Supplier alphabroder/Prime Line (PPAI 156993, S16) has announced its Green Team initiative, a 20-person group representing a diverse cross-section from more than 12 different functional areas of the Trevose, Pennsylvania-based company. Each has committed time and effort to be a part of the strategic initiative, which seeks to create a meaningful and measurable corporate sustainability platform, rooted in improving current processes with a mindset to evolve, says the company’s news release.

“Despite the significant impact of the pandemic to our global economy and way of life, sustainability has not taken a back seat,” says Andrea Lara Routzahn, senior vice president, portfolio and supplier management for alphabroder. “To the contrary, sustainability has gained even more momentum. In many ways, the crisis has drawn attention to the ‘unsustainability’ of many of our pre-pandemic practices, especially around product and supply-chain expectations.”

Routzahn adds, “Going green is a way of life for so many. It’s also a generational thing. Millennials and Gen-Z’ers consider sustainability a non-negotiable, mission-critical endeavor that will impact their future and their ability to have a safe and productive life. They will increasingly vote with their wallet and companies that do not address this will ultimately lose out.”

Joining Routzahn’s vision and drive to lead the alphabroder/Prime Green Team are Cheron Coleman, vice president, private brand global supply chain and product development for alphabroder, and Dena Rothstein, senior director of product management for Prime Line.

“Sustainable business practices are as important to our customers today as product safety, fair labor practices and supply chain safety were 10 years ago,” says Coleman. “Our industry already invests resources to maintain and verify our safety and social compliance requirements. We also recognize the importance of committing resources to sustainability, too.”

The Green Team project officially kicked-off last year mid-pandemic. Phase I was a deep-dive assessment to capture current practices within corporate headquarters, distribution centers, decoration facilities, supply-chain practices and products. Rothstein says, “We didn’t know how far we’d need to go until we first established our starting point. While we knew we had some efforts in place to be environmentally conscience, it is from this baseline ab|Prime can build our platform to do much more. In Phase II, we are using our data to establish meaningful measurable initiatives to build the ab|Prime Sustainability Platform to new levels. After all, if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it.”

Norm Hullinger, CEO of alphabroder/Prime, adds, “Sustainability is multi-faceted and isn’t just about offering more organic or recycled products. It’s about our entire corporate culture. It’s about looking for opportunities to reduce waste and inefficiencies in our consumption of energy and materials. It’s about creating synergies throughout our entire organization with an eye towards accomplishing our work in cleaner, planet-healthier, sustainable ways. It’s imperative to our industry’s continued growth and success.”