Embracing Environmental Responsibility

During the course of preparing this issue of PF, my childhood home was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Like many of you, I found myself horrified watching the true measure of destruction in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia emerge largely through videos posted via social media.

I grew up in western North Carolina, practically on the border of Tennessee. Seeing places like Asheville, Morganton, Boone and Haywood County suffer catastrophic flooding has brought the topic of climate change that much closer to home for me personally. I spent several evenings the past week scrolling through videos and searching for posts from my distant cousins and college friends in hopes of discovering they were safe.

In these situations, it is easy to feel helpless. No amount of outreach or donations seems like enough when people have lost their homes, their livelihoods or their very lives. Turning back to my work as an editor for the manufacturing industries, I know in my gut there are surely facilities in the finishing industry that are affected. Facilities that may have been flooded. Workers that may have lost their businesses or homes.

As these stories emerge, it’s important to be part of the solution. In looking to the future of manufacturing, we must continue to explore sustainable technologies and processes that improve efficiencies, reduce waste and lower carbon emissions. We must continue to innovate and work to find new material solutions that can enable advances in transportation, renewable energy and infrastructure. The materials used to rebuild the buildings and bridges that were damaged or destroyed should be considered for their ability to withstand future weather events. As new material solutions are explored, various finishes and coatings technologies may also play a role in enhancing the properties of these materials.

Natural disasters like this are a reminder that the actions we take as a society have an effect on the world around us. Climate change is undeniable — it is not a political issue but a scientific one. As the world changes, we should consider new approaches rather than simply manufacturing or building things the way we always have. New ideas should be taken seriously and given the opportunity to prove their viability as alternatives to traditional materials or processes.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that something tried and true won’t ultimately be the best solution, but every possibility for improvement should be considered. Our environment is changing, and we need to change with it. It’s important that we learn from these unfortunate weather events like Helene and seek ways to lessen our impact on the environment. We should prepare as best we can for future natural disasters, shoring up our existing infrastructure as much as possible. We should be open to new ideas as we continue to evolve our approach to inhabiting this planet and seek out opportunities to collaborate with innovators that may approach problems from an angle we hadn’t considered before.  

This is not to say the surface finishing industry isn’t already doing these things. Sustainability and environmental responsibility is a key component of almost all of the conferences, trade shows and industry events that PF attends. So much of the work being done today is moving manufacturing in the right direction.

At times like this, it’s important to remind ourselves that the problems in front of us are existential in nature and there is a real opportunity to make a difference. Ask yourself and your team — how can we help? On behalf of PF, I’d like to offer our support to all of the finishers and coaters who were affected by Helene — if we can help you share your story, please reach out.