Sustainability needs to be more than catch phrase for MWBEs

Sustainability appears as the top trend for the 2011 manufacturing space, according to Manufacturing Business Technology. Unfortunately, for many minority and women-owned businesses (MWBEs), sustainability remains a nebulous buzzword. It’s used everywhere, but understood by very few.

This misunderstanding is a pity. Green manufacturing and sustainability have the potential to give MWBEs a serious competitive advantage by allowing them to reduce costs and meet the green provisions in coveted industrial contracts. From basic service and logistics provision to trends in packaging manufactured goods, sustainable methodologies are a lever MWBEs can use to work their way to the top of supplier food chain, if they take the time to understand the basic forces and theories behind green manufacturing initiatives.

The Foundational Elements

The key principle of green manufacturing is “be kind to Mother Earth.” This goes well beyond the reduction of stereotypical smokestacks. Green manufacturing can mean many things: increasing energy efficiency, reducing paper use, cutting down on gray water, using less packaging, switching to more biodegradable materials, or purchasing carbon offsets. Though there are many forms, the overarching goal is enhanced environmental friendliness.

Often, this enhanced environmental consciousness comes with real business advantages. Firms using fewer hazardous chemicals face fewer regulations, fewer worker health complaints, and lowered materials handling costs, to give one example. The same goes for using gray water as cooling fluid for machines or as a way to cut water costs for cleaning transport vehicles. Energy efficiencies like these hit the bottom line, while being more green also translates into enhanced market perception of firm products.

Green manufacturing can deliver a compelling competitive advantage for the minority supplier. Energy efficiencies in products, services, or logistics are highly desired in prime contracts, and innovative materials use can be a major value-add when bidding on work. With the pressure on corporate leaders and government agencies to deliver a greener product at every stage, any place in the supply chain that offers a greener approach is viewed with more interest.

Fitting In Lean, TQM, and Six Sigma Approaches

Making the choice to pursue green methods of manufacturing does require some shifts in manufacturing operations. This doesn’t mean an abandonment of key Lean, TQM, or Six Sigma approaches. Instead, it means breaking the processes apart with a green mindset and doing the same rigorous testing on any new changes.

Firms have to balance levels of importance. If cost is the driving force in your industrial niche, adopting a costly and only marginally more green material doesn’t make sense. On the other hand, tightening up packaging to reduce materials needed speaks directly to the sustainability trend in consumer goods manufacturing while also addressing bottom line needs, according to Manufacturing Business Technology.

Leveraging technologies to do work with fewer resources also makes green sense while addressing quality control and cost control issues. Green manufacturing does not need to contrast with delivering outstanding product, and minority firms that can bring quality to the table in a green way are what sourcing managers want to see.

Working With Outsourcing Layers The push for green has shifted how companies work with outsourcing layers. In the past, sourcing managers were looking for the lowest cost for raw materials, regardless of how far from the plant site it happened to be. Transport costs were factored into contract decisions, but green elements were not. Now, firms looking at the outsourcing layers in their supply chains are considering the carbon footprint aspect, as well as the resources consumed in moving low cost goods around the world when there are other sources closer to home for goods and services.

This shifting mindset can be a bonus for minority firms. By allowing firms to source locally, MWBEs can make the case that they are cutting fuel use and fuel costs, reducing the carbon footprint of goods. By lowering fuel and transport costs, even if the price points are slightly higher for the materials or parts, it may still represent a significant win and a place where minority firms can make the case for greening.

Minority firms can also make the case for themselves as distribution and finishing partners. MWBEs are often more nimble in adopting new, green technologies than large manufacturers with extensive legacy systems. Presenting a front line option with a greener approach than the back end of the firm can be a place MWBEs can win green contracts in an outsourced world.

Winning In The Green Space

Even as green manufacturing and sustainability remain a mystery for some minority suppliers, others are making a success of themselves in the green niche. Some winning minority firms include Sacred Power Corporation, Millennium Marketing Solutions, and Green Envy Promotions.

Green Envy Promotions is a California based, woman-owned business focused on green manufacturing for apparel products. The company delivers organic and recycled materials as well as certifying its own layered sources as organic and green. This allows the company to partner with confidence with firms looking to distribute branded promotional material that aligns with their green ideals.

Millennium Marketing Solutions is a Maryland-based firm certified by WBENC offering manufacturing partners cost-effective marketing materials that fulfill green standards. The firm offers QR codes for manufacturers to save postage costs, recycled products that compete price-wise with non-green materials, and digital signage solutions that reduce paper use.

In the middle of the country, Sacred Power Corporation of New Mexico manufactures solar panels for distribution in rural areas. The company has worked with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to link itself to a number of state and government agencies as a supplier. For both large and small projects, the company offers clean energy to manufacturers to reduce costs and carbon footprints.

These three companies represent just a few of the many minority firms that are finding their competitive edge with green manufacturing and green technology. With sustainability here to stay as a manufacturing priority, MWBEs that can adopt green elements in their business or create green manufacturing businesses will become the suppliers of choice.