7 minute read
A greener mindset in a changing office environment
Dr Liz Wilks, European director of sustainability at Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), discusses her background, why sustainability is so important to her, how the way we work has changed over the years, and how the ongoing battle of making the industry greener can be achieved
How many of us in the office products industry simply ‘fell into’ this sector? From the many dealers, wholesalers and manufacturers I’ve spoken to, it’s a common story to become a member of the OP community due to joining the family business, getting involved with sales and slowly moving into this sector, drifting into it via a loosely-related market, or even taking business journalism experience to a very specific trade publication – there’s a whole host of potential reasons why we’ve ended up in this industry together. Dr Liz Wilks, European Director of Sustainability at (APP), is no exception to this type of unplanned transition – although her personal beliefs did happen to align with those of her future employers.
For Liz, her OP journey began in 1999 as a packaging manager at Wiggins Teape (now Antalis) – but that wasn’t her background. “My background is in European business with French, and my Masters was in strategic marketing. I was doing direct marketing part-time through an agency, while working on my masters, and I thought I’d like to start working for a company.”
Liz looked after the packaging portfolio and developed a passion for it, getting heavily involved in the Institute of Packaging. She joined the advisory committee to develop a code of practice for food packaging hygiene, which led to her to work on a PhD on this topic. From here, Liz became increasingly involved with the inner workings of the supply chain, standard setting, sustainability and the environment at large – and her passion for these subjects only grew.
By the time she became involved in CSR management and implementation, sustainability was not yet at the forefront of peoples’ minds. “The paper industry still thought, rightly so, that it had all the mechanisms it needed in place, because we were sourcing things from all over the world; for example, Germany had the Blue Angel label and Scandinavia was a pioneer of well-managed natural forestry. The role that sustainability and environmental awareness plays in purchasing behaviour has been on the rise ever since, as consumers and companies are looking more for office products with environmental credentials and this was and is becoming the norm both in terms of certifications as well as legality.
Liz also became involved with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), as her interest in what her company did evolved beyond the scope of the industry and went on to implement the first multi site chain of custody globally. “I’m interested in the bigger picture,” she says. “What can we change globally? How can the industry move forward? At 32, I was a global sustainability director at Antalis, but I felt like I needed to renew my purpose and have more impact – so I went to APP to share the knowledge I had then as well as learn more.”
TAKING EXPERIENCE TO ASIA
APP is based in Indonesia, and Liz quickly discovered that, while there were global paper standards that APP had already applied to its business, there was still a lot of criticism across the globe. APP needed to go beyond what was the global norm.
APP operates in countries where stable economic growth is still in progress, and 70% of the people living in Indonesia live off the land, giving them – and Liz – a different perspective. Liz has worked tirelessly to change the view of south-east Asia as a major green player ever since, and made sure that the sustainability message is at the heart of APP. For example, in 2015, APP implemented its Forest Conservation Policy which included their commitment to 100% zero deforestation as well as sustainable livelihoods securing over 17,000 households.
So, given the breadth of what she has experienced in this sector, what does she consider a ‘responsible’ business to be? “It’s many things,” she says. “It’s not just about the materials themselves, but the source of the materials, and their circularity. So, if you’re working in print, it would be about the ink and the laminates, not just the paper. For a dealer, it’s about the product you’re buying, with the product the credentials of the manufacturer and supplier, the framework for it and the product itself as well as how the product will be delivered.
“Responsible sourcing isn’t just saying, ‘We want that, and that’s it’ – it’s also about collaborating with the rest of the supply chain. It’s important to ask your suppliers what they’re doing - what they’re working towards - as this will impact your own path; then bring them along with you on your journey as it also affects peoples livelihoods”.
THE RESPONSIBLE OFFICE
Our perception of the role of the office as is our role within it, are changing. Liz has experienced the gradual change from uninspiring and packed office at the beginning of her career to a more open plan, high tech office after the 2008 recession. From her recent trip to Paperworld she recalls the depiction of the future office with hot desking, moveable desks, kitchen spaces, ergonomic spaces and a much greener, flourishing overall layout in an attempt to boost our creativity, efficiency and productivity.
Owing to recent events, the future of the office has changed again and we have come to understand that the office can be wherever our laptops are. This does not mean that the actual office itself is dead because we all need social interaction of some kind. However, the time we spend commuting to and from the office and the hours we spend in the actual workplace may change again. The responsible office is now as much the office we may commute to as the office we take home with our laptops that includes zoom meetings, mindfulness and other ways of support a company offers its employees.
Although technology allows us the flexibility to work anywhere and be available 24/7, its detrimental impact on our productivity and digital wellbeing is often overlooked by businesses. Screen fatigue, computer vision syndrome, distraction from constant notification, always-on lifestyle and the lack of real manager-employee connection are often associated with the use of technology. Technology may have transformed our lives in many fantastic ways, but maintaining the balance between technology and traditional use of paper has clear advantages.
One thing we still observe is every type of office is the continuous and even increasing need for physical paper products. Important or long documents are still printed out, notebooks are still used in meetings, and digitalisation has made it possible to print on increasingly niche, purposed and personalised paper. In addition to this, it has been shown that writing by hand encourages creativity and boosts retention of information. Paper products still play a valuable role in our working lives and the future office will still require consumables, whether partial or fulltime teleworking from home is possible or not.. Liz notes that technology has changed the shape and form of the consumables needed in the office and thinking about cutting out paper-use in the workplace is just impossible. What is changing, however, is the importance consumers attach to the sustainability element of paper products due to the current climate we find ourselves in.
CHANGE IS COMING
Liz strongly believes that younger people will make a major difference to the way businesses embrace sustainability. Generally, they are more invested in the impact of being greener, and these are the people who will lead the businesses of the not-sodistant future. This links into the fact that there’s a serious business case for being more sustainable. “People think it’s going to cost money, and that there won’t be business benefits,” Liz says, “but, by its very nature, to be sustainable, you have to also be economically viable. It’s a collaborative effort along the supply chain. For example, at APP, we are continuing to explore ways to meet the consumer demand for sustainable cups - our Foopak range does just that, offering a product that is biodegradable.
APP remains committed to the Office Sector to keep developing products to meet the consumer’s increasing demand for products that are made in an environmentally sustainable way but also to enhance working life.
While there are areas which Liz believes dealers should be involved in, if they aren’t already – such as paper cups and plates that aren’t covered in laminates, and plants to create biophilic workspaces – the culture change is more important. “In terms of our own strategy, of how we keep pushing and going beyond, there’s no finish line – we just have to keep going,” she concludes. For the dealer, it is important that the changing office environment is understood and that the ways in which products can be ordered and delivered not only reflects this but also carries the relevant environmental credentials in order for it to be sustainable.
