Green leaders

In a struggling economy, making supply chains more environmentally sound isn’t as easy—or as clear a priority—as it once was. Deborah Aarts sits down with with six experts to find proven, cost-effective ways to go green.

Earlier this spring, with the recession still close in the rearview mirror, MM&D hosted a roundtable discussion to assess the state of sustainability initiatives in Canadian supply chains.

At the table were six industry experts: Jack Ampuja, president of Supply Chain Optimizers; Bob Dineen, president and general manager of Dominion Warehousing & Distribution Services Ltd; Bob Edwards, vice-president and general manager of Green Age Design; Barry Murphy, national sales manager at Wheels Group; Donna O’Reilly, vice-president of commercial financial services at RBC Royal Bank (which sponsored the event); and John Scheel, vice-president, supply chain at Grand & Toy.

A recurring theme in the discussion was the importance of creating green solutions that are really effective—from both an environmental and cost perspective—in today’s economic climate. As the panellists shared experiences and ideas, the following five best practices emerged.

1. Learn to identify greenwashing

The roundtable agreed on one fact: it’s easy to talk the green talk. These days, nearly every company has the word “sustainability” featured prominently in its corporate literature. With organizations of all shapes and sizes broadcasting the same message, it’s tough to separate the legitimate leaders from the greenwashers that deliver no real improvements.

That’s why it’s important, when evaluating suppliers or service providers, not to take sustainability claims at face value.

“A mission statement is only a meaningless line on a piece of paper if it’s not part of company culture,” Dineen said.

“Do companies actually live up to the mission that everyone externally—as well as internally—is looking at? Are they really doing the things they say they are?” Ampuja asked.

“The worst thing is for a company to say ‘we’re going to do something’ and then make zero progress. At that point, they’ve lost credibility entirely.”

What is the best way to make sure your partners are living up to their promises? According to Ampuja, it’s all about the data.

“Don’t just give me verbiage. Give me numbers,” he said. “I want to see actual reports and details on what you’re doing to prove that you’re green so that we can all line up together.”