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Home » Sustainability

Caring For Our Plant Now and Into the Future

Striving to provide sustainable materials and products

Macro Goals

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) announced 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) for all member nations to strive to achieve by 2030. The SDGs “provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future.” For more information on the SDG’s, visit the United Nations sustainable development website. (click here)

The influence of the SDGs on nations can be found through legislation and policies implemented to accomplish the goals. Every country is monitored and scored based on progress. Countries’ pursuit of these goals drives some of the cultural and societal changes we experience in our daily lives. The policies influence education, businesses, and the public to create change. Our long-term sustainability efforts are geared around the SDG goals that apply most directly to our business and our country.

Our mission is to help people acquire custom bags.

Our vision to support the mission is to manufacture in an increasingly sustainable direction to promote a…

Healthy Planet
(SDGs #13, #14, #15)

Climate Action Goal
Life Below Water Goal
Life on Land Goal

Healthy People
(SDG #3)

Good Health and Well-Being Goal

Healthy Company
(SDGs #8, #9, #12)

Decent Work and Economic Growth
Industry, Innovation, and Infustructure
Responsible Consumption and Production

Our vision alignment with the SDGs is crucial to a better future.

The vision is born out of a deep rooted influence from our founder and past owner. These quotes helped facilitate the creation of our vision.

“When it is easy to be nice, and nice to be liked, who can afford not to be both?”

-Founder Don Strevell’s 1st business card in 1961.

“We are here to provide for the 70 families. Our people are why we do what we do.”

-Bill Romer, Company owner from 1967 to 2003

“We are the third generation to run the family business. The quotes above have always had and always will have a foundational influence on how we operate every day. Our evolving vision retains the deep roots of our history while also providing our company a strong tie to the need to make positive contributions to our community and our planet. We know this is a group effort. We look forward to engaging with our customers, vendors and community at large to make positive change.”

Todd and Trent Romer Co-owners 2003 to 2021

In 2021, Clear View Bag partnered with LongueVue Capital who shares the same sustainability vision for the company.  The partnership focus is on building upon the foundation of the past and pursuing the vision of healthy planet, healthy people and healthy company.

Micro Goals

ClearView Packaging’s sustainability plan to achieve the macro goals is an ongoing and evolving process. As we learn more, more sustainable options, targets, measurable and implementation of those options will occur and be documented here. Below are our continuing efforts on our sustainable journey. Please click the tabs below to learn more about each initiative.

Our internal initiatives to support our macro goals are listed in the links below:

Waste Reduction Initiative

Waste reduction has always been a primary focus for Clearview Packaging.   A challenge of reducing internal scrap by 25% a few years ago has turned into a continuous effort to drive down waste percentages ever since through process, procedure, training, mindset and equipment change.  Waste reduction has translated to energy savings, cost savings, more capacity and more efficiencies.  Our 2024 goal is to reduce waste by an additional 10%.  A waste committee has been formed to accomplish the goal.  Waste reduction updates will be posted as they occur.

Landfill Diversion Initiative

 Since 2022, the company is engaged in an effort to divert as much waste away from the landfill.  The goal is to determine what is going in our dumpsters bound for the landfill and how to avoid it landing there.  Using less, using something reusable, or finding a means to recycle the item are the primary avenues to avoid the dumpster.  Educating the staff, making recycling more accessible to all with more recycling barrels in the plant, and clear signage signaling proper disposal are all ways to divert waste from the landfill.

Our goal is 99% diversion.

Inks

We print with water-based inks (as opposed to solvent-based inks).  Water based inks produce less emissions than solvent based inks.   See blog post for more details.

Internal Energy Use

All internal lights within our 66,000-square-foot building have been replaced with energy-efficient LED lights.   In total 1,561 bulbs were changed.  LED uses 30 to 40% less energy than fluorescents and last 5 plus years longer.   Fluorescent lights are considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of as such whereas LED’s can be recycled.   Gross annual energy savings:  201,667 kWh . 

Zero Hazardous Waste

In removing solvent inks and fluorescent bulbs, ClearView Packaging became a zero hazardous waste generator.

Accuracy: Proofing and Sampling program

Making sure the package fits the use, is printed according to spec and the package protects and/or elongates the product’s life is the most critical aspect of what we do.  If the package is incorrect, scrap value impacts our sustainability efforts.  If the enclosed product is damaged or compromised before use, the sustainability impact of the lost product far outweighs any gains in the sustainability of the package itself.  To ensure the package fits the need, we offer free sampling for custom bags.  See here for details.  To ensure the print on custom work is accurate, we proof every printed job for approval prior to running.

Clean-Up efforts

We recognize the existence of plastics in our environment.  The low cost, convenience, and versatility of plastics have caused their proliferation in our lives.  The lack of adequate end-of-life waste management in many parts of the world causes litter and a global marine pollution problem.  Stopping the leakage of plastics into waterways is a global problem.

Efforts to cleanup include…

Riverkeeper: The Riverkeeper is a Hudson River Clean-Up effort on the first Saturday of May each year.   The Hudson river flows just 5 miles from our manufacturing facility.  Details can be found at www.riverkeeper.org.  In 2023, we completed our 5th consecutive year of participating in the event.  We look forward to the 2024 event in early May.

River cleanup with ClearView Packaging

5 Burdick Drivers:  In 2023, a committee was formed to “own” our street.    Our manufacturing site is 5 Burdick Drive —- a team of employees cleans the waste on the sides of the street periodically throughout the year.

River cleanup with ClearView Packaging

Organization Affiliation

ClearView Packaging is a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC).   The Sustainable Packaging Coalition is a membership-based collaborative that believes in the power of industry to make packaging more sustainable. The SPC is a leading voice on sustainable packaging and is passionate about creating packaging that is good for people and the environment. See sustainablepackaging.org for information.

Internal Sustainability Committee

Formed to initiate and track internal sustainability pursuits.  The committee meets periodically throughout the year to set plans for new initiatives and follow through on existing ones.

Governance of Efforts

Internal Sustainability Committee: Formed in June of 2022, the committee went through training over the course of 5 months (see blogs for details). The committee meets periodically to update progress and seek out new actions to add value to the business.

Board Oversight: Sustainability is an agenda item at every Board-Level meeting to chart progress, minimize risk and seek out new opportunities.

Continuous Education

Blogs: We strive to educate as much as we can through the use of our blogs. Check the blog page for updates.

Internal Sustainability Team: A team of people from our staff went through a 6 part training series on sustainability that lasted 5 months. See blog posts for what the training entailed. The team meets throughout the year to govern sustainability efforts.

Employee Training:  In 2023, six topics are part of a monthly training series for all employees (quality, customer service, waste, safety, sales and sustainability). The sessions were short (30 minutes) and led by managers who specialize in each area and try to make the learning fun. Each employee attended one session per month. Over the course of the year, each employee strived to attend each session and if they did, they got a bonus and some Clearview swag. The goal is to provide a culture and a cadence for training, information sharing, feedback, awareness and fun. Result: Employees experienced over 80 hours of combined training in 2023.  Training will continue in 2024 to keep building on a culture of learning.   

Charitable Giving

Alzheimer’s Walk
Every October for the past 4 years, a Clearview team of people participates in a local event at Siena College to help raise money to find treatments and hopefully a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.  Clearview’s original founder and the wife of the former owner were both afflicted by Alzheimer’s.  Their fight against the disease and their legacy is why we participate.  It’s a sobering and hopeful event as it attracts people with the disease, people who have lost a loved one due to the disease and caregivers of all kind.

Education Contribution to children in need
Clearview’s holiday employee bowling event in December of 2023 doubled as a charitable endeavor.  One of Clearview’s employees passed away tragically in the summer of 2023.  He left behind a young middle school aged son.  To help with the son’s long-term education, Clearview donated 25 cents for every pin knocked down during the event.   The donation went to an account setup for the son for his post high school education.      

Stakeholder Feedback

Clearview committed to ongoing stakeholder feedback in 2023 that will continue in 2024.  Employee surveys, town hall meetings with the CEO and customer surveys are all part of gaining information from employees and customers to help in decision making.

Member of:

Finding Sustainability Book

What if the foundation of your family business were threatened by something out of your control?  What if the livelihood of seventy employees and their families were at stake, as the license to operate your business became called into question?  What if fifty-seven years of family history, grown through generations of hard work and sacrifice, were at risk of being lost?  What if the reason were actually one with which you fundamentally agreed?

Trent Andrew Romer is the third-generation co-owner of a family-owned and operated plastic bag manufacturing company.  Ocean plastics and the anti-plastic narrative surrounding the industry has had a profound effect on the business and him personally. 

Travel to 8 states, 3 national parks and 3 countries to experience the life-changing education and adventures that led Trent to finding sustainability for his plastic bag manufacturing business and himself.    Click here for Photo Gallery for some pictures related to the adventures in the book.

Finding Sustainability Book

Bag Design Guide

 The below serves to outline options, prompt thought & drive the discussion to move towards more sustainable packaging. The optimal package per application is dependent on many factors interacting in complex ways. There is not one package that is a best fit for all.

Table Legend

Better
Depends--could be green or red
Potential do to better
No Effect
Thickness Options
Thickness Options
Thickness Options
Material Options
Material Options
Material Options
Material Options
Material Options
Ink Options
Ink Options
Ink Options
Packaging Options
Packaging Options
Packaging Options
Mfg Location Options
Mfg Location Options
Mfg Location Options
Quantity Options
Quantity Options
Print--Material Options
Print--Material Options
Print--Circular Options
Print--Circular Options
Accurate Options
Accurate Options
Chemicals Options
Chemicals Options
Supply Chain Options
Supply Chain Options
Construction Options
Construction Options
Color Options
Color Options
Components Options
Components Options
Lightweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight Design for Re-use
Single layer
Lamination / Multi layers
Compostable
Recycled Content
Biobased
Inks--Water based
Inks--Solvent based
Inks--Compostable
Corrugated box
Reusable box
Bulk Corrugated Box---Large Bin
Regional
National
International
Low
High
Print---none
Print---identify bag features
Print---none
Print--identify end-of-life options
Right Size & Right Print
Incorrect size or print
Avoid restricted chemicals
Ignore chemical makeup
Supplier sustainability plan
No sustainability plan
Reusable construction
Non reusable construction
Clear
Colors
Recycled (wickets, cores, cradles)
Not recycled (wkts, cores, cradles)
"CVB offer?"
Product Protection
Resource Use Emissions
Circular Flow End of Life
Positive
Less resources used
More value to recycle
Reuse always better
Single layer -- Easier to recycle
Product protection / elongate life
Compost..new growth for new things
Less resources/Support recyc ind
Made from renewable resources
Less emissions than solvent based
Easier to print with
Becomes nutrients for growing new
Most corrugated is recycled
Great enviro option if reuse 10+
Great option if application allows
Less transport/damage potential
Compromise of import and local
Price is highly competitive
Less product = less resources
Lower cost
Less cost for non-print…no ink
Educate consumer on enviro aspects
Less cost for non-print…no ink
Educate end-of-life options
Samples/Proofs ensure accuracy
Can be faster leadtime
Friendly chemicals a positive
Go with what works
Joint effort-supplier/client/end user
Easier to find
Avoids single use
Less money
Easier to recycle
Can help marketing/sales
Reuse--less resources v single use
Convenience of single use
Challenge
Hard to recycle...low value
More resources used
Reuse single layer is rare
Limited infrastructure for recycling
More resources / hard to recycle
Limited infrastructure to compost
Does not prefrom like virgin resin
Limited in scale / other effects
Can be a challenge to print
Airborne emissions
Limited infrastructure to compost
Recycle more energy than reuse
Getting boxes back in circular flow
Many applications don’t allow
Cannot find local source
Price too high
High transport energy use
Hard to find low minimum custom
Forced high minimums = inc waste
Cannot convey enviromental aspects
Printed packaging costs more
Cannot convey end-of-life info
Printed packaging costs more
Extra time to sample and proof
Risk wrong size / print
Cost more or don’t perform as good
Identifying substitutes
Transparency along chain
Adressing Long-term/Common Good
Adding features when none needed
Possible single use
May not work with marketing
Harder to recycle
Transport costs& energy to get back
Wasted product that can be reused

Bag Legislation Potential Options

We currently offer the options below to help our customer navigate bag material and construction legislation. Most laws surround the use of carry-out bags in retail settings and/or in material type. Laws vary widely in scope. Check your local legislation to learn about the regulations in your community.

  • Reusable Totes – Custom
  • Reusable Totes – Stock
  • Paper Bags
  • Custom durable 4 mil LDPE bags with a reinforced handle specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse.
  • Recycled Content LDPE Bags
  • Compostable Bags
  • Bio-Based (plant) LDPE Bags

Samples of any of the options listed are available upon request.

Sustainability minded compost bag
Sustainability minded giant green bag
Sustainability minded recycled contents bag

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