Aveda shares the beauty of being green

If green is the new black, it's no surprise that Aveda Corp. in Blaine has been ahead of the fashion curve for years.

While other companies still are changing out light bulbs and providing recycling kiosks to employees, Aveda is purchasing wind power, illuminating work areas with sunlight and repairing broken palettes for continued use, with Forestry Stewardship Council-certified lumber no less.

And it's increasingly sharing its story. Last week, the manufacturer of spicy, flowery, earthy-smelling hair and skin products hosted a gathering of "green" manufacturers who meet in each other's home states to share and show off sustainability secrets. Last month, Aveda hosted a conference for the Sustainable Packaging Committee of the Institute of Packaging Professionals. Company officials are in ongoing communication with national retail operators to exchange ideas to save energy and reduce waste.

They've done it all without guidance from the city of Blaine, although Community Development Director Bryan Schafer said he's watching as the economy moves toward the next development cycle.

"I'm interested to see if this is a broader market issue," he said of Aveda's manufacturing philosophy. "Are other people going to do this, or is it more isolated?"

The company has been deeply interested in minimizing its impact on the environment since its founding 30 years ago by Horst Rechelbacher.

"Even then, the goal was to do the whole business in as environmentally responsible a way as possible," said Chuck Bennett, who carries the telling title of vice president for earth and community care. "But we didn't have as much control because we didn't control our manufacturing."

Since 1991, the company has retrofitted the Blaine campus with energy-efficient lighting, machines and infrastructure; reconfigured the wastewater-disposal system to use gravity instead of electrical pumps and installed native plantings to further filter industrial wastewater before it enters the watershed.

A free exchange of ideas

The EcoPartners group, which met at Aveda last week, doesn't release member lists, agendas or talking points because it says that a commitment to confidentiality allows them to discuss their ideas and challenges freely, without worrying about competition. Third-party accounts list previous participants including Clif Bar, Nike, Starbucks, Patagonia, Timberland and Ben & Jerry's.

As the group met last week in Blaine, Aveda could point to a long list of achievements:

• Electrical power used at the Blaine campus and the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis is 100 percent offset by renewable wind energy purchases.

• The company has worked with suppliers to eliminate or reuse corrugated cardboard boxes, which in turn has reduced the amount of cardboard recycled by 29 percent since 2000. In fiscal year 2008, the company recycled 62 percent of all solid manufacturing waste and it is working to further reduce even its recycled waste through reuse, repurposing and reduction of waste overall.

• The company has forged a new recycling stream for plastic bottle caps -- a first in the industry. The recycled caps are sold with the Vintage Clove shampoo, which was launched last month. Consumers can take their used bottle caps to any Aveda store.

Doug Thomas, district administrator for the Rice Creek Watershed District, said he's worked with Aveda on water projects. In one case, a meeting to discuss a wastewater ditch involved three corporate vice presidents.

"It was really elevated with their facilities manager, to the individual supervisor, right on up to the vice presidents of the company who became involved in our discussion," he said. "[The philosophy] is cultivated at all levels within the organization."

Practices like retrofitting their manufacturing/headquarters building at a cost that outstrips the value of the property, creating an indoor water tower to ensure a constant supply of reusable chilling water, and investing in the gravity wastewater system are examples of projects that involve thinking outside the box, and an up-front investment for a delayed payback.

"The why is the roots of the company," said Bennett, "that we need to produce better products ... and we need to do this in as environmentally responsible a way as possible. As the business grew and prospered, our commitment to these objectives remained strong."

'Not afraid to make mistakes'

Aveda is constantly looking for innovation.

The company, a subsidiary of Estee Lauder since 1997, won't release profit or sales figures, but Bennett notes that its success allows it to implement that innovation, and the innovation has led partly to that success.

"We've seen many successes with innovations in environmental responsibility that have been good for the business and good for the environment," he said. "[Sustainability] is not only the embodiment, the persona of the brand, it's how we're perceived, so that helps us in the marketplace."

Mark Friske, the company's director of environmental health and safety, is at the idea hub. If any of the 710 Blaine employees has a great idea, he's the one who makes it happen. He said he has the support from the top to pursue any idea he finds appealing.

"We're not afraid to make mistakes," he said. "But it's usually thought out pretty well."

Eban Goodstein, an economics professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, has worked with Aveda and other "green" manufacturers.

"When companies take on the challenge of challenging themselves successfully, they may not grow to be Wal-Marts, but they will be very solid players," he said. "But what happens then is the Wal-Marts will look to them for inspiration."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409