Paul Riggs, Mark Robertson and Andrew Clark
Sustainability challenges faced by contact lens and ophthalmic lens manufacturers in recent years have included recycling complex materials, encouraging correct disposal and the need for sterile packaging.
The first panel discussion at Optician’s Eyes on Sustainability conference at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on November 5-6 explored how optical companies were meeting these challenges to create a more sustainable future. Simon Jones, panel chair and editor of Optician, invited each panel member to share the journey their respective companies had been on before taking questions collectively from an engaged audience.
Forming partnerships
Paul Riggs, director of science and sustainability at CooperVision (pictured right), said the contact lens company started working on sustainability a few years ago. At the core of its work was the United Nations definition of sustainability from 1987; meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Riggs acknowledged that all attendees at the conference wanted to do more on sustainability but the challenge was to find those who felt empowered enough to take action. He noted part of the challenge was in communications and thinking about how to make the issue a reality for people to feel like they can make a difference.
CooperVision was committed to a journey of sustainability with people at the centre of it, Riggs noted, which meant understanding suppliers and supply chains and thinking about how the company designed its products.
Riggs said CooperVision reduced plastic consumption by 25% and introduced recycling systems at its manufacturing plants, globally.
Notably at its heat and power facility in Puerto Rico, CooperVision formed partnerships with the local community to supply renewable energy that it had created.
He added that an important part of sustainability was the circularity of the product, which the contact lens company had sought to achieve through its partnership with Plastic Bank.
Partnerships formed by CooperVision were key to its sustainability activities and Riggs noted how CooperVision and other contact lens suppliers were working together via a Euromcontact working group.
Manufacturing steps
Mark Robertson, head of manufacturing at Caledonian Optical (pictured right), said the Duncan and Todd Group company had rethought and redesigned its ophthalmic lens laboratory in Aberdeen to become more sustainable.
He said Caledonian’s Made in Britain accreditation for local manufacturing at its 10,000sqft facility enabled the company to keep costs low and decrease its carbon footprint.
Robertson noted that Duncan and Todd had shown commitment to sustainability by ingraining it in the company’s values and practices. It had measured and reduced carbon emissions, directly and indirectly related to its operations and supply chain, such as creating a larger stock area that resulted in fewer deliveries.
Water usage for lens edging had been reduced by installing a Bazell micro-separator, which provided closed circuit recycling of water and separation of plastic waste. Robertson said 50% less waste was being sent to landfill, as waste was now compacted in dry powder form.
Robertson explained that Caledonian prioritised eco-friendly and sustainable materials to reduce reliance on non-renewable resources, such as switching PPE Nitrile gloves to biodegradable versions. In addition, it was striving for a paperless work ticket system in the laboratory, LED motion sensors had been installed and staff were provided with reusable, steel water bottles.
Caledonian’s journey was not complete, Robertson noted, as the company was considering the installation of solar panels, alloy-free blocking and reducing production of demo lenses for non-display frames.
Carbon accounting
Marius de Beer, chief sustainability officer at Hoya Vision Care (pictured right), highlighted key reasons why companies should be active on sustainability. One point was that consumers were expecting it from companies, highlighting that 65% were worried about climate change and 57% felt they could make a change to their choices and actions.
De Beer said Hoya developed its One Vision approach to sustainability to reduce its carbon footprint, bridge the vision health gap in communities, and build a diverse, safe and healthy workplace.
Andrew Clark, head of sustainability at Net Zero Optics/Practice Building, then discussed how he had worked with Hoya at its facility in Wrexham to carry out carbon accounting.
This explored the three scopes of emissions: one, direct greenhouse gas emissions, such as fleet vehicles; two, purchased energy, such as electricity; and three, which included the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the organisation, such as team and patient travel.
Hoya and Clark began by looking at baseline data from 2022 for scope one and two emissions, which totalled 0.438 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. The process allowed them to identify failings and opportunities to improve. Hoya also sought to set a realistic net zero target and started the journey to quantify what the carbon footprint of a Hoya lens was.
They then set out to further detail the carbon footprint of Hoya Wrexham by collecting data on scope three emissions, which Clark said was a challenge because it encompasses so many different areas. Once scope three was accounted for, it added 74% to the carbon footprint total and took the company’s total product carbon footprint from 0.438kg to 2.272kg per lens.
Challenging conversations
During the question and answer session, chair Jones asked Riggs what the associated challenges were with the need for greater cross-company collaboration. Riggs noted there were a lot of big players in the contact lens industry that were in competition with each other but platforms like the Euromcontact working group created opportunities to work on how to have those conversations.
Clark was asked how to engage staff when looking at the business’ carbon emissions and he suggested that staff would be interested if given the opportunity. An audience member asked Riggs how far off a biodegradable contact lens was from being developed, which he noted had been a conversation in the industry for 24 years.
Riggs noted that although technological developments would help make this achievable, there would be a challenge to not compromise the clinical performance of a contact lens. When discussing recycling contact lens materials, audience members suggested patients might need incentivising to bring recyclable materials back into practice via initiatives like a loyalty card.