|
Natural Capitalism: When Green Means Clean and Profits
Randy Brown
|
|
| One of 10 GenSys systems that power a lab, residential units and a telecommunictions building at the Watervliet Arsenal in New York state. The system can be recycled, reused or remanufactured.
|
If you took apart
one of Plug Power’s 2,200-pound GenSys™
fuel cell systems and laid all of its pieces on
the ground, you would be looking at approximately
2,500 square feet of steel, rubber and plastic.
That number multiplied by the hundreds of systems
Plug Power has put in the field produces more
than 15 football fields of material. Multiply
that times the number of companies who make other
steel, plastic and rubber products and you’ll
have several seriously full landfills when consumers
are finished using those products.
Now, take that image of 15 football fields of
material and reduce it by 85%.That’s what
Plug Power engineers have started doing for the
company and its customers. The 5-kilowatt GenSys
system is more than 85% recyclable or reusable
by weight. In the sales contract, Plug Power reserves
the right to buy the system back at the end of
its life. By buying back products from customers,
the company is able to take control of where the
system components end up – and is able to
ensure that less than 15% reach a landfill.
This isn’t just the work of a few environmentally-savvy
engineers. Zero-to-landfill is part of the company’s
overarching strategy to stay on the shortest path
to profitability. Plug Power is committed to reaping
the benefits of achieving the triple bottom line
– people, planet and profit – for its
employees, customers and shareholders.
So far, this commitment has proved advantageous.
In just the past year, Plug Power saved more than
280 trees, nearly 400,000 gallons of water and
more than $6,000 in landfill and energy costs
through its cardboard recycling program alone.
In addition, Plug Power saved more than $150,000
by recycling precious metals and engaging in basic
remanufacturing. This is significant considering
the initial volume of products the company has
been rolling out in its start-up phases.
Plug Power also has collaborated with the National
Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery
at the Rochester Institute of Technology and,
with funding provided by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the New York State Office of
Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR),
jointly developed a process for cleaning and reusing
stack plates. This year Plug Power expects to
save additional money from those remanufacturing
efforts.
Early in 2003, Plug Power completed the design
for GenCore®, the company’s backup fuel
cell product. Because of the successful money-saving
remanufacturing efforts experienced with GenSys,
the company started early in the product design
and delivery process for GenCore to set goals
for remanufacturing and recycling. Those features
were studied as carefully as the system’s
reliability, efficiency and cost.
Forecasting what would happen to a component when
the product was taken out of initial service was
a key element in the planning process because
it was recognized as a necessary step toward achieving
the company’s goals. Collaborating with suppliers
on the design enabled Plug Power to leverage a
broader knowledge base, and so selecting the appropriate
suppliers became crucial as well.
The Supplier Issue
To achieve lean manufacturing, or the ability
to do more with less, a company must work with
environmentally-knowledgeable suppliers, or boost
their suppliers to higher standards. A case example
of this occurred when a Plug Power supplier delivered
sheet metal wrapped in foam and then protected
by bubble wrap on a wooden pallet. Dismantling
and discarding the wrap required hours of labor
and dozens of trips to the dumpster, which was
quickly filled to capacity. Plug Power considered
boxing and sending back the material to the supplier.
Instead of using more time and labor to do this,
the company chose to work with the supplier to
create a reusable crate and wrap.
Plug Power has adopted a practice of teaming up
with all its suppliers to customize processes,
products and packaging that use less material
and produce less waste. This sustainability effort
is directly linked to the key principles of lean
manufacturing and waste reduction. Saving time
and money are the driving forces behind the efforts.
Assessing Oneself Honestly
This year Plug Power worked with the Rocky Mountain
Institute (RMI) to assess its progress on the
path to sustainability. RMI performed an environmental
audit based on the principles of natural capitalism,
which are outlined in the book Natural Capitalism:
Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, by Paul
Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. Under
this ideology, corporations assign a high value
to natural capital – familiar resources like
air, water, minerals, trees and soil – because
they recognize the interdependencies that exist
between human-made and natural resources. The
Institute asserts that using natural capital more
productively by making changes in design, technology
and manufacturing processes will inevitably lead
to increased profits and a sustainable competitive
advantage. A key principle in this approach is
the elimination of the very concept of waste.
The new paradigm created is “waste equals
food” in a closed system where materials
are constantly reused.
Plug Power is working closely with other companies
committed to building sustainable organizations,
including Coca-Cola, Shell, Ford, Nike, and Harley
Davidson, to create a learning community in which
these companies can discover, examine and share
accelerated ways to achieve the triple bottom
line. They meet regularly as part of the Society
for Organizational Learning Sustainability Consortium,
founded in 1995. The next meeting is taking take
place this month to discuss “Business Innovation
for Sustainability in the areas of Leadership,
Learning and Collaboration for People, Planet
and Profit.”
Challenges Remain
Plug Power recognizes that the road to establishing
a “zero footprint” by realizing products
and processes that do not have a net negative
impact on the world economically, ecologically
or socially, is a long one. Working with other
companies in the Society for Organizational Learning
and building a corporate culture that has built-in
sustainability help keep the company on its path
and ready to face the challenges ahead. With strong
leadership and technical expertise, Plug Power
is continuing to build the tools and skills needed
to achieve zero-to-landfill on the drive toward
profitability. Plug Power is building products
that are clean, reliable sources of energy and
a company dedicated to achieving the triple bottom
line. It can serve as a model for companies of
all sizes seeking to help return to the planet
some of what the planet has provided to us.
[Author Randy Brown is production manager of
Plug Power, Inc. For more information, call (518)
782-7700.]
|
