Recycling
Sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN ... Celebrate Sustainability with Earth Day

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

SUPPLY CHAIN Celebrate Sustainability with Earth Day Observed every April 22 since 1970, Earth Day serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting our planet. By Bill Angrick Related Companies Liquidity Services Company Quicklook Related Download The Rise of Refurbished Products Many manufacturers and retailers have viewed refurbished products as a lesser priority...however, recent research shows there is real value in applying strategic planning to this area… April 22, 2016 While Earth Day is celebrated just one day a year, at Liquidity Services we believe sustainability is a 365-day-a-year commitment. Organizations have the responsibility to promote our planet’s well being by incorporating sustainability into their business practices. Sustainability Makes Good Business Sense In the late 1990s, when Liquidity Services was founded, few organizations had comprehensive sustainability programs in place. Today such programs are widespread and growing. A recent McKinsey survey found that most organizations practice sustainability, whether by reducing energy use or committing resources to sustainable products.[1] And many organizations now approach sustainability strategically, with 43% seeking to align sustainability with overall business goals and 36% of company leaders considering it a top priority.[2] Sustainability isn’t just the “right thing to do.” Organizations are committing to strategic, far-reaching sustainability initiatives because they pay dividends, as many leaders say sustainability programs make “positive contributions to their companies’ long- and short-term value.”[3] Sustainability helps protect our planet while enhancing an organization’s value and reputation. It simply makes good business sense. Liquidity Services Celebrates Earth Day 365 Days a Year By the nature of what we do, Liquidity Services is a sustainable business. We partner with clients to extend the life of their surplus assets – from returned and seasonal retail merchandise that didn’t sell such as apparel and consumer electronics to large capital assets such as vehicles, manufacturing machinery, and construction equipment. Through our solutions, assets that might have otherwise ended up in a landfill are redeployed elsewhere within the client’s organization, sold to new owners via our secondary marketplace channels such as Liquidation.com, or safely disposed of through our R2-certified recycling process. Our partnerships contribute to a greener planet by maximizing assets’ lifespans, increasing reuse and recycling, and decreasing landfill waste. Watch the video below to discover our sustainable process for selling surplus: 1:59 Read the case studies below to see how we help clients meet sustainability goals: Large retailer – We helped this company achieve a “zero waste” milestone by selling and deterring from landfills hundreds of millions of surplus inventory units from stores across the country. Consumer goods company – Through an innovative solution, we reformulated this company’s recycled products into new items that could be sold in a different market, preventing brand cannibalism and ensuring it adhered to zero-landfill-waste policies. Our Recycling Initiative by the Numbers We’ve recycled billions of pounds of scrap material on behalf of large, midsize, and small businesses as well as government enterprises. We’ve recycled: Over 2.5 billion pounds of scrap metal Over 125 million pounds of electronic scrap Nearly 50 million pounds of rubber scrap Nearly 25 million pounds of paper/card Make Every Day Earth Day Sustainability makes good business sense. Organizations should commit to wide-reaching sustainability initiatives that strategically align with their core mission and values. Download the Paper: The Rise of Refurbished Products