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Universal Polymer & Rubber on Green Initiatives for Earth Day

Implementing Clean Energy Strategies

April 22^nd is Earth Day, the world’s largest environmental movement.  The goal of Earth Day is to support sustainable, eco-friendly, worldwide initiatives through a combination of education, public policy, and consumer campaigns.

Sustainability is a commitment that we, at Universal Polymer & Rubber, strive for daily. Our team implements processes, educated design and/or purchasing decisions, and procedures to regularly practice the implementation of clean energy. A huge component of our every day is the recycling of leftover parts and pieces. By reducing our internal scraps, we also minimize external pollution as contaminants are not added to the environment, but recycled into new components for other manufactured goods.

In fact, we recycle as much waste material as possible, including cardboard packaging and cured rubber, as part of our standard processes.  We also utilize uncured rubber, when practical, to fabricate a range of products and components.

A Green Company Outlook: Packaging and the Supply Chain

Manufacturing facilities often have the best potential for recycling opportunities that, in turn, reflect positively on the supply chain.

With generous potential, the manufacturing and industrial industries must emphasize the importance of protecting the environment on a daily basis. As industry leaders, we have the authority to make sure that simple procedures like product packaging become a regular priority of our green contributions. At UP&R, we make our packaging recyclable, returnable, or reusable. Much of our packaging is already made from sustainable plastic.

By following best environmental practices, you can kill two birds with one stone. Not only are you making your immediate environment a cleaner and healthier surrounding, but you’re also saving money by recycling parts that can be manufactured into another piece of the next project.

Everyone Must Play a Part

Other industries are also taking part in the global Go-Green initiative. Recognizing its impact the construction industry has changed how construction procedures are applied. Taking their cue from the way other industrial sectors have begun to embrace sustainability in their processes, the construction industry is working to keep waste to a minimum while incorporating greener building materials.

A wide range of other industries in our reach have taken significant steps to reduce their environmental impact too, including:

• Transportation
• Distribution/Logistics
• Construction
• Pipe manufacturing
• Automotive OEMs
• Tier II & III Automotive Suppliers

A Sustainable Product Lineup

While manufacturing isn’t always viewed as an environmentally friendly industry, Universal Polymer & Rubber constantly works to reinforce sustainable practices that contribute to a healthy environment. Our product lineup includes durable compression moldings, transfer moldings, and injection moldings, all mindfully crafted with appropriate sustainable practices and materials.

As contributors to the supply chain in a comprehensive range of industries, we feel it our responsibility to help reduce both our company carbon footprint and the carbon footprints of the clients that rely on our products.

To learn more about our green initiatives, and to stay up to date on current industry news and trends, follow our blog, Twitter, and connect with us on LinkedIn. For more information on our products and services, contact us today.

Returnable Packaging in the Auto Industry: Is it Practical?

If you work in the automotive industry, you may have heard about the possibility of returnable packaging—sending packing containers back to the supplier in order to be more sustainable and eco-friendly. It was a growing trend in the 1990’s, when more and more people in the industry were pushing for it. So where does returnable packaging stand now, and why isn’t there more of it?

While it seemed like a great idea at the time—who doesn’t want to do better things for the environment?—many soon realized that the cost of returning packaging simply didn’t make smart business sense. While it’s a fantastic idea if the supplier is located a short distance away, it’s not uncommon in today’s logistical environment for a supplier to be located hundreds of miles away. In the case of returnable packaging, someone has to bear the extreme cost associated with its return, and the cost was simply too much.

Personally, we have seen that returnable packaging is not attractive to most of our automotive clients. While we supply 20-25 tier 1 suppliers, only one of those suppliers practices this policy. For the rest, the financial burden is too much. And when it comes to the auto industry, costs are a huge driver, and the supply chain must do what’s most cost effective in order to remain competitive and keep a healthy bottom line.

Furthermore, many companies who once partook in the practice found that returning packaging proved to not always be as positively green as people had hoped. As an example, when Toyota first began implementing waste reduction programs, one of their measures included a returnable packaging system. However, shortly after its implementation, they found that while trying to be more sustainable, the opposite was happening. According to a Toyota executive, they soon realized “we were reducing a waste that was formerly recycled, and our recycling rate got worse. So our strategic indicator was telling us to not implement more returnable packaging programs.”

While we’re all mindful of sustainable, efficient business, it’s a competitive landscape, and, as in any industry, ideas that are not practical are not going to be able to become universally adopted.