This issue of Composites Manufacturing magazine could easily be branded as a special issue focused on sustainability. There are articles on an eco-friendly sailboat (page 8), the automotive industry’s push for sustainability (page 16) and new ACMA tools that will help composites become the sustainable material of choice (page 20).I encourage you to read all three articles, then join your peers at ACMA’s new Composites Sustainability Today event June 4 – 6 in Denver. (You can register at acma.today/cst24.) The event will include roundtable discussions, networking opportunities and interactive field trips to Vartega and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Events like this, coupled with the tools and resources offered by ACMA, are invaluable. As a member of ACMA, you don’t have to go on your sustainability journey alone.At Bestbath, we understand it really is a journey and are taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2021, we installed more than 750 solar panels on our factory roof. In addition, we’re listening to customers who have begun to ask about the packaging of our custom bath products. We’ve changed the style of our cardboard packaging so it can be recycled rather than end up in a landfill. We’re also investigating ways to pack our multi-piece products so they require less foam. This issue of the magazine also includes an article on another hot industry topic that I’m passionate about – workforce development. Bestbath has been a member of the local chamber of commerce for years even though we don’t have a storefront. It ensures people know who we are and what we do. It allows us to build relationships with people who can advocate for us when they know folks who are looking for work.Marketing our company through the chamber of commerce is one way we increase that pipeline of potential employees. We also rely on our current employees to be cheerleaders. If you have good employees, odds are they know good people, too. Consider creating referral programs that incentivize staff to encourage friends, families and neighbors to apply at your company. And make sure you take care of your employees! The single biggest cost we face is the constant retraining of people. You can solve a lot of issues by making sure you are appropriately paying your staff.You can learn about other innovative workforce development ideas and programs in the article on page 11. And there are additional resources on these topics and more on ACMA’s website at acmanet.org. I’ll say it again: You don’t have to do it alone. ACMA is here to help, so get involved and take advantage of everything that association membership
