Trash Talk with Denise Coogan: SOA's Manager of Environmental Partnerships Shares Waste Reduction Strategies for Retailers

A year ago Denise Coogan embarked on a new adventure, leaving behind an auto manufacturing plant for a more majestic view: America’s national parks.

As safety and environmental compliance manager at Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA), Coogan led Subaru to become the country’s first zero-landfill automaker in 2004. In her new role as Subaru of America’s (SOA) manager of environmental partnerships, Coogan is taking what she learned in Indiana and applying it to national parks by heading up the Subaru National Park Zero-Landfill Initiative.

With 100 million pounds of trash left behind in parks each year, Coogan’s job is anything but easy. Despite the daunting work ahead, Subaru and project partners the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Park Service are now a year in to waste reduction pilot programs launched at Yosemite, Grand Teton, and Denali National Parks. Once systems and practices are refined at the first three parks, the plan is to share best practices with other parks across the country.

Becoming zero-landfill at SIA and our country’s national parks are large-scale projects, but in a recent interview the Eco-Friendly Retailer team asked Coogan how retailers can take what she’s learned and apply it on a smaller scale.

Coogan confirmed the importance of retailers’ eco-friendly efforts and their value in Subaru’s overall environmental work. “They’re the face of Subaru,” she said. “Where our customers meet Subaru is in the retailers.”

She acknowledged that the public can learn about Subaru’s national environmental activities in the news, “but it’s really at that retailer that they get their first real taste of what Subaru is about.”
 

Whether you’re on the production line in Indiana, working with a view of our country’s natural wonders, or inside a Subaru retailer, according to Coogan the work begins in the same way—get to know your trash.

“All roads lead back to a good inventory,” Coogan said, and she’s not talking vehicle inventory.

Much like efforts began at SIA and at the parks, Coogan suggests retailers begin with a waste audit. Take inventory of the amount and specific types of waste you’re generating, including paper, cardboard, antifreeze, and used oil.

“When you start looking at how much you’re throwing away,” Coogan said, “then you start asking yourself why am I doing that?”

Once you determine the types of materials you’re throwing away and how much, she suggests working to reduce the amount of waste by making changes to your daily routine. For example, are there paper reports printed daily that you can e-mail instead? This simple change reduces the amount of paper used before it heads to a landfill or recycling center.

After reducing the amount of waste, find out how much of what remains can be reused or recycled. Among the waste reduction strategies at the plant, foam was shipped back for suppliers to use again; plastic caps were collected and recycled in bulk.
 

Coogan gives credit for the zero-landfill success at SIA to the plant’s associates and their ideas.

“Our associates at the plant are incredible,” Coogan said. “We told them what we wanted to do, and then we asked for their suggestions.”

The approach involved soliciting ideas, listening to individuals, and offering incentives—and it worked well. During the first month alone, SIA associates submitted 238 suggestions, many of which were implemented.

Coogan suggests retailers follow a similar approach. “Ask your employees. Get them involved in it. Make it fun. Make it something people want to do,” she said.

Coogan explained that associates have unique insight into their individual roles in the organization and how they can be improved. She recommends engaging employees by asking what they would change and what they see as wasteful. This gives associates a chance to become active in the company’s green efforts.
 

Beyond benefits to our environment, Coogan said SIA’s waste reduction efforts led to quality, safety, and profit gains as well.

During the first few years of the plant’s zero-landfill project, there were some costs related to the program, including the purchase of containers and other supplies. After those initial investments, Coogan reports there was a benefit over the cost of the program—between $1 million and $1.5 million each year. This was the result of money earned from recycling and savings from the reuse of materials.

The sheer volume of materials at the plant led to substantial savings, but Coogan believes the benefits will also transfer to retailers, simply on a smaller scale.

She says by increasing recycling and decreasing the amount of materials going to landfill, retailers may see a decrease in the cost of trash service. She also said retailers can enjoy savings through the reduction of materials. For example, reducing the number of documents printed each day can save a significant amount of paper over the course of a year, resulting in office supply savings. 
 

Wondering how your organization can join the National Park Zero-Landfill Initiative? Stay tuned. Currently, Subaru and the parks service are recruiting national partners to join the waste reduction project. In the future, as best practices spread across the country, retailers located near national parks may have a chance to join local efforts and help engage community stakeholders.

If you’re planning an upcoming visit to a national park, see what you can do before and during the trip to help with waste reduction.