Innovation

Sabert Corp. believes that the art of saving the environment starts from working on improving old products rather than trying to invent new ones. An example of this is the tongs that Sabert Corp. has innovated; making them flat to maximize space for customers, and at the same time, they are now entirely made from recycled plastic giving it an aesthetic marble look. Now, Sabert Corps tongs are easily storable and durable, which saves their customers money, while also reducing the amount of plastic waste and preserving our environment. Other companies focus solely on profits while Sabert Corp. focuses on protecting the planet earth.

Another innovation Sabert has put in place is the 100% biodegradable takeout packaging that they sell to their customers. Although less appealing to some consumers, the color of the takeout packages is brown. The reason behind all of their packaging being brown is as Jamie Librot states, “That would require more oil and carbon emissions from trucks to take the product from the pulp mill to the bleaching place and then back to the consumer.” Little things like keeping products uncolored, even though they are less appealing to the consumer, lowers the carbon footprint that Sabert Corp leaves. If all companies thought the way Sabert does then the carbon emissions in the world would be far less than it is now.

Inspiration

Sabert Corp was inspired by their customer's ideas and their client's needs which they brought together to design and create a working product with sustainability and efficiency in mind. Sabert is currently working with companies like Starbucks and Qdoba to provide them with sustainable solutions. Their devotion to an environmentally friendly manufacturing process has led them to where they are today. The CEO of Sabert Corp, Albert Salama, has willingly increased costs for the noble goals of Sabert. The company has taken a loss in profit before, prioritizing the core values of their business first.

Sabert Corp. has shown its dedication to the UN Global Goals as it has taken into account the sustainability of every aspect of their business from the design stage to distribution. Sabert Corp. is willing to go above and beyond from clean energy to lowering waste, and is investing and working tirelessly to decrease its carbon footprint. Sabert Corp has shown its strong commitment to quality and innovation as their biodegradable bowls have become an industry standard, which reduces the carbon footprint by utilizing an efficient pulp recycling method.

Overall impact

For Sabert Corp., sustainability is more than just innovating recycled products. Innovations towards sustainable products affect their entire business model, from new product development to the sales department and R&D to all the internal departments within the organization. The company and the CEO are willing to invest more to develop more sustainable product and meet their clients' requirements at the same time.

According to Ms. Librot, to create the pulp fiber bowls, "substantial investments have been made into new machines," and the company is willing to invest more towards scaling their innovation and production of the compostable bowls. Sabert installed rooftop solar panels in their New Jersey manufacturing plant in 2010. The implementation of the solar panels increased the cost during the installation process, but in the long run, the company proved that the increased cost of solar panels led them to transform their NJ manufacturing plant into only utilizing renewable energy and reduce their corporate environmental impact.

The company researches market trends and consumer behaviors by observing current trends, sending their sales team into different stores, and conducting field research. This field research and analysis of market trends is necessary to understand the clients' needs and to develop sustainable products using the available resources.

Business benefit

As Sabert Corp. implemented solar panels in 2010, the manufacturing plant started to consume renewable energy and lowered its electricity consumption. As a result, not only has the company reduced its environmental impact, but it has saved energy consumption costs as well. According to the New Jersey Sustainable Business Registry, the organization was able to save nearly $450,000. The introduction of compostable pulp packaging created a new product lineup in their catalog named "Green Collection."

The continuous efforts towards redesigning their current products was rewarded when the organization received an award for their outstanding quality and innovative products, such as their stackable bowls and trays to carry multiple products at the same time. Being in the packaging industry for over 30 years with high-quality standards and a commitment to sustainability, Sabert began construction of a new manufacturing facility in Greenville, Texas to meet more customer requirements and serve a new geographic location. The new plant is expected to be fully operational by early 2019 and to bring more than 125 new jobs into the area.

The R&D department innovated new manufacturing machines which reuse the thrown out and unused raw material during the manufacturing process. The new machinery saves the waste of raw material, eventually saves on manufacturing costs, and leads to a reduction in landfill waste. According to NJSBR, the company saved about 160,000 lbs. of landfill waste and reused the raw materials to create new sustainable products.

Social and environmental benefit

As an initiative of a business which does well for itself, and good for the community and the environment around them, the R&D department has implemented solar panels in Sabert since 2010 to support the UN Goal related to renewable energy in their manufacturing plants in Sayreville. The solar panels are capable of generating more than required electricity to operate the plants, and as a result, the excessive energy was distributed in the neighboring communities to lower their bill prices. In the near future, the organization is planning to implement solar panels in their manufacturing plants in California and Kentucky.

Through its compostable cutlery line, Sabert is eliminating plastic waste and supporting the UN's climate action goal. Sustainable cutlery products are manufactured from 100% recycled material; these products are 250 times faster to decompose than traditional foam food packaging containers. The foam products affect the environment and earth climate in a very negative way and to overcome their impact, biodegradable, and high-performance cutlery products were scaled to save approximately 3,500 tons of plastic waste in 2016.

In their green products catalog, Sabert uses a natural brown color which is extracted from sugarcane pulp. Using this natural color, Sabert eliminates the use of harmful chemicals and landfill waste. Additionally, this color speeds up the production cycle which eventually leads to lower energy consumption.

Interview

Ms. Jamie Librot, Director of Talent Management