Environment: Is green sustainable or moldy?

The sustainability bandwagon is still rolling but the real story about this movement is who’s driving it and why. According to a new report from Manufacturing Insights, Attitudes and Trends Toward Greening Manufacturing and the Supply Chain in North America, the why is easy. Regulations.   The report says that as a result of this regulatory focus, most sustainability initiatives are managed by a company’s Environmental Health and Safety department. How many of those people do you think understand materials handling and logistics—or even know anyone who works in their distribution center or plant?

The authors of this report were obviously aware of the danger of strategizing in a bubble, so they came to this conclusion:

“Make sure your organizational structure does not sideline your sustainability initiatives. The key is to have either cross-functional teams or a strong leader who takes into consideration perspectives from across the company and can get projects moving (and funded) with cooperation from multiple business units.”

I asked Kim Knickle, practice director at Manufacturing Insights, how important she thought the folks in materials handling were to making sustainability sustainable.

“We feel it’s unrealistic for most companies to have a separate sustainability department,” she told me. “Through the cross functional team or through a strong executive leadership making sure every organization cooperates and doesn’t do something green at the expense of another business unit, you’ll make sure those efforts are lined up. Every single business unit has some idea that can work to make a company greener. If someone doesn’t say, ‘let’s ask the packaging people,’ then it’s not going to get any better.”

It seems like the thought of “thinking green” will evolve beyond a knee-jerk reaction and produce some meaningful results. You know that’s starting to happen when companies put their money where their mouth is. The MI report says more than 62% (62.5%) of large manufacturers expect to influence their existing software application providers to add green-related functionality to their products. That may simply mean they want a way to attach a number to their green performance.

Knickle senses some frustration among companies over a lack of environmental standards and metrics. Could the green movement turn out to be a passing fad? The next few months should be an interesting test, especially if fuel prices stay as low as they’ve been lately.

“We expect that with the recession customer service will be a huge issue—using customer service as a way to retain the customers you have,” Knickle concluded. “If people make a direct association between transportation & distribution and customer service, they may be more willing to go back to those smaller, less efficient deliveries, which may increase your fuel consumption in order to preserve customer service.”

I have to think if anybody has a way to preserve customer service without depending on the false hope of permanently cheap fuel, it’s the Modern audience. Tell me how you’re helping navigate your company’s drive down Sustainability Road. Either blog back or e-mail me at tom.andel@reedbusiness.com.