Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1464021
18 PalletCentral • March-April 2022 palletcentral.com "Inflation is disastrous, as well as supply chain difficulties. Apartment rents and college tuitions are up 10%. America has done a great job containing inflation until now. e price wars are over, and everyone is raising prices." Summing up his presentation, Buchholz said, "I am somewhat optimistic. Consumers are going into the Russia crisis with some cushion, strong FICOs, and savings in good shape." He finished by saying that having more of a negative impact on the economy is life expectancy. "It is killing the economy. Today, we have more golf courses than McDonald's. But this is a problem that our grandchildren will inherit." Sustainability Sells the Story "Shipping pallets is not a topic that typically rises to the top of the sustainability agenda for most companies. Perhaps it should," said Joel Makower in a recent blog immediately following his presentation to 2022 ALC attendees. Makower is Chairman and Co-founder of the GreenBiz Group. "As companies probe ever deeper into their supply chains in search of ways to reduce waste, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and other negative impacts, wooden pallets are poised to carry more weight in the conversation." As the timing was never better, Makower made a case for wooden pallet companies to share their sustainability story with the marketplace. "Ignoring sustainability has become a risk factor in the corporate world," he stated to attendees. "e conversation is going from 'what is business doing to screw up environment' to 'what is the environment doing to mess up business.'" He defines sustainability initiatives as "keeping molecules in play" by addressing climate change and taking a serious role in the circular economy. Product life extension is important, and wooden pallets offer that longevity. Makower reiterated that wooden pallet companies should be using the EPD to talk to their customers and potential customers about their corporate sustainability measures. "Your customer is thinking about them. ey want data. ey now must report to their stakeholders on environmental stewardship. How can you help them?" To consider their sustainability measures: • What do you know about your impacts? • What are you doing with your plan to impact targets and timetables positively? Is there a plan, and is anyone accountable for it? • What are you saying to customers? Can you demonstrate precisely how you align your work day- to-day with integrating that into their product use? • What would it take for the public to have faith in this industry and have a sustainable business strategy for your company? He continued the conversation, joined by panelists Chaille Brindley, publisher of Pallet Enterprise, Timberline and Pallet Profile, and Lindsey Shean, General Manager at Pallet Logistics of America. "For the sustainability story, our company uses Nature's Packaging (www.naturespackaging.org) to tell our customers about our sustainable wooden pallet products," said Shean. "Right now, it is not the most important thing to our customers. ey listen but still ask, 'so, how much are your pallets.' But soon, that will change." "With pressure from alternative materials, we need to promote 'wood is good,'" she said. "Our company needed the facts. So, we use the carbon calculator on Nature's Packaging to share the carbon reduction impact with our clients. We were playing a defense game; we want to switch it to offensive, to see where things are headed, such as using the EPD." "Some may wonder, what is the EPD, and how do I use it?" Chaille said. "e EPD is the first step to having scientific information to back up your product. Even smaller companies can use this. e sustainability folks are coming. Companies mention annual reports and compensate CEOs on their efforts; that will filter down." He also noted that it is a great story to tell potential employees, as emerging workforces want to work with companies who make a difference. A Shortage Economy e supply chain is the current buzzword, and it has problems. No consumer knew that term until On utililzing the EPD: "Your customer is thinking about them. They want data. They now must report to their stakeholders on environmental stewardship. How can you help them?" — Joel Makower, GreenBiz Group