Will Sustainability in Distribution Be Customer Driven?

Just twenty-five years ago, more than 80 percent of the cleaning solutions used in the professional cleaning industry were traditional, non-green cleaning chemicals. Many were made with ingredients now known to be potentially harmful to human health and the environment, and could cause severe injury, especially if misused.

As end-customers became more aware of these health and environmental issues, a major shift occurred. They began asking for Green Cleaning products. Today, environmentally preferable cleaning products are invariably selected first, and a traditional cleaning product is selected only because of specific conditions or to meet regulatory rules or requirements.

The driving force was the end-customer. They demanded Green Cleaning products the professional cleaning industry listened, revamped, produced, and marketed them to address this customer demand.

As we shall discuss later, the same thing is starting to happen with distributors when it comes to sustainability.

Distribution, Customer Demand, and Sustainability

To their credit, many members of the distribution industry have made sustainability gains already. One reason for this is that it has become clear that implementing sustainably programs invariably results in cost savings.

We have witnessed this directly among some distributors in the professional cleaning industry. Twenty distributors became involved in a sustainability program I develop for ISSA, the worldwide cleaning association. The essence of the program was using sustainability initiatives to help make their distributorships operate more efficiently.

“Efficiently” is a key word here.

It is a key term often used in sustainability discussions because it addresses the need to reduce consumption and waste while still meeting the requirements of the organization. Typically, when distributors operate their facilities more efficiently, cost savings are right around the corner.

Within one year, the twenty distributors collectively achieved a savings of $400,000. This was an average saving of $20,000 per distributor. Their investment to accomplish this was $3,000 each.

An overview of the ways this was accomplished are the following:

·       A commitment from top management to develop sustainability initiatives; a top-down approach is always needed    

·       Creating a team to implement the sustainability initiatives and, very importantly, explain why they are necessary

·       Use of an online “dashboard” system to develop benchmarks – current use of fuel, energy, water, for example – and then measure and monitor progress as the initiatives are incorporated into daily business operations

·       About two hours of time per month for operations reviews and guidance as well as support, to ensure sustainability programs are successfully put into place

So, now we know a bit more about the program these distributors embraced and the cost savings that were enjoyed. But this does not explain where customer demand fits in.

What we are witnessing today is that more companies throughout North America have developed a culture of sustainability. They have sustainability programs for their own business operations that are now deeply embedded into their business culture. They now want all their vendors, including distributors, to follow through and do the same.

While it may not be noticeable initially, using a tool such as this is a win-win for all involved, and especially for the distributor:

·       The major company selects a distributor that shares their sustainability culture

·       The distributor gets their business

·       The distributor makes progress operating their business more efficiently, using less fuel, water, energy, and producing less waste

·       The distributor realizes cost savings

·       Everyone involved is taking steps to protect our environment.

I don’t expect customer driven sustainability in the distribution industry to happen overnight. But what we need to know now is that it is happening and is set to pick up steam in years to come.

Stephen P. Ashkin is president of The Ashkin Group, a consulting firm specializing in Green cleaning and sustainability. He is considered the “father of Green Cleaning,” is on the Board of the Green Sports Alliance, and has been inducted into the International Green Industry Hall of Fame (IGIHOF). He is now helping distributors turn sustainability into cost savings. He can be reached at steveashkin@ashkingroup.com