With all the talk about sustainable operations these days, it perhaps will come as no surprise that there are a variety of ways to trim waste from your supply chains. The good news is they run the gamut from high-tech, costlier methods to the low-tech that even the most fiscally conservative company can probably find a way to get done.

“Everyone talks about being green and everyone knows that being green is the right thing, but the question is, why don’t more people do it?” asks supply chain consultant Robert Stefan, of the Charlotte, N.C., USA-based Wholesale Beverage Solutions Group, Inc. “I think because until now it hasn’t been economically viable.”

But Stefan says that has been changing in recent years. For example, the recycling of shrink-wrap and cardboard—two materials beverage distributors have plenty of—has suddenly become a common profit center for distributors, especially those in the United States and Europe. “With the development of the global economy with India and China consuming natural resources at a record pace, the economics of recycling and being green are different than they used to be,” says Stefan.

Indeed, Stefan, who has launched a green-focused offshoot to his consulting practice, “Environmental Dynamics, Inc.” says shrink wrap and cardboard recyclers are willing to pay much bigger bucks these days for these materials. About 50 of his distributor clients currently recycle shrink wrap, with one facility alone saving $25,000 last year. “Last month we shipped 360,000 pounds of plastic, which all would have ended up in the trash before,” he says.

A similar situation exists with cardboard. “The learning in cardboard,” Stefan says, “is that you don’t really need to sell your cardboard to a recycler. You can sell it yourself to a paper mill, bypass the recycler and make more money.” In 2001, cardboard was going for around $40 a ton, he says, but today it can go for as much as $125 a ton.

But why stop at cardboard and plastic? What if there were a way to reuse lift truck batteries instead of just setting them out back where they can slowly corrode and damage the environment? Now, there is. A new company, New Life Batteries, based in Philadelphia, Pa., USA, uses a method by a South African inventor that breathes new life into old batteries. The company’s owner, Benjamin Levitt, says used batteries can be put back in working order in 10 business days or less, and for half the cost of buying a new battery.

Some beverage companies have found other green benefits from replacing their old wooden pallets with plastic ones. Bob Darnell, senior director, packaging technology for Anheuser-Busch, says the company started transitioning to plastic pallets in 2001. “Plastic pallets are 100 percent recyclable,” Darnell says, “and they’re more sanitary, you don’t have to worry about bug infestations like you do with a wood pallet—it’s just a win-win across the system.”

Says Marc Brandt, beverage product manager for plastic container provider Orbis, “Wood and cardboard only last a few trips and then end up in landfills. Plastic can be continually reused, and if it ever breaks beyond repair Orbis will buy the plastic material back and recycle it.”

Another increasingly common way to cut down on energy usage in a distribution facility is to replace older lighting with more energy-efficient bulbs. “A new, energy-efficient fluorescent bulb will generate a better quality of light and only use about half the energy,” says Stefan.

For a greener fleet, PepsiCo spokesman David DeCecco says the blue system now uses advanced routing technologies to reduce miles and cut fuel consumption on delivery routes. “Pepsi Bottling Group has installed regulators on all its delivery vehicles to improve fuel efficiency,” he says. “It also enforces a no-idle policy to reduce fuel consumption.”

Wal-Mart is doing its share to encourage greener operations. Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar says the company’s “packaging scorecard,” introduced in 2006, is a good measurement tool that allows suppliers to evaluate themselves relative to other suppliers based on specific metrics, and learn ways to improve their packaging to make it more sustainable.

“The packaging scorecard is a great tool for suppliers to measure their packaging and waste creation and learn ways to have less of an impact on the environment,” Tovar says. “Whether it’s adjusting the product to package ratio, cube utilization or recycled content in the packaging, we encourage our suppliers to innovate and implement environmentally-friendly practices in their packaging creation.” Tovar continues, “We’re in a unique position to drive positive change in the area of sustainability by working with our suppliers to eliminate waste and be more energy efficient throughout the supply chain.”

In the meantime, with the increasing public concern about global warming, perhaps Stefan is right when he warns, “If you don’t get ahead of this and don’t start to manage it yourself, somebody’s going to force you to manage it someday. 

“So be in control of your waste stream. Manage it as a revenue source rather than just getting rid of it. There are a lot of opportunities within a beverage distribution company to become a better environmental citizen.”

From Beverage World October 15, 2007