At Summit Brands, we take sustainability – as well as our commitment to the community and the environment – very seriously. We strongly believe in conducting business sustainably, which ensures a better quality of life for everyone now without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations.
Recycling
We began our initiative by implementing recycling programs at our facilities, incentivizing employees to submit and implement sustainable, cost-effective ideas and establishing goals for reducing our corporate greenhouse gases, solid waste generation and water usage. We also encourage our suppliers to do the same.
Community Engagement
Summit Brands continues to support and contribute to the local community through programs such as United Way, The Community Harvest Food Bank, The Salvation Army, the Fort Wayne Trails Towpath project, and tree planting at Eagle Marsh, a local wetland, to celebrate Arbor Day.
We encourage our consumers to be sustainable whenever possible, in ways such as recycling appropriate materials and working to reduce individual energy and water consumption. Examples of reducing consumption can include laundering in ambient water temperatures, using high efficiency washing machines, and using proper load sizes according to detergent specifications. Summit encourages our customers to explore two campaigns referenced by The Sustainability Consortium to learn more:
AISE Low Temperature Washing Initiative
This initiative headed by AISE focuses on communicating the environmental benefits of low washing temperatures to European consumers.
American Cleaning Institute – Cold Water Saves Campaign
Launched in 2016 by The Sustainability Consortium and The American Cleaning Institute, this initiative educates students on the environmental benefits of washing clothes at ambient temperatures.
Product Development
When developing our products, we focus on integrating safety and sustainability by evaluating the entire product lifecycle. We optimize the amount of packaging used and ensure that our bottles are recyclable and contain post-consumer recycled content wherever possible. It’s our goal to implement greener chemistry into our products while improving performance for our consumers.
Reduced Emissions
Goal: To maintain the reduced emissions that Summit Brands has already achieved with continued growth and increased supply chain activities.
Progress: EXCEEDED GOAL. An emission reduction of 10% was set in 2010, to be completed by 2015. Summit Brands surpassed this by reducing our absolute Scope1 and 2 GHG emissions by 32%. We were able to achieve this through consolidation of our distribution production locations into a newly retrofitted energy-efficient facility. In normalized measurement, this allows Summit to decrease our GHG intensity per FTE by 22% from 2010-2015. Additionally, 2016 saw another reduction of 16% in combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Reduced Waste
Goal: To maintain the reduced absolute solid waste to the landfill that Summit Brands has already achieved with continued growth and increased supply chain activities.
Progress: EXCEEDED GOAL. A reduction in absolute solid waste to the landfill by 10% was set in 2011, to be completed by 2015. Summit Brands surpassed this by reducing our solid waste to the landfill by an incredible 78%. This was accomplished by significantly enhancing our recycling program and consolidating our production distribution facilities. 2016 saw no increase in solid waste to the landfill from this decreased level.
Reduced Water Usage
Goal: To maintain the reduced absolute water usage that Summit Brands has already achieved with continued growth and increased supply chain activities.
Progress: EXCEEDED GOAL. A reduction of our water usage by 15% was set in 2011, to be completed by 2015. Summit Brands surpassed this by reducing our absolute water usage by 45%. This was accomplished by upgrading to a more water efficient sprinkler system. 2016 saw no increase in absolute water usage from this decreased level.
Green Chemistry
Goal: Continuously improve the safety of our products for consumers and the environment by substituting or eliminating, wherever possible, ingredients that may pose a concern. Summit is working to eliminate sources of Priority Chemicals in our products, with a set goal of 0% new ingredients containing Priority Chemicals.
Progress: We have integrated a thorough ingredient evaluation process into our formulation changes and newly developed products. When selecting ingredients, we prefer to use materials from the Clean Ingredients list and consider Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) criteria. In 2013, we developed a new safer drain line that does not use traditional corrosive chemicals. Also, we have obtained Safer Choice and DfE Certification for two of our products and are working on certifying more.
ISO Certifications
In November 2011, Summit Brands received an ISO 14001 Certification to help drive and manage our environmental compliance and sustainability efforts through a formal and organized Environmental Management System (EMS). This framework has allowed us to manage our goals through the use of metrics and reviews by top management, drive continual improvement, and meet and exceed our customer and consumer expectations. As a leader in protecting the environment, Summit Brand’s EMS has been registered to ISO 14001 at all of its Fort Wayne, Indiana locations.
Summit Brands is also registered to ISO 9001.
Environmental Policy
Summit Brands is committed to doing well by doing good in our business and the community. We pledge to prevent pollution, continually improve toward our environmental objectives and comply with applicable regulations.
We are committed to:
Comply with applicable regulations
Prevent pollution
Develop and review our environmental objectives and targets
Continually improve our environmental management system
ECOLOGO® Certification
The ECOLOGO® program compares products/services with others in the same category, develops rigorous and scientifically relevant criteria that reflect the entire lifecycle of the product, and awards the ECOLOGO to those that are verified by an independent third party as complying with the criteria. Founded in 1988 by the Government of Canada but now recognized worldwide, ECOLOGO is North America’s largest, most respected environmental standard and certification mark. ECOLOGO provides customers – public, corporate and consumer – with assurance that the products and services bearing the logo meet stringent standards of environmental leadership. ECOLOGO certifies environmental leaders in over 120 product and service categories, helping customers find and trust the world’s most sustainable products. ECOLOGO certification is important for SeptoBac since it supports Summit Brands’ overall effort to improve sustainability and protect the environment.
For more information on the ECOLOGO program, visit ul.com/resources/ecologo-certification-program.
Safer Choice / Design For The Environment (DfE)
In 2012, Summit Brands made the responsible choice to participate in two voluntary programs run by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both programs require the products to be reviewed against a strict standard. The standard ensures certified products have more positive human health and environmental characteristics than conventional products of the same type. We are proud to have our Glisten Washer Magic certified under Safer Choice and our Glisten Dishwasher Magic Machine Cleaner certified to the DfE program.
The Safer Choice program allows us to work with the EPA to create safer, more cost-effective products for the environment and our consumers. The requirements to achieve Safer Choice recognition are rigorous. In order to meet this challenge, we have integrated the Safer Choice product process into our established Environmental Management System.
Design for the Environment (DfE) allows us to formulate anti-microbial products that are more toward the green end of the pesticide spectrum.