One of the things that I loved about the Net Impact Conference this year was that I didn’t have a real ‘strategy’ per se in my approach to choosing which panel discussions I’d attend. Instead of only seeking out Green Marketing or Sustainable Supply Chain Management I took a peek at the program and went to discussions on whatever happened to interest me most. One of the ones that caught my eye was a case study on blending environmental, social and business sustainability in a Mexican Indian Reserve. Now, the ironic thing is that I thought this was about First Nations, presuming that ‘Indians’ was just our friendly neighbours’ way of being colloquial… so I was kind of surprised when the moderator started introducing three latin panelists.
To give you a quick rundown of what the session was actually about…
The man describing the case study, Fredo Arias-King, is the President of T & R Chemicals, a company that manufactures pine oil from pine resin. The pine resin from the particular pine tree that the company uses is grown in only a couple of areas of the world, one of which is in a relatively remote part of Mexico. Pine resin is an incredibly common component in a variety of products, the breadth of which we take for granted. While it’s a very lucrative industry for the major chemical companies that process it, it can also be very lucrative for the native population if they harvest it efficiently. This last caveat is particularly poignant in Mexico because the system just doesn’t work well. Much like in the rest of North America, the First Nations population has been marginalized to the point of abject poverty. Mr. Arias-King has started a social initiative designed to help alleviate this poverty by monetizing pine resin harvesting for the Indian population. The initiative, called ‘Resinas Sinteticas’, is a major reforestation project in Mexico that aims to plant 1 million trees per year for a decade, in the process providing the local population a source of sustainable income. T & R Chemicals, Inc. is financing the entire project…
Throughout the entire session social innovation and community development were the main focus of the discussion. It only came out at the end that there’s an underlying reason for T &R Chemicals’ vested interest in their supply of pine resin. It seems that the largest producer of pine resin in the world is also its greatest consumer. China’s consumption of pine resin is set to exceed its supply in 2020; this project, it would seem, is a subtle form of risk management. What better way to ensure your input supply than by ingratiating yourself to its growers. Pretty slick, if you ask me, and at first glance it appears contrary to the point of the Net Impact Conference.
But this is where I find myself realizing that I may be thinking a little too hard. I mean, really, who cares what the company’s motivation is? T & R’s risk management strategy is turning a reforestation project into a social innovation success story. What’s more, it’s accomplishing it sustainably, which is more than anyone could really ask for considering that industry practice suggests otherwise. If you’ve read my other posts you’ll know that it seemed to be a common theme for me this year; having one epiphany per session, realizing that the destination can be more valuable than the means by which a company gets there… within reason, of course!
