Discovering What It Takes to Make
Products Environmentally Friendly
Given the current social and environmental climate, it should come as no sur-
prise to be asked pointblank whether your products are green. Regardless of
the type of product you make, your ability to answer that question suitably
will depend on a number of factors. Inasmuch as it is possible, for example,
can you affirm that your products are organic and biodegradable? Are all of
the materials and substances in your products GRAS — that is, generally rec-
ognized as safe, non-hazardous, and non-corrosive? Do your products limit
the consumer’s exposure to health hazards and use minimal amounts of
resources to make? Do they minimize the overall impact on the environment?
These are just a few of the considerations your company should be entertain-
ing, if it hasn’t already done so.
Your company has other matters to consider, too, however. The realm of
environmental, health, and safety compliance — where your products must
pass muster if you want to continue selling them on the open market — is no
longer the exclusive province of companies in the chemical or pharmaceuti-
cal industries. The regulatory and brand expenses for failing — or, worse,
refusing — to conform have ensured that compliance is now a central con-
cern for the high tech and oil and gas industries, to say nothing of the food
and beverage, utilities, consumer product, discrete manufacturing, and retail
and service industries. Most municipalities, towns and cities, are now even
bound to comply.
What this means to your business is that you must document to a T every
material that goes into the products you make, sell, and distribute. In addi-
tion, adhering to these regulations means that you’ve got to maintain an
up-to-date bill of materials, and document the structure, price, weight, and
dimensions of the goods you produce.
Earlier we also pointed out that if you understand your processes, it’s very
probable that you understand and control your products, too. If this is the
case, then you collect, organize, evaluate, and analyze data pertaining to
your factories and suppliers, as well as to the countries they are located in
or come from. It may be, on the other hand, that you don’t know any more
about going green than that everyone says it’s a good thing. If this is the
case, here are some further questions that your company will need to answer
before you can determine how far you are from achieving truly green prac-
tices, and thus, from making environmentally friendly products:
To begin with, what materials or harmful substances, if any, do you use
in your processes?
Can your suppliers provide immediate feedback about the compliance of
the materials they use?
218 Part III: Going Green
