Sandwich giant Subway formally added Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which

includes sustainability, to its company plan in 2007. The vision was to make Subway
restaurants as environmentally and socially responsible as possible, says Elizabeth
Stewart, who oversees the chains CSR initiatives.
Subways efforts today address older sustainability issues such as energy efficiency and
waste reduction, but also embrace the swelling Sustainability 2.0 definition by tackling
areas such as supply chain management, food safety, nutrition, and personnel
development.

Sustainable Packaging Roundup: Roberts PolyPro, Cascadian Farm, CKF, Subway

Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/09/17/sustainable-packaging-rounduproberts-polypro-cascadian-farm-ckf-subway/#ixzz3efsr179c

Subway has pledged to cut food and packaging waste in the UK and Ireland where customers
that buy its 2 ($3.19) breakfast receive hot drinks in a double-wall cup that replaces the existing
triple-wall cup. The double-wall sustainable cup is estimated to save 30 metric tons of pulp
per year across Europe and takes approximately 25 percent less energy to produce, Subway says.
Image Credit: Roberts PolyPro
Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/09/17/sustainable-packaging-rounduproberts-polypro-cascadian-farm-ckf-subway/#ixzz3efsv2vgf
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Subway Cuts Energy Use

Subway has opened an Eco-Store in Florida that includes high efficiency HVAC systems, remote
condensing units for refrigeration and ice making equipment, day lighting and controls for high
efficiency lighting, LED interior and exterior signs, low flow water fixtures, and building and
decor materials from sustainable sources.
Subway has also started using paper napkins that are made from 100 percent recycled materials
with 60 percent post consumer recyclables.
Working in partnership with the franchisee-controlled Independent Purchasing Cooperative,
which sources product and negotiates contracts for Subway franchisees, brand representatives
are reviewing everything from materials used in disposable gloves to locations of product
distribution centers.
The company is also testing recycle bins, the Wall Street Journal reports, something no other
major fast-food chain, including McDonalds, Burger King, Yum Brands KFC and Taco Bell and
Wendys International, are doing at its restaurants in the U.S.
Restaurants say they dont recycle because wrappers, napkins, cups and other packaging that is
soiled with food is difficult, and in some cases impossible, to recycle in the U.S. But some think
franchisees typically dont want to do it because it usually costs more. If Subway can make

recycling bins work, it could prompt other chains to add them too.Here are some details on other
initiatives:
Efforts were made to strategically relocate several redistribution centers next to vendor
manufacturing facilities, eliminating the need to transport product from long distances. In all, the
move saves an estimated 1,660,079 gallons of gas per year and eliminates 10,491 truck loads
annually. The brand has also undertaken an Operational Efficiency program and has a
Transportation Management Center plan in the works, which ensures all routes are optimized
and all trucks are full, which saves money on freight costs and emits less green house gasses.
Along with making napkins with 100 percent recycled materials of which 60 percent is post
consumer recyclable, saving an estimated 147,000 trees annually the brand has also: switched
the materials used for the manufacturing of its cutlery and 32 ounce plastic drinking cups from
polystyrene to polypropylene. The change resulted in an annual resin savings of more than
610,000 pounds and saves an equivalent of 13,000 barrels of oil.
Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/11/21/subway-cuts-energyuse/#ixzz3eftO8uj6

Supply Chain Innovation Awards

IPC Streamlines the Supply Chain for the Subway

Restaurant Chain
By: SupplyChainBrain |

The dedicated cooperative has one customer and "11,000 bosses." The story of how
IPC succeeded in making the Subway supply chain significantly leaner and greener.
On paper, Independent Cooperative Inc. (IPC) has one customer: the Subway
restaurant chain. In reality, it serves many masters.
Subway is, after all, a franchise operation, and IPC is the independently owned
purchasing cooperative that services its 32,000 stores. "I have 11,000 bosses," says
IPC president and chief executive officer Jan Risi. "And every single one of them has

my cell-phone number."
Innovation is key to Subway's success. In 2008, the chain scored a hit with its $5
foot-long sandwich promotion. But new ideas are also essential to the workings of
the company's supply chain.
Risi and her team saw an opportunity to drive improved efficiencies in the way IPC
supplied the stores - and, not incidentally, to create a more sustainable operation.
So the company put together a strategic plan that would scrutinize every step of the
process.
IPC faces a number of challenges in supplying the franchisees, according to vice
president of purchasing Dennis Clabby. The meat, bread and other ingredients that
go into Subway sandwiches are highly perishable, often requiring temperaturecontrolled transportation. As a result, speed is always of the essence. And the rapid
growth of stores in the chain - the number nearly tripled between 1995 and 2009 makes it tough to keep pace with orders.
Among the goals of the strategic plan were a greater reliance on cost-efficient
truckload transport and faster inventory turns. Early on, IPC asked transportation
services provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. for help in analyzing the dry
distribution network. The exercise led to the consolidation of multi-SKU shipments of
dry products, to reduce the number of less-than-truckload (LTL) moves.
Drawing on the example of Southwest Sanitation, a Dallas-based vendor, IPC began
using new redistribution methods for its faster-moving refrigerated products. Up to
then, vendors of protein products had been making the items in one place, shipping
them to inventory, then moving them to the distribution center. Each stage made it
harder for the carrier to maintain a constant temperature, reducing product shelf
life.
IPC turned to two vendors, West Liberty Foods and Millard Refrigerated Services, for
help in creating a redistribution system and new cold consolidation facility in Iowa.
At the co-managed site, WLF operates 24 separate "operating rooms" for slicing. In
an attached warehouse, Millard palletizes, shrink-wraps and stores product before it
is shipped to the distribution centers. For outbound shipments, the company again
looked to C.H. Robinson to make exclusive use of truckload transport.
In the process, says Clabby, IPC has increased inventory turns, prevented the crosscontamination of meats between slicing lines and boosted the freshness of product.
"Proteins" are now 66 percent fresher when they reach Subway restaurants,
according to IPC.

Packaging was another target of the efficiency effort. Once again, a strong vendor
partnership was called for. At the suggestion of C.H. Robinson, IPC began working
with Select Product Group (SPG), a supplier of packaging and paper, to create a
highly automated regional distribution center. IPC was able to cut the number of
individual items shipped to DCs from 160 to 12, even as it boosted the number of
truckloads for outbound moves.
IPC discovered that 32 percent of its trucking capacity was going unutilized. By
adding lightweight items such as straws and napkins, it was able to cube out the
loads and bring an end to the shipping of air.
The third source of innovation for IPC and Subway lay in the production and shipping
of bread. Rapid growth in the number of stores was putting a strain on the old
system, with bakeries running at 110-percent capacity in the summer months. IPC
knew it had to add bread plants; the only question was where. Working with C.H.
Robinson, the company analyzed the location of its current plants and DCs, devising
multiple "what-if" scenarios to come up with the most efficient network and lowest
landed cost.
One new bread plant in Tolleson, Ariz., operated by Southwest Baking, deployed
state-of-the-art, fully automated systems to allow for increased production and
greater flexibility in volumes. Other facilities were built in Austin, Tex., Columbia,
S.C. and Centralia, Wash. The new network, with plants closer to the source, allowed
Subway's vendors to double the efficiency of bread-line capacity while improving
product quality, Clabby says. IPC and C.H. Robinson reevaluate the bread-sourcing
plan each year, taking into account changes in manufacturing costs, bakery capacity,
volume commitments, market demand and cost per case.
IPC works closely with Subway's marketing and product-development managers to
support new demand. The $5 foot-long promotion, for example, led to a 20-percent
increase in sales. That caused a 48-percent rise in bread usage during the
promotional period, along with an additional 700,000 cases of product being
delivered to the stores each week.
Also involved in the detailed analysis of Subway's distribution network were experts
from MIT and Chainalytics. Their insights and encouragement gave IPC the impetus
to work more closely with Subway's manufacturers, who in turn could go to their
banks for the necessary capital, Clabby says. The task of transportation
management fell to C.H. Robinson, which hired one of its divisions, Transportation
Management Center, to oversee related business processes and data management.

Sustainability remains a key concern of IPC and Subway. (Another of Chainalytics'

responsibilities was to measure the company's North American carbon footprint,
from the standpoint of transportation and distribution.) Annual environmental
savings resulting from the initiative included 4.6 million pounds of plastic, 14.1
million gallons of gasoline, 115 million gallons of water, 9.9 million pounds of
corrugated cardboard and 18.6 million kilowatts of electricity.
The company's bottom line was positively affected as well. Between 1997 and 2009,
Risi estimates, IPC realized more than $1bn in cumulative cost savings.
The company continues to work on best practices for improving profitability while
creating a more sustainable supply chain. The North American unit has joined with
the five other global IPCs under the name of Unaterra ("One Earth"), with the goal
of streamlining supply chains on a worldwide basis.
Resource Links:
C.H. Robinson, www.chrobinson.com
Chainalytics, www.chainalytics.com