Reeve Blog

August 2, 2016 In Reeve Blog, Sustainable Sports

In the World of Green Sport, It’s New Stadiums That Are Making the Offensive Charge

Green Sports Alliance Summit

In June, Tim visited Houston, Texas for the sixth annual Green Sports Alliance Summit. Tim moderated a panel discussion on green cleaning at sporting venues, and exchanged ideas with leaders throughout the green sports world.

In 2016, it was environmental stadium design and operations that stole the show. From green building practices to food sourced from on-site gardens, the innovative work happening in new sporting venues reinforces the importance of supply chain considerations in greening professional and collegiate sports.

A couple of notable green gems in development are:

15-aerial-200-2000w-1940x1091Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the new home to the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United FC. Overseen by the stadium general manager, Scott Jenkins, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is targeting the highest LEED certification, under the new LEED v4 standards, which place an increased emphasis on the sourcing of materials and operational products. Eco-features of this new venue will include rainwater capture and reuse, solar energy, natural ventilation and lighting, and building control systems to monitor and reduce overall energy use.

Golden 1 Center, new home of the Sacramento Kings and the venue for next year’s Green Sports Alliance 2017 Summit. In addition to using 100% solar electricity and targeting LEED Gold certification, the Golden 1 Center will source 90% of the ingredients for its food and beverages services from responsible sources within 150 miles of the arena, as per its Food and Sustainability Charter.

The structures in which we live, work, and congregate to play are some of the largest single contributors to our collective environmental footprint. With greener design, and sourcing in the construction and operation of venues, professional and collegiate sports are seizing the opportunity for leadership in sustainability and work toward a circular economy.

For more information on greening the sports world, check out the Green Sports Alliance Resources page.

May 6, 2016 In Reeve Blog

Earls’ Rocky Road to Conscious Sourcing

On April 27th, 2016, Earls Restaurant made the surprise announcement that they would be the first chain restaurant in North America to source all their beef from Certified Humane farms. The Montreal Gazette recorded Earls spokeswoman Cate Simpson “the company’s commitment to “conscious sourcing” deepened, it spent nearly three years searching for a Certified Humane producer in Canada that could meet its large supply needs.”

The move to Certified Humane beef would allow Earls customers to enjoy top quality beef, that was ethically raised without the use of antibiotics, it indicates a major shift in the attitudes of corporations. It also highlights the increase in the overall education of consumers who are demanding sustainable and ethical products. Sadly, there was one major drawback: Earls stated that they were unable to locate any beef farms in Alberta with third party certification that were large enough to meet their demand. Thus, Earls disclosed that they were going to be sourcing their beef from a certified ranch in Kansas, USA.

The backlash from Canadians was immense. Especially on social media, where people began suggesting boycotting Earls restaurants until they put Alberta beef back on their menu. Many Albertans believed that, if given enough time, farms in the area would be able to meet the requirements to be third party certified.

A week after their initial announcement, Earls was back on social media with an important update. The Globe and Mail notes Earls president, Mo Jessa, apologized for the move away from Canadian beef and stated that “Earls was committed to sourcing beef from local farmers who, importantly, meet their new criteria.” It seems they learned the hard way that, while consumers are willing to pay more for ethically sourced food, but not at the cost of local producers.

By choosing to engage with the local suppliers to improve their practices, Earls has finally struck the right balance with consumers and farmers alike. The road to conscious sourcing has been rocky, but things generally are for pioneers. Earls’ decision to work with Alberta farms, will ensure a few less bumps along the way for other Canadian companies looking to source local and ethical beef in future.

Sources:

Vancouver-based Earls moves to U.S. supplier for beef, cites humane meat policy, Global News

Earls backtracks on move away from Canadian beef, vows to put it back on the menu, Financial Post

‘We made a mistake’: Earls reverses decision on Canadian beef

We want to make this right’: Earls brings back Alberta beef after backlash, CTV News

Earls pledges to get Alberta beef on the menu after switch to U.S. supplier sparks backlash, CBC

 

 

May 3, 2016 In Ethical Purchasing, Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing, Out and About, Program Innovations, Sustainable Products, Sustainable Purchasing, Training

Where We’ll Be in May: SPLC’s 2016 Summit

Reeve is heading to Washington DC in May to attend and run a session at the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council’s 2016 Summit. The Summit runs from May 24th to 26th, but there are also pre-summit short courses that will happen on May 23rd.

What’s the 2016 Summit? Following up on the Council’s well-reviewed 2015 Summit, the 2016 Summit will bring together 300 leading sustainable purchasing experts and practitioners from a wide variety of sectors and regions for two days of best practice sharing, training, and relationship building. This year’s Summit features 100+ speakers, 45+ interactive workshops, and a Leadership Awards banquet.

What are some of the things we’re excited about at the 2016 Summit?

Our roundtable, “Wider Training for Improved Results: Engaging P-Card Holders in Sustainable Purchasing” at the Innovation Accelerator session: The Innovation Accelerator session takes place from 10:40 AM – 12:10 PM, on Thursday, May 26, and features thirty roundtable presentations and discussions about innovative projects and concepts that are ready to be launched, joined, expanded, replicated, or shared for thoughtful feedback! Reeve will be running a roundtable to share the benefits of eLearning as a tool for engaging employees across the organization in sustainable purchasing activities, how to roll out this training, and the initial results of a pilot project we have been conducting with the Green Learning Centre. The best possible results of sustainable purchasing initiatives come from employees across the organization who are engaged and informed – our roundtable will help participants learn how to make this happen in their own workplaces. (Learn more about the Innovation Accelerator’s purpose and format)

Pre-Summit Short Courses: Short Courses will give participants an opportunity to go in-depth on a number of topics: Fostering Sustainable Purchasing Behavior, Supply Chain & Climate, Spend Analysis for Sustainability Leadership, Evaluating the Credibility of Sustainable Product/Services Claims, and Building a Renewable Energy Purchasing Strategy. (Summit registration is not a requirement for participating in the short courses, which take place on Monday, May 23rd).

We think the Summit will be a valuable networking and educational experience for us, and we think you’d benefit from attending too! In the hope that we’ll see you there, we’d like to extend a discount code for your use: input the MCSP2016 discount code to get 10% off when registering as a non-member.

 

March 29, 2016 In Ethical Purchasing, Ethical Supply Chain Management, Fair Trade, Local Purchasing, Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing, Sustainable Purchasing

Presenting the 2015 State of the Nation Report on Municipal Sustainable Purchasing in Canada

Reeve Consulting and the Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (MCSP) are pleased to release their sixth annual MCSP State of the Nation Report. Each year the report has provided the most comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of the latest trends, best practices, examples and case studies in municipal sustainable purchasing in Canada.

The report offers a national snapshot of how Canadian municipalities are implementing sustainable purchasing programs and is an invaluable resource for municipal decision-makers looking to implement impactful sustainable procurement programming.

View the full report at http://blog.reeveconsulting.com/resources/

 The release of the report also marks the kick-off of the 2016 programming for the Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement. This year, the MCSP welcomed post-secondary institution members alongside municipalities to its Canada-wide network of professionals engaged in developing and leading the charge in best practice sustainable procurement at the local community level. Through its collaboration and resource sharing programs, the MCSP will help participating municipalities and post-secondary institutions address challenges and priorities raised in the 2015 State of the Nation report.

For more information on the collaboration, visit the MCSP website.

Media Contact:

Tim Reeve

President, Reeve Consulting

Phone: 604-763-6829

Email: tim@reeveconsulting.com

April 1, 2015 In Reeve Blog

McDonald’s Shows That in the World of Sustainable Purchasing, Size Does Matter

No Drug

McDonald’s recently announced its intention to phase out the use of chicken raised with antibiotics from their 14,000 US stores within two years. They are not the first company to make their product more sustainable; they are not even the first fast-food company to make this shift. What makes this announcement especially exciting is the impact that this decision will have on the entire industry.

Consumer groups, such as Meat Without Drugs and Consumers Union, health organizations, and individuals have been pushing for years for companies to stop using antibiotics in their food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other public health organizations have warned that the misuse of antibiotics on healthy livestock is making these medications less effective for treating disease in people. Whether concerned about the over use of antibiotics and its correlation to the creation of “superbugs”, or worried about the long term affects on human growth patterns, food with antibiotics has been a hot button issue. This type of consumer concern has led to rapid growth in the production and sale of sustainable foods from smaller chain restaurants and local artisanal eateries. For some examples of local eateries see the list below! However, the small size of these types of businesses means they lack the clout to make a noticeable impact on the supply chain.

When it comes to making sustainable purchasing cost-effective and impactful, size matters! Selling an estimated 1.5 billion McNuggets annually, McDonald’s has some real leverage to move poultry suppliers from using antibiotics to using more sustainable methods. If McDonald’s successfully negotiates this transition, opinions are that antibiotic free chicken will start popping up everywhere. According to Jonathan Kaplan, the Natural Resource Defense Council’s food and agriculture program director “This may be a tipping point for antibiotic use in the poultry industry, McDonald’s has so much purchasing power and brand recognition, I think we’re seeing a new industry standard here”.

McDonald’s is a great example of the Reeve Consulting message on the importance of harnessing your supply chain for positive social and environmental impact. With its size alone, McDonald’s has the potential to dramatically shift the fast food industry supply chains! If this transition is as successful as we all hope it will be, we can expect to see McDonald’s continue to roll out more sustainability initiatives across the value chain!

Local Artisanal Eateries in Your Area

Chicken

March 30, 2015 In Ethical Purchasing, Ethical Supply Chain Management, Reeve Blog

Bittersweet on Easter Treats

As you plan ahead for your Easter weekend, you might be thinking about Easter egg hunts, or other chocolate goodies that the Easter Bunny will deliver. This year, go beyond planning strategic hiding spots, and consider thinking about the origin of the chocolate you purchase for your friends and loved ones.

Last week, CTV News ran an article called, “The dark side of Easter chocolate,” in which they detailed worrisome ethical concerns in the chocolate supply chain, including child labour and slavery, and a lack of sustainable income for many cocoa farmers in regions such as West Africa.

For those of us who want to feel good about our impact on others and the environment, this isn’t great news. However, you may not have to give up your annual hunt. One place to start is to look for the Fairtrade label when purchasing chocolate. Many companies, like Camino, Endangered Species, and others offer Fairtrade and sustainably-sourced chocolate Easter treats, and even large companies such as Cadbury, Nestle, and Hershey are taking steps toward stronger ethical and environmental performance.

To help you in your pursuit, CTV also cited two resources for finding ethical Easter chocolate: World Vision’s “The Good Chocolate Guide” and the “ChocoFinder” app that will help you find specialty chocolate stores selling ethical products in your area.

This year, look for chocolate that won’t compromise people or planet – we think that’s a decision you can feel really sweet about!

December 3, 2014 In Local Purchasing, Reeve Blog

Keep Your Friends Close and your Groceries Closer: BC Buy Local

Did you know we are smack in the middle of BC Buy Local Week? BC Buy Local Week takes place annually from December 1 – 7. Click the link at the bottom and watch the video, it will give you a deeper understanding of the HUGE impact that buying local has both on the economy and the environment, and more importantly, how your choices can make your community a better place.

The Buy BC Local website notes that “Local businesses enhance our community, connect and support us socially, and enhance wealth and employment by circulating dollars many times between businesses. Research shows that BC local businesses create more than double the economic impact of their chain competitors.” That means for every $100 you spend with local BC businesses, $46 is re-circulated back into the local economy compared to multi national companies where only $18 is kept locally.

A peruse of the Buy BC Local Newsletter makes it evident that many local businesses tend to be greener, more progressive and healthier. For example, Food.ee: Changing the Catering Business through Locally Sourced Foods and Compostable Packaging, or Modo the Car Coop. Not only are local businesses boosting the economy, they’re looking out for our health and the environment – a win-win-win! Add to that the fact that local businesses provide more support for local events, sports teams and charities and are more likely to buy local services and stock local products themselves – it’s seems a pretty simple choice.

Vancouver has done well with promoting local artisans and grocers. The City of Vancouver website has a devoted page to helping people locate local produce. BC Buy Local is taking the whole BC local movement one giant step forward by unifying the ideals and expanding the definition to include the whole province. In doing so they are providing much-needed information and awareness to build traction and take Buy Local from a concept to a reality.

Check out their website, sign up for the newsletter and find out where you can buy local and make a difference in your community, one dollar at a time. If you are a local vendor, they have information for you too!

Dec 1 – 7 BC Buy Local Week

November 3, 2014 In Ethical Purchasing, Ethical Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Products, Sustainable Purchasing

Not just another fluff piece

Winter is on the way and with it, racks and racks of high-end down filled jackets, slippers and blankets promising to keep you cozy all season long. Generally speaking these are high-priced items, but a recent article has left us wondering, what is the real cost of all this down?

A review of the video attached tells you everything you didn’t want to know about how down is usually sourced. None of it is surprising for anyone who is versed in large factory farming methods, but it’s sure to bring a chill to anyone cuddle up in their down duvet! Force feeding, plucked alive, terrible conditions all suffered by these harmless birds to keep us warm and cozy.

Enter Patagonia, an outdoor apparel company who has just launched its “Responsible Apparel” campaign along with its intention to offer Fair Trade Clothing. This week they announced the launch of Patagonia® Traceable Down. The company says that the birds are neither force feed for fois gras or plucked during their lifetime. In fact, Wendy Savage, social and environmental responsibility manager for Patagonia says “Patagonia’s traceability program is hands-on every step of the way. We begin our audit at the parent farm, where the eggs are laid, and follow it all the way to the garment factory, where the down is placed in our garments. We need to understand every single part of the supply chain – otherwise we can’t truly feel comfortable claiming the down as traceable.”

Down is lightweight and efficient insulation, with Patagonia creating and following these traceability standards; it is now sustainable and a lot more ethical. Considering it already has organic cotton and recycled polyester, they are leading the charge towards sustainable apparel and should be an inspiration to other companies to utilize the holistic model set forth by Patagonia.

June 30, 2014 In Ethical Purchasing, Reeve News, Sustainable Purchasing

New eLearning Tool for Sustainable Purchasing from Reeve Consulting

With supply chain transparency quickly rising as a corporate priority –private and public sector organizations are asking themselves how they can more effectively engage with their staff around important ethical and sustainable purchasing concepts.

That’s why a new eLearning tool called The Green Learning Centre is creating a buzz. Powered by Reeve Consulting, The Green Learning Centre is a unique online communication and training program that builds employee awareness and understanding of ethical, sustainable and green purchasing in a fast, fun and effective way.

READ MORE

June 30, 2014 In Ethical Supply Chain Management

Supplier Engagement and Collaboration: McDonalds Releases 2014 “Best of Sustainable Supply” Report

We’ve long been advocates of the idea of working collaboratively with suppliers to scale up social and environmental performance, and a recent report released by McDonalds shows just how much can be achieved when organizations look to their suppliers for solutions to sustainability challenges. In their new report entitled, “Best of Sustainable Supply”,  McDonalds honours 36 suppliers and 51 projects that represent significant innovation towards more sustainable supply chains. McDonalds believes that innovation is key to their sustainability journey and their suppliers have a pretty impressive track record of innovating in the area of the three E’s: ethics, environment, and economics.

According to Jose Amario, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Supply Chain, one of the goals of the report is to share that innovations and knowledge with other suppliers,

“Every year, our suppliers focus even more attention on sustainability, applying innovation to make a real difference for the people, communities, animals and environment that touch our supply chain. And the benefits don’t end with us. Many of these innovations can bring about more widespread change in our suppliers’ own industries and in broader society”.

In a call for nominations McDonalds received 585 submissions, almost 40 percent more than the last time they engaged suppliers in this program. Stay tuned for information from Reeve Consulting on Supplier Collaboration and best practices as we work with one of our major retail clients on a supplier recognition program aimed to roll out in the fall of 2014.