As the World Turns Green
Make no mistake, Kelly believes CoC certifications “are great,” but more can be accomplished by carefully considering the life-cycle of a product and what the customer hopes to accomplish with it, and then choosing efficient design options that use less materials.
Kelly noted some companies are going well beyond obtaining CoC certification in their green initiatives. One manufacturer’s facility is built for optimum energy efficiency, even capturing and circulating heat from their presses to help with wintertime heating. “These are the [types of companies] I want to partner with and share their stories with my customers,” added Kelly. “Certification is currently a fad that will eventually be mainstream. The focus will become: ‘Now, how can we improve [upon] this’? Being green is not an end point; it is a journey. You can’t just buy into one [aspect] and think that’s it. If it’s important to you, you’ll learn all you can and continue to find ways to improve.”