By Ron Cotterman, Vice President of Sustainability at Sealed Air
SOURCE:Sealed Air
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For the past few weeks, the global business and political communities have been focused on Paris, and the convening of COP 21. This year’s annual event represents an even more important goal than in years past, with the aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the goal of keeping global warming below 2°C. This year’s conference boasts one of the largest participant counts, with over 50,000 attendees, ranging from government officials, corporate leaders, NGO’s, UN agencies and civilians.
Climate change is an important issue for both governments and the business community to address. With proper teamwork and information sharing, we can impact this problem and ensure our natural resources are not destroyed before our children’s children can enjoy them. At Sealed Air, we are addressing climate change specifically with our 2020 Sustainability Goals. The work we have accomplished thus far to mitigate the risks of climate change and reduce greenhouse gases has been recognized by CDP, the only global reporting system for companies working to address climate change.
In addition, we added our name as a signatory with other businesses in the US who are serious about climate change in the Business Backs a Low Carbon USA statement.
In addition to our focus on our own internal processes and operations, we are also helping our customers address and mitigate the risk of climate change. When the Sofitel Mumbai was looking for ways to reaffirm its responsibility to sustainable development and environmental efficiency, it recognized an opportunity to work with Sealed Air. Sealed Air’s Diversey Care team has supplied a variety of cleaning solutions to the hotel and together the teams looked for ways to reduce the environmental impacts of the hotel’s cleaning efforts.
One of the solutions identified was Clax® Advanced. Clax Advanced is a laundry solution with a variety of environmental benefits including working at lower temperatures and delivering clean, white linens on the first wash with less water and energy consumption. The benefits Clax Advanced provide also reduce wear on fabrics therefore increasing the length of time linens can be used before needing to be replaced.
Through the use of Sealed Air’s Clax Advanced, Sofitel Mumbai has seen marked sustainability and cost benefits. Annual operational savings for the hotel include reduced water consumption of over 7.8 million liters, reduced electricity of 36,000 kWh, reduced C02 emissions of up to 28 tons. In addition, Sofitel’s linens now last thirty percent longer, increasing the time between replacement.
As the COP21 wraps up this week in Paris, all eyes will be watching for an agreement to reduce climate change globally. However, it will be the small steps, such as the change in laundry solution taken by Sofitel Mumbai, and that commitment to finding a better way, that will truly make a difference. Together, we can impact climate change for the better. Together, we can solve this problem!
For more on Sealed Air’s innovations that reduce environmental impact, please visit www.sealedair.com/sustainability-report .
KEYWORDS: Environment and Climate Change, Carbon Footprint, Sealed Air, COP21
