Paper manufacturer sustains quality and the environment

Dave Lunati surveyed the overflow crowd at his presentation on sustainable packaging at October’s Pack Expo in Las Vegas and stated the obvious. “It’s clear sustainable packaging is an important topic this year,” he told the audience.

Lunati, the marketing director for Monadnock Paper Mills in Bennington, NH, gave a simple explanation for why his paper manufacturing plant is 100% sustainable. “We do it because we live in a beautiful part of New Hampshire, and we want to keep it that way,” Lunati said. “We do it because it makes good business sense. It’s why customers do business with us.”

As companies make sustainability a business strategy and not just a public relations announcement, companies like Monadnock with an established commitment to the effort find themselves in demand.

“You cannot sacrifice quality in the same of sustainability,” Lunati insisted. “It’s a delicate balance between business practices and ethical practices. It requires a long-term commitment.”

Monadnock has an environmental policy that encourages not just recycling, but a full sustainability program that covers greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy resources and fully recycled content. Lunati said their customers look to them to provide packaging materials that meet those goals as well.

“Customers ask us, ‘Can you improve the environmental profile of my product?’ ” said Lunati. “For an ever-increasing number of consumers, eco-friendly packaging is important. It’s no longer sustainable if it’s simply recycled or recyclable.”

Monadnock has six guidelines they suggest companies use when seeking sustainable packaging in their manufacturing process:

• Minimize material consumption

• Maximize recycled content

• Source responsibly

• Leverage third-party verification systems

• Employ a cleaner production process

• Involve others early and often.

• Monadnock extends its efforts on the topic to include producing chlorine-free paper and maintaining carbon neutrality in its energy process. The company is an EPA Green Power partner, and participates in the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. They also support the ISO 14001 environmental standard. “What ISO 9001 is for quality, ISO 14001 is for environmental protection,” Lunati said.

  To further the effort, Monadnock’s guidebook: “A Field Guide: Eco-Friendly, Efficient and Effective Print is printed on the company’s 100% uncoated post-consumer fiber, process chlorine-free, archival quality paper. If you want to save even more paper, the guide is also available in a PDF version by going to www.mpm.com .

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