Business sustainability, in practice

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Members of The Eugene Rotary Club were concerned that a substantial number of local businesses not only did not have sustainable practice policies in effect, but also appeared to lack knowledge about the benefits to be gained from implementing such policies.

After looking into the question, it became clear that one of the impediments to sustainability policy adoption was the absence of concise and readily available “how to” information that could make policy adoption and implementation easier.

We decided to do what we could to change that reality.

Six months ago, we formed a special committee within the club whose goal was to research and then produce the equivalent of a how-to manual that would explain to local businesses what sustainable practice polices were, why they were important, and how to formulate and implement policies that were specific to a particular type of business.

In late April, we presented our findings to club.

In doing the research for this report, it became clear to me that the most effective sustainability policies resulted from businesses that included several product- or service-level employees on their green team, or the committee charged with formulating sustainable policies.

Why? Because those people on the daily firing line of product or service production usually have the best ideas as to how to do something new, something better, or something less expensively.

A prime example of this is reported in an Associated Press article entitled “Green Grows into Business Strategy” reprinted in the Eugene Register-Guard on April 24.

The article pointed out how, as part of its sustainability policies, Proctor and Gamble created a unit to find new uses for byproducts and leftovers from its production processes that would otherwise go into incinerators and landfills. The result: P & G products like Clairol hair coloring ingredients now help make tires shine, Duracell battery components are used to help make bricks, and materials from Pampers diapers and Always maxi pads absorb industrial leaks and spills.

We found two local examples in the course of doing our research. Service-level employees at Oregon Eye Surgery Center and at McKenzie Surgery Center found a way to reduce by over 75 percent the amount of medical waste that was going to the landfill. They came up with a recyclable way to commingle paper and plastic while limiting biohazard waste to truly contaminated articles.

Another worthwhile discovery was the newly instituted Re:think Business program offered to Lane County businesses by Bring Recycling, one of the nation’s oldest (since 1971) nonprofit recyclers. This new program comes to your business site and provides free, independent and confidential advice and support, on practical ways to minimize waste, increase recycling, become more energy efficient, conserve water and protect water quality — and become more profitable in the process.

We hope that the findings of our own report will be of benefit to businesses far beyond just those whose owners are members of Eugene’s Rotary. To help ensure this result, we have made the entire report available at no charge. If you would like a copy of the report, just go to eugenerotary.org and click on the banner with the report title that you will find on the bottom of the website.

Bruce H. Anderson is the chairperson of the Business Sustainability in Practice Committee at the Eugene Rotary Club.