Dive Brief:
- Re|focus Recycling Summit & Expo's keynote speaker, SC Johnson's Kelly Semrau, shared news of the company's Ziploc bags recycling goal and other initiatives during the event in late April.
- Semrau said that SCJ has removed chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from its aerosol products; led an aerosol cans recycling initiative launched in 5,400 communities nationwide; ensured 31% of its energy is from renewable sources; refused to use 2,000 potentially environmentally unhealthy but legal chemicals; and reached zero-landfill goals at one-third of its facilities.
- Of SCJ's next goal—making a recyclable Ziploc bag—Semrau said, "It is going to be a hard, uphill challenge. We know MRF operators don’t want a new product," however she said the company will need to "educate consumers, debunk myths, and...create some markets," according to Recycling Today.
Dive Insight:
As more consumers choose not to do business with companies that dump on the planet, concepts of sustainability and "eco-friendliness" are becoming incorporated into companies' advertising and operations. Many are revamping old products, and developing totally new ones with goals of reducing their carbon footprints and helping their customers do the same.
"We need people to trust us to buy our brands," Semrau said, adding the company works to build that trust through "responsibility and transparency."
Some big names are not simply creating products under their brand, but are working to develop revolutionary new technologies with a further reach than their own supply chains.
Of SCJ's overall efforts, Semrau was reported in Recycling Today as saying, "It is imperative that the end of life of our products is something we think about."
