Why Sustainability Belongs on the Center for Retail Compliance Site

Originally posted 8/31/2016

We have added sustainability resources to the Center for Retail Compliance (CRC). Yes, the CRC is focused on environmental compliance. And yes, today’s sustainability programs are often separate from environmental programs and may never touch compliance programs. However, there are good reasons to add sustainability to the CRC.

There was no talk of sustainability in the seventies when Congress implemented major environmental legislation. These laws were focused on immediate visible hazards — the infamous burning Cuyahoga River, deadly air pollution, the close call on extinction for the Bald Eagle, and hazardous waste sites like “Valley of the Drums” (pictured). Over time, there was a move towards pollution prevention to avoid creating pollution or at least finding a use for it instead of the “end of pipe” focus of early legislation.

The term “sustainability,” often associated with international development, centered on preventing damage to natural resources. Early sustainability efforts helped reduce and prevent pollution, often around water, toxics, and waste. With the increasing evidence of climate change, energy became another critical sustainability area. True to the international development roots, sustainability came to include social and economic aspects á la the triple bottom line. Corporations, as key influencers and with key impacts, were drawn into Corporate Social Responsibility. All this leading to the separation of corporate sustainability programs from traditional environmental functions.

However, there is real value to connecting environmental compliance and sustainability. Environmental management systems (EMS) revolve around not just compliance but also reducing environmental impacts. In many cases, more sustainable approaches can reduce or even eliminate regulatory risk. Reducing waste saves resources but can also reduce the regulatory burden associated with hazardous waste. Voluntary commitments, such as Greenhouse Gas reduction targets become another compliance obligation, which can fit into an existing compliance program. Life cycle thinking has the potential to both improve sustainability and to reduce regulatory issues.

Years ago, many companies happily and mostly legally, sent hazardous waste to municipal landfills and marginal facilities. The 1980 Superfund program (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) made such disposal illegal. It also retroactively made companies responsible for the $15 to $100 million per site clean-up costs from their past disposal, along with everyone else’s through joint and several liability. Just think of the savings for these companies if they had reduced their waste to be more sustainable instead of relying on disposal.

We hope that retailers will use the CRC sustainability resources to support their sustainability programs and also to find areas for more cost-effective approaches to regulatory issues.