At this week’s Action for a Sustainable America, held in Seattle, I had the opportunity to meet some great folks. The event was one of a series of three where corporate leaders and green innovators examined sustainability as a corporate strategy.

David Quigg, Grays Harbor Paper, introduced the company his father helped rescue with a team of local investors when the Grays Harbor paper mill closed 15 years ago putting hundreds of people out of work in rural Washington.

Housing two of the remaining five pieces of paper making equipment in Washington, the company produces FSC-Certified copy and printing papers containing recycled post-consumer made in a “fossil-free” manufacturing process using energy produced on-site.

According to David, he is leading action by communicating his company’s values. To avoid greenwashing, sustainability should come from the beginning. Products should be designed around the customer.

Our customers are looking for a shared culture so we tell our story; we talk honestly about the goals we’re trying to achieve.

It’s our responsibility to educate others, to help them replicate what we can do in other industries. If a paper mill can do it, anyone can do it!

Customers, whether they are business buyers or consumers, want to buy from companies that are doing good things. Companies that treat their employees well, treat their suppliers well, and treat their communities well.

Here’s what David had to say about Grays Harbor Paper’s triple bottom line.

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