Innovation

The Bed Donating and Mattress Recycling Program (BDMR) has been around for around 10 years and is the brain-child of our interviewee, Mr Sieg Will, the Senior Vice-President of Operations at Sleep Country Canada.

The BDMR involves Sleep Country taking an old mattress and foundation, unwanted by a customer, and donating it to someone in need, or recycling the different parts of the mattress to be reused by another company. For instance, the foam in a mattress may be sold to a carpet manufacturer who could reuse the foam to make carpets.

In partnership with 4 beneficiaries of this program, The Furniture Bank in Toronto, The Heart of the Northeast in Calgary, The Bissell Centre in Edmonton, and the Western Regional Advocacy Group Society in British Columbia, Sleep Country has seen a great impact across the country.

Inspiration

Sleep Country was concerned about the future and wanted to do their part for the next generation. This is apparent by the following statement, “I had kids at the time … my belief is that if we don’t come up with green solutions, down the road we’re going to have an impact globally.” - Sieg Will, Senior VP Operations.

The purpose for doing these green innovations is out of concern for the declining state of the environment at large and how that will affect future generations.

Overall impact

Sleep country recycled over 92,000 mattresses last year that weren't suitable enough to be donated. By recycling mattresses, Sleep Country is able to cut costs of manufacturing because they won't be manufacturing raw materials; the materials they want to use already exist. In the long run this can save them a lot of money that can go to other aspects of their business.

Other than just a monetary effect, however, Sleep Country also has a societal effect. Last year alone, Sleep Country donated around 50,000 beds to people in need. In the short term, they have very happy people who really needed a bed. In the long term, they have the reputation of giving to those in need and being a socially responsible business. That reputation will bring in customers who are socially or environmentally aware.

Business benefit

Because of Sleep Country’s innovation, they have seen some great benefits. For one, it benefits the business by generating a small profit which is the main goal of any business. However, the main business benefit that they gained from their innovation is that they are recognized as a CSR company that is focused on making a change and doing the right thing.

Considering Sleep Country received over 142,000 mattresses as donations in the last year alone, you know that the program works and that they are continuing to grow in popularity as a place to recycle mattresses. The way the program works is, with every new purchase, they will come pick up and recycle your old mattress for a small fee. That gains them popularity for, 1) getting the old mattress off their hands and, 2) disposing of it in an environmentally conscious way.

Sleep Country’s innovation has a lot of long-term effects that will continue to have a positive effect on the business in terms of profit and environmental sustainability. They will be seen as a company that cares about the environment because of their use of recycled mattresses which helps to shine a positive light with regards to corporate social responsibility.

Social and environmental benefit

There are a lot of positive social and environmental benefits created by Sleep Country’s innovation. By using recycled materials to create the mattresses, it helps the environment because they are able to reuse already existing materials instead of using other materials which would create more waste and pollution. By donating the mattress, Sleep Country is extending the mattresses life and giving someone a place to sleep at night which aides both the environment and society. By recycling and selling to other companies, they are reducing other companies' waste and pollution as well.

Using the recycled materials also helps society because we can feel better knowing that the mattresses we buy aren't harming the environment. The long-term effects of the innovation will continue to reduce unnecessary waste and pollution caused by creating the recycled mattresses as opposed to having them created from raw materials which is even worse for the environment.

Interview

Sieg Will, Senior Vice-President Operations