petroleum-based resin verses soy-based resin in inks. While using a soy-based resin can mean a major reduction in the carbon footprint, he says, there is “no real substitute” for petroleum.

He also showed how air from a scrap conveyor system can be recycled back into the machines, rather than being released through the roof. This can reduce horsepower by 12 percent, Poteet claims. There also are opportunities in heating, lighting and landscaping, he adds.

Seven factors Poteet refers to as “The Magnificent 7” can serve as a model for corrugated converters who want to become more sustainable. They are:

•Stronger business

•Work better

•Continued growth

•Measure savings

•Market advantage

•Positive impact

•Journey cornerstone

It is the challenge of businesses to take advantage of new advancements and determine where they can be applied, Poteet says.