“We need long terms goals; it is not good enough to say ‘we want to be 20% less bad in 2020”
“We need long terms goals; it is not good enough to say ‘we want to be 20% less bad in 2020’,” according to Braungart. While the scale of the challenge may seem foreboding, for Braungart this should only create “endless innovation opportunities”. C2C company Desso, for example, is now “the world’s most profitable carpet company…When MBDC started working with them, it was just breaking even,” he says. More attention therefore needs to be paid to the broader picture, he believes. While plastic bag bans may seem positive, for Braungart they are largely insignificant: “The main source of plastic found in the ocean is the particulates that come from textiles in washing machines,” states Braungart. Plastic bag bans are “alibi activities, mostly by governments to greenwash the public,” he argues. There is also a huge problem with regulation, according to Braungart. For example, while companies complying with legal limits for certain chemicals might seem positive, Braungart says this too is not good enough. For Braungart, it is unacceptable that a specific legal chemical limit in drinking water is not applied to a bottled drink. The most notorious example of this is Coca-
Cola’s use of PET plastic for their bottles which “gives up to 20 times more antimony [a carcinogen] than it is legal in drinking water,” according to Braungart. “There’s no excuse. People have been optimising the wrong things. Coca-Cola thinks: ‘We don’t need to fulfil drinking water legislation, we have FDA [Food and Drug Administration] approval for using the stuff’…Why change the process when it is legal? Heavily optimised wrong systems are the only problem we have,” he concludes. For Braungart, such examples underline the importance of retailers getting a better grip on their supply chains. It is, after all, up to the retailer what is stocked; if more is done, as suggested by Braungart, to promote green products and gradually phase-out bad ones, consumers will have a greater opportunity to make more ethical decisions which in turn should manipulate supply and demand. Greater consumption of “good” products will drive down prices and make green choices more and more competitive, potentially leaving no room for “bad” ones. Braungart and McDonough’s dream may well lie within the hands of the retailers.
MBDC works with clients, including retailers, to look at their operational impacts as measured by greenhouse gas emissions, water quality and water use efficiency, ecosystem health and biodiversity, social responsibility and other indicators. It also assesses how it communicates its activities related to sustainability and how it compares with others in its sector. Another key aspect for the firm is measuring employee satisfaction. “How can an employee’s input be collected and shared internally; what incentives, disincentives or training opportunities related to sustainability are available and how can employee involvement be used to achieve business and sustainability objectives commensurately,” are all questions asked by the consultants.
Puma’s display of a shoe in its InCycle collection which is made from
biodegradable materials
Desso in 2008 embarked on a mission to make all of its products according to C2C principles by 2020. One of its suppliers, Aquafil has developed proprietary technology to recycle old Polyamide 6 yarn from used carpets into new material known as ECONYL over and over again. “Refinity” takes back old carpets (provided they don’t contain PVC) and separates the yarn and other fibres from the backing. This creates two main material streams: the yarn which is sent back to its suppliers for recycling and the bitumen, which is sold to the road and roofing industry. All non-recyclable fractions are used as secondary fuel in the cement industry.
JUNE 2013 | RETAIL ENVIRONMENT 21
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