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Starting Small with Sustainability – an APQC Story

Starting Small with Sustainability – an APQC Story

APQC is small in terms of our physical footprint and number of employees. We deliver services; we have no products that require manufacturing or shipping. So how can we be more sustainable? The go-to idea would be to donate money – and we do donate to charitable causes – but what else could we do?

We took a look at our suppliers. While it’s small potatoes compared to a multinational corporation, we do buy a lot of coffee and related products. Like many others, we provided employees with disposable beverage pods so they could have the coffee, tea, etc. of their choosing. But that creates a lot of waste and hurts the environment.

So we found a local provider to deliver a more sustainable solution. Benefits:

  • Quality and freshness
  • Supplier partnership
  • Sustainability
  • Employee engagement

Learn more about this partnership between Zeppelin Coffee and APQC in this case study.

We recently had the opportunity to talk with the founder of Zeppelin Coffee, Kevin Dowd, about his vision and actions related to sustainability. He had this to say about reducing the amount of waste created rather than trying to recycle it:

The pursuit is sustainable consumption, rather than trying to create more clever ways to create single-use packaging. We want to close the tap on single-use packaging wherever its applied.

APQC Talks Sustainability

Looking beyond, far beyond our coffee bar, APQC is seeing and hearing that sustainability is one of the top trends expected to impact organizations. But what does that mean? If you search the Internet for “sustainability,” you get 913 million hits in less than one second, and that can be overwhelming. To cut through the hype and the headlines, APQC thought leaders are coming together to discuss this hot topic.

You are invited to a panel discussion featuring Carla O’Dell (chairman of the APQC board) joined by the three of us: Marisa Brown (sr. principal research lead, supply chain management), Holly Lyke-Ho-Gland (principal research lead, process and performance management), and Mercy Harper (researcher and writer) on Tuesday, May 25 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern/10:30 a.m. Central. We will talk about:

  • The big picture of sustainability
  • APQC's definition of sustainability
  • Spotlight on supply chain sustainability
  • and more...

Audience questions will be welcome, and APQC will provide resources to everyone who registers. Register here to join the conversation.

Want to Read More?

To provide clarity and consistency, APQC has created a Definitions and Resources Guide for Sustainability. Click here to access it (available to the public) and let us know what you think. We welcome your input for additions and changes. 

Interested in sustainability in transportation? Click here to read about ZUUM, an organization focused on optimizing logistics through greater collaboration and the reduction of waste and inefficiency in freight transportation. ZUUM developed an automated logistics management platform that connects shippers, brokers, and carriers to maximize reliability, speed, efficiency, and sustainability.

Connect with us

What creative avenues is your organization exploring to drive sustainability? We want to hear. Reach out to us via email, comment below, or connect on LinkedIn or Twitter.