By Paul Cassel
The annual Interior Design Show is the industry’s unofficial launch of the spring renovation season. So we expect to see great new design there. But the big surprise this year was actually a certification, prominently displayed in the booth of Quebec bathtub products manufacturer, Produits Neptune.
The ECORESPONSIBLE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM was launched in November of 2012 by the Federation of Plastics and Alliances Composites (FEPAC), supported by federal and provincial governments. In 2014, custody of the program passed to The Council of Sustainable Industries (CSI), a non-profit organisation founded by a coalition of Quebec based plastics industry producers and suppliers to support its stakeholders in managing sustainability.
When we asked CSI Executive Director Pierre Fillion on what model ECORESPONSIBLE was based, his answer was as surprising as the logo’s appearance at the show: “None.” Their goal, through initial testing and deployment in Quebec is nothing less than to set the “gold standard in green certification for the world”.
The underlying principle is continuous improvement – not merely conformity. Engage, invest, improve, reach a higher level of sustainable practice – repeat. It all started 8 years ago when Pierre, as President of FEPAC, with the assistance of University of Sherbrooke, investigated the application of Quebec’s BNQ 21000 standard built around Quebec’s unique sustainable development law, to the plastics industry.
The golden rule is to eliminate waste at all levels – and everyone in the organization must be involved to achieve optimization. They determined that the most important element of an effective program was bringing professional, certified sustainability experts on site to”train champions”. These auditors target all the participant’s operations to apply metrics and indicators. “We surround the facility!” says Pierre.
Produits Neptune's Award Winning Bathtub and Shower Turner
At audit conclusion audit, they map the steps, supply support documents, and build a dashboard to help manage the process. To make program entry more manageable, CSI broke the process down into four stages of certification, number one being engagement.
Produits Neptune was the first in their industry to obtain the ECORESPONSIBLE engagement certification. We set out to discover what it entailed and what changes they had to make.
“So many changes at various levels!” said Tania Gohier, Communications Coordinator. Change to more eco friendly suppliers, sourcing locally, reducing transport, monitoring electricity use, a brand new system for water testing that treats the test water for re-use, recycling waste acrylic (used to make playground equipment and benches), reducing storage, lowering manufacturing power consumption, decreasing VOCs by changing raw materials, and enhancing the quality of indoor air in the plant.
Produits Neptune employees, unlike other plastic factory workers, wear no masks. VOCs are less the 50% of the established industry standard, while Styrene levels have been reduced by 60%. “Our plant doesn’t smell,” says Tania.
They also made changes to improve safety and reduce accidents. A brand new Bathtub and Shower Turner was engineered to do the heavy lifting, for which PN won the CSST’s Health and Safety Award. The process took Produits Neptune almost two years of inspections, training, plant and supply modification, and investment.
The ultimate target according to Pierre is “a true quadruple bottom line breach on the sustainability front – with Canada leading.” Why in Quebec? Pierre says they had Quebec’s sustainable development law supported by the BNQ 21000 standard to start from.
The metrics for the three other levels are a work in progress, “the current headache” according to Pierre. Eco-responsible production and packaging, eco-responsible supply, and the eco-responsible value chain (addressing the full product lifecycle) systems of progressive levels, audits, metrics and training are expected to form the most rigorous certification standard in the world.
Tania admits it was really hard work, but worthwhile for Produits Neptune to be the first certified bath products manufacturer in North America and an example to the industry. What was their inspiration? President Jean Rochette made it his mission as the ambassador and convinced the team. While the process required significant financial and human resource investment, Jean saw the benefits as long term.
Produit Neptune’s 150 employees certainly had to make some adaptations, but they are proud of their certification. It has also motivated them to recommend Produits Neptune to others as a place to work. Today, they enjoy one of the highest safety and lowest employee turnover rates in their industry.
Everyone was involve – from measurement to training to sourcing to recycling and waste management. “It’s now part of the brand – in our identity!” says Tania. “We’re the only one in our industry, but there will be others. At the IDS students were all asking about this certification – for the new generation it makes a big difference!”
While it took Produits Neptune almost two years to achieve certification as the guinea pig for their industry, Pierre estimates 3-5 months would be sufficient now. Maintenance follows every 2 years, with an audit confirming that standards are met and a report setting out the criteria for continuous improvement.
Pierre agrees with Tania – be a champion when others are dubious and set an example to inspire the rest of world. When he and his collaborators embarked on this project in 2007, he asserts, “We were on an island – under serious surveillance from the industry”. At the time there was only ISO 14000 and 26000 in France, which was based on Corporate Social Responsibility not manufacturing. So they began with their industry – but with the goal of building a model for all.
“Most people think self-declaration based eco-labels are questionable. We truly believe in the closed loop circular economy with a culture of sustainability throughout,” says Pierre. “This is the sole body so far that is structured this way”.
To build credibility, the Council engaged Prof Jean Cadieux at the University of Sherbrooke, a principal researcher in the development of the Quebec’s Sustainable Development Management Manual, supported by 21 professors in different disciplines. To follow up, the Council is establishing a University Chair dedicated to sustainable manufacturing.
As of March 2015, there were 43 companies (including one US plant) certified ECORESPONSIBLE. And several more have recently applied including, just as Tania predicted, a second bath products company.
Once ECORESPONSIBLE is ready to roll out beyond Quebec, CSI plans to promote the trademark to support the eco-leaders in the program; all of whom are provided a workshop in marketing and communications around their sustainability commitment. There’s one rule that applies to every industry says Pierre, “No greenwashing!”
