Many executives view sustainability as a key contributor to social responsibility with efforts in writing a corporate sustainability script ranging from utilizing social media to talk about company initiatives to more extreme measures, such as using solar panels on manufacturing plants. Parallel strategies also involve volunteering and community projects – anything that a company can do to make the community in which they operate better. Their goal is to create products responsibly while giving back and contributing to the communities within which they work.
Some companies are even exploring innovative ways to repurpose materials to minimize waste across the supply chain and extend the lifecycle of products. Other sustainability strategies involve reducing overall energy consumption with the use of energy-efficient processes in manufacturing and distribution, the reduction of packaging waste, using eco-friendly packaging materials and incorporating remanufacturing practices.
In these cases, it’s about reducing one’s environmental footprint and achieving carbon neutrality through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
These sustainability practices not only benefit the environment but also appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. This helps align aftermarket brands committed to social and environmental responsibility with consumer beliefs, paving the wave for brand allegiance and loyalty.
Circular Economy
Let’s dig into recycling materials to create new products and responsible waste management, both of which contribute to a circular economy. Pointing to a relevant example in the EV space, WIN Waste Innovations, a recycling and waste company, is powering Mack electric refuse trucks using the waste they collect, according to an article from The Buzz EV News.
WIN Waste Innovations has plans to power two Mack LR Electric Class 8 refuse vehicles exclusively by the waste collected by the vehicles themselves. The plan is for the Mack LR Electric vehicles to each collect 150 cubic yards of waste per day on service routes in Boston, Mass. The waste will be converted into renewable energy to charge the LR Electric vehicles, as well as provide converted renewable energy to homes and businesses in the region. The fleet estimates this will eliminate the need for about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).
WIN operates 50 collection, transfer and disposal assets, including waste-to-energy facilities, transfer solutions, ash monofils, landfills, as well as fleets of rail cars and collection vehicles. The company says it already recycles more than 354,000 tons of plastic, paper and metals from the waste stream and converts more than 6.4 million tons of post-recycled waste into renewable energy.
“Electric trucks are a natural progression of WIN Waste’s emphasis on sustainability and circularity,” said Dan Mayo, chief executive officer of WIN Waste Innovations. “By recharging our Mack LR Electric trucks using the energy generated from the very waste they collect, we are actively bolstering our own sustainability goals, as well as those of our customers.”
Sustainability practices range from solo programs to multi-tiered strategies and can be expanded through education, the sharing of best practices and team member adoption and participation, to boost adoptability and make the greatest impact. When the goal is moving the needle with actionable steps, it becomes less about who’s doing a better job with sustainability, and more about how we can work together to make a difference for our industry.
Brought to you by Motorcar Parts of America (MPA).
