Industry Leadership, It’s Sort of a Big DEAL!

Nichols has been an ISSA member for many years, and each year our team members participate in the convention. There we learn about the upcoming programs and innovative products by our strategic suppliers. Nichols also enjoys the opportunity to stay involved with the ISSA team.  The programs that this organization creates are completely focused on making our entire industry better! Our team loves to support that in every way we can. One avenue for continuous improvement (in all industries) is Sustainability. ISSA helps us do that with their DEAL program.

We applaud the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) and their partner Sustainability Dashboard Tools, LLC for launching the Distributor Efficiency Analytics & Learning (DEAL).  DEAL is a comprehensive program for distribution warehouse and fleets that was introduced a little over a year ago. It incorporates learning, analytics, and recognition to help distributors benchmark performance, streamline operations and realize significant savings.

Our Sustainability Journey

The journey to being a sustainable company does not end, it is about continuous improvement. Although Nichols achieved LEED EB O+M (Leadership in Energy And Environmental Design for Existing Buildings) originally in 2010, we had more to accomplish.  We could have rested on our laurels, but when ISSA launched DEAL and asked that we consider being part of the pilot group, we jumped right in.  Nichols achieved re-certification of our corporate headquarters and distribution center in Norton Shores under LEED O+M Version 4.0, which is the latest standard, in October 2015. This was right around the time DEAL was being launched. DEAL is a natural fit with our core values and Nichols immediately saw the value.  We know there is still more work to be done.

“Collectively, the 20 pilot program participants achieved US $400,000 in savings to date,” stated ISSA Market Research and Analytics Director Jonathan Adkins. “If you do the math, that’s an average savings of $20,000 per company for what amounts to about a $3,000 investment annually.”

Further, Adkins highlighted the environmental benefits as well: “Participating companies reduced their greenhouse gases by 1,550 metric tons; that’s the equivalent of planting 40,000 tree seedlings and letting them grow for 10 years. It’s incredible when you think about it.”

As the week wrapped up, we were thrilled to receive two awards at the inaugural ceremony held at ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America 2017 in Las Vegas on September 14th.  We feel this is a positive reinforcement of our industry leadership. We hope you are doing your part with Sustainability too. Congratulations to all of the award winners at this year’s event! Read about all of the winners that were recognized here.