Sustainability at Eco-Products is not a marketing campaign nor a stand-alone initiative. It is core to who we are and why we're in business.
One of our strategic objectives is to advance our position as a leader in sustainability by exemplifying authentic environmental and social responsibility. That's why we both support our customers' Zero Waste efforts as well as walk the talk.
Since our inception, we have run our company in sustainable ways – a brand like ours will never last if we don't practice what we preach. We strive for progress, not perfection. We know that we can only control some of our impacts and simply influence others. But what we know for sure is that the best way to manage any impact is to take a strategic approach, establish targets, and measure and report the outcomes.
One key way we have advanced sustainability over the years is by following guidance provided by B Corporation. For-profit companies certified by its B Lab meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. While we have long been implementing B Corp's practices and using its assessment as a tool for gauging our performance, in 2016 we crossed the 80 point threshold on B Corp assessment and officially became a certified B Corp.
The process of meeting B Lab's rigorous standards was invaluable. It helped us see beyond our environmental impact and examine operational and social opportunities. It also helped us see how our business holds up against high standards established by a third-party to define best practice.
The median score of first-time businesses completing the evaluation was 55, and we scored an 81. We're excited to learn from companies that have figured out things we haven't so that we can create additional value and improve our performance. We'll measure our progress when we take the next assessment in 2018.
Why Do We Report?
We publish this report because we don't feel right about calling ourselves “a green company that happens to operate in disposables” unless we make our sustainability approach, goals, successes and challenges public. Our shareholders would never let us operate without measurable financial targets, so why shouldn't our stakeholders have meaningful metrics by which to measure our social, environmental, and operational performance?
The process of developing a sustainability report has been game-changing for us. It forced us to bring together cross-functional groups to discuss issues, solve problems, and make “gut check”-type decisions. Reporting holds us accountable for continuous improvement and enables us to treat sustainability just like any other important business priority.
About This Report
This sustainability report paints a picture of Eco-Products' key achievements and challenges in calendar year 2016. It chronicles activities that occurred within our walls, in the field with our customers and anywhere food service and Zero Waste initiatives overlap.
We identified report topics and goals by:
- Meeting with our Sustainability Advisory Committee, an independent group of civic, business and academic thought leaders.Engaging and collaborating with customers, employees and community leaders.
- Leading and participating in various industry associations and initiatives.
- Reviewing guidance provided by B Corp. and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI is an international organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations determine sustainability issues most important to their industries and how to report on them.
This report sheds light on our direct operations; employee, supplier, manufacturing, and community relationships; and our products' lifecycle.
