Carbon Disclosure, Meet Plastics Disclosure

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Environmental Leader and the New York Times are reporting that hundreds of companies and institutions should expect to receive a questionnaire in early October about their use of plastic.  The Plastic Disclosure Project, right ahead.

Why?

Industry estimates state that 300 million tons of virgin plastic are made every year. If just one percent can be saved through efficiencies, better design, or increased recycling, then 3 million tons could be saved, which is roughly what some conservative estimates say are floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. -Plastics Disclosure Project (PDP)

Some companies have already made progress in better managing plastics.  Electrolux, the Swedish appliance maker, for example, introduced a range of vacuum cleaners in February that are made from recycled plastic. Coca-Cola has devised a plastic bottle that contains some plant-based materials, a small step for which the soda company seems to be wringing significant PR traction.

Plastics disclosure: right ahead!

Most interestingly perhaps, as the New York Times points out, Procter & Gamble has the long-term aim of using 100% recycled or renewable material in its products and packaging.

Better managed plastics appeals to some of us as a resource-saver if nothing else -- for too long we've treated plastic as an almost-infinite supply of cheap material, both raw and article.

Remember the Carbon Disclosure Project -- which is not gone but currently forgotten?  Well, this plastics program seeks to inspire organizations to approach plastic consumption in much the same way as we've begun to approach carbon consumption:  more awareness, some conservation.  Fair enough.

Targeted big users of plastic include:

• companies
• universities
• hospitals
• sports groups

This October, the plastics questionnaire will ask organizations to report how much plastic they use and how they recycle.  Further, organizations will be asked what policies they have to:

• reduce consumption
• increase recycling
• increase the use of biodegradable plastic

Plastic Disclosure blog is here, if interested.

HP Says Quality Management is Both Green and Gold

In an interesting document from 2010, Hewlett Packard (HP) touches on quality management in a larger discussion about chemical monitoring in a supply chain -- towards compliance with custom Restricted Substances Lists (meaning, specific to a single company) and broader lists such as those restricted under REACH, RoHS and WEEE. Quality management for this discussion is an initiative for manufacturing product management with four primary elements: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement.

HP addresses the quality piece by saying that quality management solutions are essential to compliance. "A manufacturer must ensure its suppliers have control processes in place that DO NOT allow non-compliant material to enter the manufacturing process," says the company.

Here's the company's restricted substance historical timeline:

Image courtesy of DTSC.gov

Designing for the environment is apparently a greener approach for the company in more ways than one.  While everyone secretly hopes that someday environmentally-nurturing business will be the most economically sensible, HP seems to think they've got it.

"Environmental responsibility is good business," said former HP CEO Mark Hurd. "We've reached the tipping point where the price and performance of IT are no longer compromised by being green, but are now enhanced by it."

Interbrand is a leading global brand consultancy recently introduced a listing of the 50 Best Global Green Brands, and HP placed fifth overall after Toyota, 3M, Siemens and Johnson&Johnson. Businesses were ranked based on consumer perceptions of environmentally sustainable activities in the ten largest global markets and actual environment performance secured through publicly available information and data, says the press release.

(An aside to our gentle readers: Interbrand is essentially a marketing agency; we haven't researched the relationship between Interbrand and HP; nor do we know how the marketing company conducted their research.  Although it would not be a huge surprise to see HP in the top 50, say, of a "listing of best global green brands," it's important to mention that many consultancies will do anything to get the attention of the large brands with deep pockets.  Top n lists are one of the easiest ways to get attention, right out of Marketing 101.  Nothing wrong with it, in fact we've done a few Top 10 lists ourselves -- for example here and here and here -- however, in the case of buddying up with a Fortune 500 company, a Top 50 list should be seen for what it is: a marketing document, and not the strain of scientific research you'd want to launch a rocket on.)

(Frankly, when I think of HP I don't think of a green brand at all, as I might with Timberland and Whole Foods.  With HP I think of a powerful laptop that I own, which is riddled with bells and whistles designed to upsell at every possible opportunity.  In short, I think of good technology, excellent value, and annoying partnerships.)

Steps to green:  Restricted Substance recovery program  The short version of HP's notable supply chain steps & progress program are seven key points.  The steps involve:

1. Risk-based country, site & partnership assessment
2. Partnership-oriented engagement & auditing
3. Hundreds of audits surface root causes
4. Supplier, worker & gov’t capability building
5. Coalitions & multi-stakeholder initiatives
6. Local solutions with NGOs
7. Transparency

Here's how the company articulates keys to minimizing environmental impact through materials innovation:

1. Reducing materials use (dematerialization)
2. Materials substitution
3. Eliminating materials of concern
4. Innovative and recycled materials

The quality management package for restricted substance management and green product development is what HP calls the "Hewlett-Packard Approach."  It can be distilled to four keys:

1. Cross-functional team with senior sponsorship
2. Worldwide product transition
3. Engage with suppliers early
4. Drive industry standardization

As for success factors going forward, HP suggests that government should balance public policy goals with harmonization and clarity -- which would likely allow for effective global compliance programs. Following that, pragmatic and effective enforcement can likely follow, and is recommended.

TSCA right ahead?  The benefits of certainty, consistency, quality and testing  For manufacturers and their suppliers, HP suggests creating certainty around a long-term roadmap, consistent requirements, interpretations and testing -- and pushing compliance management upstream.  The creating certainty around a long-term roadmap point is particularly interesting.  Image how much more likely all companies would be -- including suppliers -- if we had some idea what would be expected of us 5 years from now?

For all its foibles, REACH regulation at least does that: provide a road map and some certainty around expectations.  RoHS and WEEE also.  We'll see about TSCA, so far the state-level Propositions, bills, laws, initiatives, proposals, standards and restrictions have not been altogether inspiring, clear, or effective.  HP's vision, however, is getting closer to those things year by year.  Kudos.

More, here and in color, from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Marketing & Supply Chain: Chocolate and Peanut Butter?

Supply Chains: looking for good taste

Profits in today's market are notgetting easier. There's a famine on and the herds are thin, so there needs to be a more unified approach to hunting down opportunity and spearing it. Whilethere used to be a luxurious chasm between Marketing and Supply Chain administrators,the two camps now need to build themselves a longhouse where they can eat,breath and cook up a manufacturing company's future -- together.

Mike Burkett at Gartner points out that today's supplychain must become market-driven to increase value. "Fueling growthstarts with driving demand, which is becoming more of a team effort," saysBurkett.  The idea being that a supply chain is the protein (peanut butter) fueling growth while a marketing team attracts prospects (chocolate) and drives demand.

May seem and unlikely mix, but what about getting some of that chocolate in the peanut butter?

In terms of consumer products, recentGartner surveys have shown that innovative products are a top influencer ofdemand.  Consumer electronics are an obvious example: everyone has to havean Android or an iPhone; my own Android, new, retailed for over $600 (somewhatironic, considering I chose Android over iPhone because of the free apps). 

Marketing and Supply Chainexecs: you got chocolate in my peanut butter

Many organizations' business unitshave addressed and streamlined inventory complexity and reduced costs throughMarketing's "value engineering" and Supply Chain's "enhancedsupplier management" tricks and efficiencies, such as supply chaincollaboration around formula and B.O.M. management. Fair enough. 

Having done so these organizationsare now trying to better understand the markets served, and ensure that valueis delivered to both the customer and the business.  In plain terms: it'sone thing to get people to buy the innovation, a smartphone, say -- now make it sing.(Yes, there's an app for that....)

Often times, says Burkett,delivering real value to the customer is more about organizational change thanbusiness process.  Here are two methods Gartner says can be used toovercome organizational barriers:

1. Metrics and governance — Measuring performance against strategic business goals and enforcing accountability is often a prerequisite to breaking down organizational barriers. P&G holds the executives responsible for business results accountable for ensuring that value is derived from new product innovation
2. Talent management — New skills are required as supply chain seeks early involvement with customer-facing and product development partners. A formal program to regularly assess talent gaps in the march toward more advanced supply chain capabilities

Could chocolate and peanut butter work?

Supply chain organizations do seemto be collaborating more with the marketing team than withtheir procurement colleagues.  Time will tell but it's a trend to watchand consider.  

Marketing and Supply Chain intelligence really could be two great tastesthat taste great together.

Image: Evan Amos

China Is More E Than E-Waste These Days

Divya Sharma reported yesterday via Reuters from Asia that manufacturers of electrical products forecast strong 2011 revenue growth.  This comes on the heels of strong fourth quarter results in the sector.

Ametek, a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices ($2.5 billion in annual sales) cited growth in demand from industrial, oil & gas, power and aerospace customers.  At this posting, the Ametek stock is priced at $40.80.

Reuters also reported that Teledyne, the electronic component maker, posted a higher quarterly profit, boosted by higher sales at its electronics and communication unit. For Q4 2010, the company earned $36.6 million, or 99 cents a share, compared with $32.2 million, or 88 cents a share, a year prior.

Bull in the China shop

Teledyne also said it would "focus on its core electronics, instrumentation and engineering businesses after selling its aviation products business to an unnamed international buyer."  Interesting on a few levels, not the least of which is that the company sold its aviation products business.  This was announced on December 14 last year:  Teledyne would sell its general aviation piston engine business to Technify Motor (USA) LTD., a subsidiary of AVIC International, for $186 million in cash. 

Headquartered in Beijing, In 2009, AVIC International has consolidated annual sales of approximately US$ 6 billion. AVIC was formerly known as CATIC International Holdings Limited.  It's an investment holding company.  AVIC International aviation customers include Boeing, Airbus, Snecma and Honeywell, says its press, but then, everyone's customer base includes Boeing, Airbus, Snecma and Honeywell to some degree so that doesn't really tell us much. (I don't mean to be cynical, just realistic: those are the most comprehensive supply chains out there.)

AVIC being a China-based holdings company is also interesting.  We should get used to seeing that. China is more economy than e-waste these days.  The electronics aspect of this is the tip of the iceberg.

In a video recently circulated by a manufacturing magazine Economist Martin Jacques discussed China's likelihood of taking over as the world's dominant economy by 2050.

 (source: http://www.mbtmag.com/Content.aspx?id=1899)

Jacques showed that Goldman-Sachs said that by 2027 China's economy would be twice that of the United States.  But then he said that this projection has been adjusted, due to the recent global economic tumble. 

Now, says Jacques, updated forecasts indicate that China's economy will be larger than that of the United States by 2020.  That's less than ten years from now.  That kind of thing can improve your posture quickly.

China from the inside out

The video is worth watching.  Jacques goes on to identify three "building blocks" to understanding Chinese culture and how it is different from our own culture.  He also says that contrary to popular belief, Chinese culture will not become more like Western culture as it becomes more modernized and successful.  In fact, we need to become educated quickly on how their culture ticks so we can more accurately predict and understand market behavior.

According to Martin Jacques, Chinese thought is critically different from Western thought in the Chinese firm notions of:

1. culture: one unified civilization with many different systems within it
2. race: where nationality and race are almost synonymous
3. state: where state is not a meddler, it's a family member, a patriarch

Jacques' point is that we'd better start understanding Chinese culture now because they're going to be boss soon.  He wrote a book about it called "When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order."  A good read if this sort of thing interests readers as much as it does this blogger.  (Do we have a choice but to be interested..?)

A very informed review of the book in the New York Times provides this perspective: 

As China finds its own path economically, it is unlikely to look west for political advice, Jacques suggests. Its ruling Communist Party, having largely set aside its socialist ideology, has become a modern version of an imperial dynasty. China’s Communist leaders have flirted with reviving Confucianist thought, positioning themselves as protectors of Chinese unity, the state’s traditional role. Many Chinese see that mission as sacred. Jacques argues, credibly, that most Chinese will back their leaders, with or without democratic reforms, as long as the country keeps getting stronger.

So how might the world work under Pax Sinica?  Jacques ventures some fascinating guesses: The United States often promotes democracy within nations. China insists on democracy among nations. If the power of countries in the international arena were determined by how many people they represent, China would have more clout than all the Western democracies combined.

- by Joseph Kahn, former Beijing bureau chief and deputy foreign editor of The New York Times.

So when Reuters reports on the elevating electronics market - and immediately we're talking about Chinese holding companies - it really should come as no surprise at all.

As the next few years tick by, we'll want to understand what's happening in China more from the inside out. Which is why voices like Jacques, Kahn and others are so very important to the manufacturing industry and supply chain management, starting right now.

New Chemical in Polymers and Textiles Under Scrutiny

In European harmonised classification and labelling news along the lines of CLP classification, the EU Committee for Risk Assessment RAC has adopted opinions on two proposals. 

Two chemical-substances in question

HBCDD, or hexabromocyclododecane is the first.

RAC agreed with the proposal from Sweden to classify HBCDD for reproductive toxicity due to effects on the unborn or breast-fed child.  The main downstream uses of HBCDD are in the polymer and textile industries.  HBCDD can be used on its own or in combination with other flame retardants.  The classification of HBCDD is not harmonised, to use the European spelling, now at the EU level, although various member states have approached classification of the substance.

Leucomalachite green is the second.

RAC also agreed with a proposal from the U.K. to classify leucomalachite green as a carcinogen and mutagen. Leucomalachite green is used as a cell stain in laboratories (histopathology stain).  The classification of this substance is not currently harmonised at the EU level.

Details of the new opinions are expected to be posted at this link, "in the near future," according to ECHA:  http://echa.europa.eu/about/organisation/committees/rac/committee_opinions_en.asp

Who is RAC?

RAC is the group responsible for providing scientific opinions for ECHA on proposals for chemicals' harmonised classification and labelling, also known as CLP or just C&L. The final decision for harmonised classification and labelling is made by the European Commission, by committee.  RAC falls under the risk assessment arm of Chemicals Management in the EU.

(Toby Sharp for CJ)

Building a Green Supply Chain: Top 10 Green Building Products

BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of the GreenSpec^® Directory, directory of green building products, and Environmental Building News^™, recently announced the 2010 Top-10 Green Building Products.  The firm thereby recognizes exciting products the publishers have recently added to their directory or covered in their news.  See also a previous article on Safety by Design in building construction.

This year’s Top-10 selections include a cellular glass insulation with excellent compressive strength and no flame retardants, a high-performance modular wall system insulated with cellulose, and an advanced LED lighting module offering halogen light quality, using a quarter the electricity and lasting more than 20 times as long.

“Our selections of the Top-10 Green Building Products represent a wide range of product types in many different application areas,” noted BuildingGreen founder and executive editor Alex Wilson.

Leading the way in providing green building products are companies like Owens Corning, which develops glass fiber and foam products that use an average of 40% recycled glass content. Other companies such as Fastenal offer energy-efficient LED lighting systems.

“Many of our Top-10 products this year have multiple environmental attributes,” said Wilson. Approximately 180 product listings have been added to the GreenSpec database during the past year. The database, maintained by BuildingGreen, includes more than 2,200 product listings.

BuildingGreen.com provides an online version of GreenSpec where users can find products organized by LEED credits.  

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED^® Rating System (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) says it continues to drive development of green products by awarding points for using green materials or through the use of energy-saving products. “Designers of LEED buildings are looking for green products, and manufacturers are responding,” said Wilson.

Guest blogger Laura Chidester has worked as a technical writer for over ten years, and is currently the Manager of Technical Documentation for Actio Corporation.

EPA Serious About Chemicals Used in Natural Gas Extraction

Seems now would be a good time for companies to make sure they have chemical books in order when it comes to hydraulic fracturing.

Mining for methane...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a congressionally-mandated study to examine the impact of the hydraulic fracturing process on drinking water quality - and Halliburton has been subpoenaed after failing to meet EPA’s requests for information.  Today, November 9, 2010, EPA issued a subpoena to Halliburton requiring submission of requested information that was never provided.

Fracking involves shooting incredibly high-pressure "fluids" into oil and methane gas deposits to fracture the rock around the deposit and release the gas.

In a recent documentary film, a filmmaker shows how a recently-drilled Pennsylvania town reports that "residents are able to light their drinking water on fire."  Wish we could find a picture of this!

Actually, here's a picture of people lighting water on fire, at the Sundance Film Fest web page for the movie.  The film won the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for a Documentary and profiled fracking in the U.S.  The movie is called Gasland, more at bottom of page.*

The water-on-fire snippet makes a good film and great publicity; EPA is now charged with finding out what it means in fact, if people can light their water on fire after fracking.  Is that the chemicals used in fracking?  Is that methane somehow escaping into groundwater?  Is it some 3rd, 4th, or 5th option we hadn't heard of?

Fracking is, arguably, economically important -- possibly critical -- for the United States, as the companies doing the fracking will point out.  There are also attendant and significant environmental and human health issues with shooting the chemicals into the land and water table.

EPA wants to know, well, EPA pretty much has to find out by public demand:  what the *bleep* is in the fluid that does the fracking? 

What the *bleep* is in the fluid that does the fracking?

The congressionally-mandated hydraulic fracturing study that EPA is under public pressure to get underway will look at the potential adverse impact of fracking on drinking water and public health in the United States. The agency is under a tight deadline to provide initial results by the end of 2012.  The study depends on timely access to detailed information about fracturing methods.

Here's a list of chemicals used in a recent fracturing event in Pennsylvania:  Fracturing List of Chemicals.

Give Marcellus credit for releasing this list.  (List is compiled from MSDS data, which is great, but some trade secrets can be held back. For more on that see previous post on MSDS data.)

Halliburton

Halliburton is the world's 2nd-largest oilfield services corp. It employs over 50,000 people.  HQ is in Dubai, UAE of all places, with offices in the North Belt office in Houston, Texas; the company remains incorporated in the United States.

Halliburton's major business segment is the Energy Services Group (ESG). ESG provides technical products and services for petroleum and natural gas exploration and production. Halliburton's former subsidiary, KBR, is a major construction company of refineries, oil fields, pipelines, and chemical plants. Halliburton announced on April 5, 2007 that it had finally broken ties with KBR, which had been its contracting, engineering and construction unit as a part of the company for 44 years -- and had been the brunt of terrible and presumably untenable Public Relations.

The post-KBR era isn't exactly winning warm-fuzzies in the hearts of the public.  For instance, what Tech Eye has to say - although as left as usual - isn't going to make readers feel very good.  Happy to share that link, though, largely for the links used in the article: a good resource if you want to know more.

What happened in this case

On September 9, 2010, EPA reached out to nine leading national and regional hydraulic fracturing service providers – BJ Services, Complete Production Services, Halliburton, Key Energy Services, Patterson-UTI, RPC, Inc., Schlumberger, Superior Well Services, and Weatherford – seeking information on:

1. the chemical composition of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process
2. data on the impacts of the chemicals on human health and the environment
3. standard operating procedures at their hydraulic fracturing sites
4. the locations of sites where fracturing has been conducted

Except for Halliburton, the companies have either fully complied with the September 9 request or made unconditional commitments to provide all the information on an expeditious schedule, says EPA.

More information on the subpoena and mandatory request for information on Halliburton’s hydraulic fracturing operations: http://www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing

------
*About the movie Gasland:
"The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a 'Saudia Arabia of natural gas' just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown."

photo courtesy http://www.kmhurley.com