Introduction to Ecological Sustainability
Ecological sustainability involves a rational usage of the available natural resources in the short term bearing in mind that these resources will be needed in the long term. The concept of ecological sustainability in organization arises from the fact that human beings can exhaust the available resources. The concept calls for the management of the businesses and employees to utilize the resources wisely and efficiently to avoid exhausting them.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Stanley Black & Decker organization has been committed towards the development of communities for more than one hundred years. The organization has very strong corporate social responsibility, which is clearly evident from the financial and material support to many institutions and organizations whose missions are to make the world a better place for all the people (Stanley Black and Decker 2014 Year in Review, 2016). The commitment by the organization to maintain its support now and in the future signifies that its corporate social responsibility activities are self-sustainable. It has built many homes for people around the world, helped students to learn quality skills, and rebuilt the devastated cities.
The corporate social responsibility activities undertaken by Stanley Black & Decker focus on sustainability since the programs are self-sustainable. The direct corporate citizenship program that coordinates the support programs to other organizations uses specific criteria to ensure that the programs can be sustained now and in the future. The organization focuses on integrating the charitable activities with the brand identity of the company to improve the brand image and reputation among its clients (Sustainability | Stanley Black & Decker, 2016). It is a strategic decision because it ensures that even though the organization spends a lot of money in financing charitable activities, it gains from building its brand image, which comes along with more customers and increased revenues.
Green Product Design
Stanley Black & Decker has ECOSMART green product design, which ensures that the company works, design, manufactures, and markets its products while focusing on sustainability. The company is ECOSMART, meaning that it is committed to improving the sustainability of all its operations, products, the communities it serves, suppliers, and its esteemed customers. It is very sensitive concerning the sustainability of all its undertakings; thus, ensuring that all the stakeholders are involved in the planning and implementation of all the sustainability initiatives embraced by the company (Citizenship | Stanley Black & Decker, 2016). The ECOSMART product design ensures that the company maintains its commitment to building a sustainable future and aligns the Stanly Fulfillment System with the sustainable attributes of the organization’s products.
Companies that focus on the impact of their products and services on the lives of the people around them are also sensitive to the impact of such products on the environment. Therefore, they follow specific guidelines to ensure that their product designs are environmentally friendly. It involves compliance with the environmental laws and regulations when designing the product, managing any hazardous waste that may be produced in the process of manufacturing the product, and meeting the emission standards to conserve the environment (Leadership Program | Stanley Black & Decker, 2016). The company should also embark on conducting product environmental assessments to develop an eco-conscious product design. The products’ environmental impact assessment should be conducted to ascertain the real impact of the products on the environment.
Product Design Systems
The Stanley Black & Decker company is committed to developing unique designs for its products to provide environmental, social, and economic benefits to the organization and its stakeholders. The product design systems focus on the protection of the public health, welfare of the people, and the environment. The designs have special considerations of sustainable attributes, such as their durability, noise reduction, and improved recyclability of the old products. The company has also embraced the rightsizing packaging using the ECOSMART packaging system, which ensures the shipping cartons for the products fit the order sizes completely; thus, avoiding void spaces that are unnecessary in the cartons (Stanley Black and Decker 2014 Year in Review, 2016). The ECOSMART innovation has reduced the level of material waste by providing efficient systems that eliminate metal wastage in manufacturing products for use in heavy duty structural applications, such as rail, mining, construction, and other infrastructure building operations.
Examples of Successful Green Product Designs
The Stanley Oil and Gas has become the leading supplier of specialized tools that are used for constructing oil and natural gas transmission pipes in the world. Through the ECOSMART innovation, the company has been able to introduce new product design systems improvements that have led to very sustainable benefits, such as the SABRE, RAPTOR and HYDRA. The SABRE product design system enables the pipeline systems to retain close to 100 percent of the grit, which reduces material waste (Sustainability | Stanley Black & Decker, 2016). The RAPTOR product design system improves the traditional powder application systems by providing a consistent quality powder that ensures consistent coating thickness; thus, reducing waste. Besides, the HYDRA product design system has spearheaded the revolution of the quenching process within the cooling systems to create a mist of cooling water; thus, avoiding the production of standing water waste.
Eco-friendly Production Processes
The company has embraced eco-friendly production processes by developing systems that are environmentally sensitive concerning waste production, recyclability of the waste products, and elimination of wastes. They may have a negative impact on the environment. To develop eco-friendly processes, the company has formulated guidelines that are used to develop green production processes (Leadership Program | Stanley Black & Decker, 2016). The guidelines include ensuring there is an efficient use of the resources available such as water and energy, and reducing the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere or the water service. The guidelines provide for the prevention of the generation of waste and provision for recycling the wastes generated. These are the basic guidelines that have been adopted by Stanley Black & Decker to develop green production processes.
Green Supply Chain Management
The company has numerous tangible green manufacturing processes that are quite successful in various markets; thus, boosting the level of eco-friendly processes provided by Stanley Black & Decker Company. Some of the successful green manufacturing processes include the plant and machinery optimization in Taiwan, the zero industrial liquid discharge in Besancon, France, and the packaging reduction project that has reduced the environmental impact to the customers. The company has an outstanding green supply chain management systems that ensure the suppliers are aware of the high expectations of the company when it comes to social accountability and sustainability development (Leadership Program | Stanley Black & Decker, 2016). The green supply management systems adopted by the company guarantee provision of quality services which are eco-friendly in nature and are self-sustainable.
Conclusion
References
Citizenship | Stanley Black & Decker. (2016). Stanleyblackanddecker.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/about/citizenship
Leadership Program | Stanley Black & Decker. (2016). Stanleyblackanddecker.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/leadership-program
Stanley Black and Decker 2014 Year in Review. (2016). 2014yearinreview.stanleyblackanddecker.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://2014yearinreview.stanleyblackanddecker.com/success-drivers-sustainable-practices-product.html
Sustainability | Stanley Black & Decker. (2016). Stanleyblackanddecker.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016, from http://www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/about/sustainability
