Meredith Perry

Be a Good Corporate Citizen

Sustainability initiatives are ingrained in every company culture these days. In the past two issues of OEM magazine, we’ve reported on how companies are investing in energy-efficient technologies and minimizing the number of parts to make “green machines” that reduce carbon emissions, or are adding solar panels for renewable energy to offset electrical consumption needs. Or, they are adapting machines to work with responsibly sourced renewable materials. These are all really effective ways to balance the environmental impact of manufacturing. But in this issue of OEM we dig a little deeper. There’s another area of sustainability that isn’t as obvious, but is as important. It’s called corporate social responsibility (CSR), a self-regulating business model in which a company becomes accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public by being conscious of—and committed to—its positive impact on the well-being of all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental. For example, in 2014, Coca-Cola invested around $126 million in CSR projects including healthy living initiatives, FeedersConveyorsAd.qxp_Layout 1 2/22/21 9:28 PM Page 1 water stewardship programs, education, women’s empowerment, humanitarian, and disaster relief programs. Many other CPGs are focusing their CSR efforts on saving plastics from entering the world’s oceans, taking a stance against human trafficking, and choosing only fair trade. Our cover story (page 40) by contributing writer Liz Cuneo, covers all this and more. Find out how you too can join the CSR movement.

Our OEM profile spotlights family-owned Hamrick Packaging Systems, an end of line packaging equipment manufacturer. The company’s president is a third generation owner who has incorporated some big ideas that have completely transformed this company from its humble beginnings. Turn to page 20 to find out what this progressive OEM is doing now.

And, of course we are all excited to attend PACK EXPO International in October! Flip to Association News to get a summary of what’s new at the show.

Stephanie Neil is the Editor-in-Chief of OEM Magazine. She may be reached at sneil@oemmagazine.org or at www.linkedin.com/in/ stephaniesneil.

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