The future of the cleaning industry
June 23rd 2008

When it comes to sustainability, there’s no simple fix, says JohnsonDiversey’s director of external communications, Greg Bell. “You have to examine every facet of your business. But we believe sustainability is the future of the industry.” Brendan Coyne reports

Bell says that sustainability is at the heart of JohnsonDiversey’s business. “It’s in our DNA. We’re a 122 year old family company. Only 0.3 per cent of businesses last that long, which is a sustainability story in itself.”

In terms of products, 64 per cent of the JD portfolio is Nordic Swan certified, and Bell says this is the result of a long standing commitment to the environment. “We were the first to eliminate CFCs from our products in the 70s – way ahead of legislation, and it’s our philosophy to drive innovation internally and in our supply chain, where we are providing partners with toolkits to improve their environmental impact.”

Credibility

Whereas the Nordic Swan mark is recognised internationally as a credible independent environmental certification scheme, the growing demand for environmentally-friendly products, and the market’s desire to rapidly supply a solution, can create consumer confusion and grey areas, rather than truly green products. For example, Bell says a green certification scheme devised by the forest industry could be seen as self-serving as opposed to genuine independent authentication.

“Substantiated evidence is vital, otherwise the market will develop a terminal case of ‘greenache’,” says Bell. “Different markets and countries have their own certification programmes, which we as a company are supportive of, provided they are rigorous and independent. But I think the weak ones will eventually be weeded out.” However, Bell says certification in its own right isn’t enough.

“Don’t just try to achieve the standards but partner with the organisations behind them – not for your own interests but to be part of the dialogue. It’s an essential component of continuous improvement. We feel very strongly about partnering with other entities, NGOs etc. We see sustainability as now and the future and as companies we need to be challenged. The triple bottom line must be in evidence: People, planet and profit.”

What about government? Could legislation help drive change?

According to Bell, yes, but only to a degree. “Government, businesses and NGOs need to work hand in hand, but greater change is driven by the marketplace. The US automotive industry is waking up to that having seen Toyota clean up by listening to the market’s demand for more fuel efficient cars. Government can regulate, business can commercialise and NGOs can legitimate. Some businesses do need regulation, so perhaps governments could do more. But they shouldn’t take over. The market must provide solutions.”

Less is more

From a bottom line perspective, both Bell and product manager Sergio Pupkin, claim sustainable products should cost the customer less over the product’s lifespan. “People are not willing to pay more for sustainable products, and in terms of total costs, nor should they be,” says Bell. “You need economic reality to succeed, which means becoming more energy and water and resource efficient.”

Pupkin concurs. “We as a company are responsible for generating value: increased productivity, safety, delivering more with less. If that is attained then you don’t pay more – because you are creating advantages. We design our systems to push limits but we have very strict guidelines as to how we achieve that.”

Internally, JohnsonDiversey’s own improvements to manufacturing techniques have led to some serious energy – and financial savings. The company’s reduction of virgin plastic use has led to energy savings of 188 million Megajoules per year – the equivalent to the annual electrical usage of 5000 homes in the US, a CO2 reduction of 2600 tons. This, says Bell, has played a part in eight consecutive quarters of profitability after what he describes as a period of debt, and “something of a struggle” following the switch to JohnsonDiversey.

In terms of product distribution, the resulting more concentrated product means shipping less volume, thereby saving further energy both in transport and packaging manufacture. And Bell reiterates that the improvement process is continuous: “100 per cent of our R&D spend goes into sustainability, and we believe that is how it has to be if you aim to lead the market. There is no simple answer, you have to examine everything.”

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