Innovation in Sustainability Medium Co.: Miller Paint Co.

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When Miller Paint Co. introduced its solvent-free Arco Pure paint line in 1994, it may have been a little ahead of its time.

"Demand wasn't quite as high as it is today," said Dan Saunders, Miller's marketing and advertising manager.

Yet being ahead of the game is part of the Miller culture, said Saunders, who, along with CEO and President Steve Dearborn, point to several areas — paint recycling, low-energy retail operations, zero-waste manufacturing — in which Miller outpaces its building supply industry rivals.

Today, Miller is right on time, by heading programs that encourage consumers to recycle their coatings and collaborating with Metro regional government as the agency expands its recycled paint distribution.

And its Acro Pure line is not only safe, it’s known among contractors as a top-quality paint.

“While we do have the background of moving toward sustainability early, our customers are also demanding it,” Saunders said. “We have architects who are specifying paint based on whether they can earn (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. On the retail side, customers want ultra-low odor and low-VOC paints.”

Miller Paint practices sustainability tenets in each of its 34 stores and instills it in its 250 employee-owners. Thanks to its early foray into solvent-free coatings, the company is an industry trail blazer that eagerly helps its customers and other business partners play sustainability catch-up.

“The industry is absolutely starting to get it,” said Dearborn. “At first, there was a resistance to sustainability because people didn’t want to change the way they do things. Then, it started to trickle into the market in the 1990s. Now, the industry is taking the ball and running with it.”

Few are running as fast as Miller, which is excelling on several different green levels.

For example, Miller joined NW Natural’s Smart Energy program, which helps it offset natural gas usage at 19 retail locations. Miller helped NW Natural offset 14,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 1.4 million gallons of gasoline, during 2008.

The company has also earned third-party certification through Green Seal, a nonprofit that evaluates business practices and sets standards for pro-environment products.

“There’s a growing reputation for Green Seal certified companies: They’re doing the right things and creating products that really deserve recognition,” Saunders said.

Miller will also participate in Oregon’s PaintCare Program. The program calls for retailers to collect fees from contractors and consumers, then use that money to fund the recycling of unused paint. Select Miller locations will serve as the program’s collection points.

Miller helped lobby Oregon lawmakers who approved the program. Dearborn also serves on the board of a nonprofit created to oversee Paint Care’s machinations.

“Most people may paint a wall, and then the leftover paint sits in a garage for three to five years until enough cans are collected that they think they ought to do something with it,” Saunders said. “This will put the onus on us as paint manufacturers to take the paint back. And because there’s a fee, it’s self-supporting.”

The program will begin July 1.

The company also, in the name of green business, works with a competitor-of-sorts. Miller has begun selling Metro’s recycled paints in its stores.

“Other manufacturers have asked us how we can conceivably sell something that competes with our virgin products,” Dearborn said. “We do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

The company is also working to reduce energy usage within its retail outlets.

Of the company’s programs, Dearborn is proudest of his manufacturing facility’s “zero-discharge” production methods. Everything the company consumes is put into products or otherwise used. It does not immediately discharge its wastewater. And it created reusable wooden trays to transfer its products, “instead of using cartons that people throw away and end up in landfills,” Dearborn said.

Miller isn’t yet formally encouraging its suppliers to adopt sustainability strategies. However, many Miller business partners are going green anyway.

For instance, one supplier began distributing drop cloths made of recycled plastic. Miller proudly carries the product.

“Whenever its possible, we’re integrating these things into our product mix so that it makes sense for both us and the customer,” Dearborn said.