The second edition of the Tom’s of Maine Goodness Report, released today, shines a light on the company’s approach to its ingredients, packaging, waste, water, energy, community and employees. The new report shows progress against 11 key goals and how human, healthy and environmental values guide the company’s sustainable business practices, and a goals tracker for 2015 and beyond.
The second edition of the Tom’s of Maine Goodness Report, released today, shines a light on the company’s approach to its ingredients, packaging, waste, water, energy, community and employees. The new report shows progress against 11 key goals and how human, healthy and environmental values guide the company’s sustainable business practices, and a goals tracker for 2015 and beyond.
"We’ve had strong success since our first Goodness Report where we put a stake in the ground on key areas we are passionate about," said Tom’s of Maine CEO Tom O’Brien. "While we’ve been focused on sustainability for four decades, we’re still inspired to never settle for ‘good enough.’ We made some strong strides in working smarter with energy and water in the last year and we’re encouraging employees at every level to imagine more sustainable possibilities."
Key company updates and progress in the last year include:
- Moving to 100 percent petroleum-free version of propylene glycol for the company’s popular line of natural deodorants
- Exploring potato-based packaging made from Maine potatoes for the company’s mouthwash bottles and deodorant canisters
- Reducing water consumption at the company’s manufacturing facility from 4.3 CuM/Metric Ton of product made in 2011 to 2.5 by 2020
- Establishing a West Coast distribution center and using more trains and fewer trucks to move products across the country, allowing the company to achieve its 2020 goal of reducing carbon emissions six years early
- Achieving a goal of 85 percent of employee participation in giving back to the community by using the company’s 5 percent volunteer benefit, which equals 12 full paid days per year
- Capturing steam in the company’s Sanford, ME manufacturing facility and reusing it as a way to conserve water and improve energy efficiency
Decreasing the percentage of virgin materials used in packaging and ultimately converting all products to sustainable packaging is a challenge the company continues to address.
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“There’s no question our industry can and must do better when it comes finding more innovative solutions for packaging that are better for the earth while still meeting FDA requirements,” O’Brien added. “The good news is there are new technologies emerging and with some cross-industry collaboration we may be able to reach a scale where the technology works for everyday use.”
For the first time, this year’s Goodness Report includes a number of video interviews with Tom’s employees providing their perspective on key content areas of the Report. A companion video entitled "What's Inside Tom's of Maine" goes behind the scenes to profile employees on what motivates them at work and why they are drawn to Maine.
Published May 15, 2014 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST