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Sustainability

Sustainability is the new buzzword, thrown around so casually by companies these days it barely has any meaning. Usually, the term is used when referring to a company’s green initiatives or environmental efforts.

At Klean Kanteen® “sustainability” is a word we don’t use lightly. It means a lot more to us than adopting individual components like carbon offsets, recycled packaging or wind energy. Put simply, to us a sustainable business is one that gives more than it takes.

A sustainable business considers how individual aspects of operations interrelate with the external world, and consciously adopts practices that benefit more than the bottom line. A sustainable business recognizes that in order to survive and thrive far into the future, it must consider the sum total of its interactions with people, the environment, culture and technology. This type of awareness and consideration forms the basis for sustainability, weaving it into the very fabric and identity of our company.

In some ways, true sustainability is an impossible goal because it’s an ongoing project, a never-ending path. This journey involves constant research into how our company is currently operating. As understanding of our business grows, we are able to identify where positive changes can be made and wisely implement them, everything from better sourcing of materials to greater levels of transparency with the public.

As we strive to be a model and a leader, sustainability will continue to drive our decisions and our innovations much as it was a driver of the invention of Klean Kanteen® itself. Below we have outlined not only what we’ve accomplished so far, but also pieces of our plan for the future. This plan is not complete. It never will be. There will always be more we can do, and Klean Kanteen® will always work toward becoming a more sustainable company.

1. Quality Control, Health and Safety
   Producing excellent products designed to last that are 100% healthy and safe for consumers.
   • Klean Kanteen® inspectors are on the ground at our factories every day and in communication with factory managers and workers to ensure implementation of quality control, fair labor, and environmental standards and policies.
   • We currently perform regular product testing through third-party, accredited laboratories to meet regulatory requirements and our own high standards for product safety.
   • We are implementing an even more extensive testing protocol in 2010 with better defined testing parameters and guidelines. These include sampling raw materials, products from the production line overseas and finished products from our distribution center in California.
   • In 2010 Klean Kanteen® will implement a Code of Conduct for all manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors. The Code of Conduct will define policies and procedures expected of any company that works directly or indirectly with us. The Code of Conduct will include guidelines covering ethical standards, employee rights, fair labor standards, professional management systems, manufacturing excellence, and health and safety of workers, employees and end users.
   • As part of the Code of Conduct, Klean Kanteen® will establish a Chain of Custody protocol that will require all suppliers, manufacturers and subcontractors to track and document the materials that go into our bottles from the raw materials to the retail floor.
   • With the Chain of Custody protocol in place, we will have the information necessary to maintain control of the materials and processes used to make our products, including knowledge of material origins and individuals or entities involved at each step of the overall production of Klean Kanteens® and accessories. The information provided through our Chain of Custody protocol will enable us to assess our production every step of the way, and look for opportunities to meet our sustainability goals.
2. Cultural and Social Resources
   Protecting and nurturing our employees, our community and our world through fair labor practices and a high level of awareness of consumer and societal expectations.
   • Currently, third-party social audits conducted at partnering Klean Kanteen® manufacturing facilities ensure that factory employees overseas are paid well and treated fairly.
   • Klean Kanteen® is a member of 1% For The Planet. Our donations always exceed our 1% commitment, and we support a wide range of likeminded nonprofits and organizations including The Breast Cancer Fund, Healthy Child Healthy World, CLIF Bar Green Notes and NatureBridge. To learn more, check out our "Partners & Friends" page.
   • We view lines of communication with the public, our customers and our partners as a two-way street. The Klean Kanteen® website is home to an extensive amount of educational material and resources related to both our products and our core areas of interest – health, sustainability, and environmental awareness. The website also points the way to contact information where customers and the general public can submit questions, comments, suggestions and ideas to real people ready and able to connect. We also maintain a consumer newsletter and social networking streams to connect our community with news sources and likeminded organizations. We view this interactive learning and development as both a service and a benefit.
   • Klean Kanteen® is politically involved and we support legislation at the local, state and federal levels that protects the health of people and our planet by limiting exposure to environmental toxins and reducing pollution. In August 2009, Klean Kanteen® wrote a series of letters to the California State Assembly and individual members to express support for SB 797, a law that would prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of food and beverage containers containing BPA or lined with any material that contains BPA at a level greater than .1 parts per billion. The law would also prohibit the sale of infant formula in any can, bottle or other packaging containing BPA.
3. Environmental Resources
   Managing our supply chain, manufacturing and waste management to ensure the most efficient use of materials and the maximum reduction of pollution and waste, plus appropriate handling of waste that is created.
   • All Klean Kanteen® packaging, from the hangtags on the bottles to the boxes and other materials we use to ship our products, is recycled from post-consumer waste or made from materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
   • Klean Kanteen® in-store displays are made from FSC-certified wood and are finished with low VOC, environmentally friendly, water-based stains.
   • In 2009 we began offsetting electricity use at our Chico, Calif. distributing facilities and main offices through purchase of renewable energy credits that capture electricity usage since January 1, 2008.
   • Implementing the Chain of Custody described above in Section 1 (Quality Control, Health & Safety) will allow us to perform a detailed assessment of our current sourcing, materials and shipping, and will help us identify where we can make changes to better utilize limited natural and social resources.
   • We are currently assessing the potential to generate electricity through solar technology at our Chico, Calif. facilities.
4. Technology Resources and Innovations
   Adopting and integrating relevant technological innovations and new communication tools early in order to operate more efficiently and to more effectively reach out to our consumer community and to the general public.
   • Klean Kanteen® was the first company in the bottle industry to identify BPA as a dangerous and harmful substance. We came to this conclusion based on early scientific evidence and studies, long before mainstream media and retail were even willing to acknowledge BPA as a substance of concern. As recently as 2007, major outdoor retailers warned Klean Kanteen® that they would not carry our products if our packaging discussed the health risks associated with BPA, polycarbonate or lined aluminum.
   • Klean Kanteen® began building an online community through electronic means of communication in 2005. Now tens of thousands of people receive our regular consumer newsletters containing information about our products as well as related topics including plastic pollution, waste reduction, environmental toxins, health and hydration.
   • We adopted and committed resources to the emerging technologies now defined as social media early on, and remain connected with active, growing communities within Flickr, Twitter and Facebook.
   • In 2008 Klean Kanteen® switched our web hosting service to Canvas Dreams, a company that is entirely wind powered.
   • In 2010 we will debut a comprehensive video campaign through outlets such as YouTube and Vimeo.
   • We will also be implementing more extensive collaborative projects through social media, working with likeminded companies and nonprofits to educate the public about issues related to health, sustainability and environmental awareness.