Environmental Sustainability

OUR B corporation initiatives

Learn what we are doing as we strive toward meeting B Corporation Certification

Black on Purpose Television Network - BOP TV Environmental Sustainability

Environmental Policy

How we continue to grow a greener company

Protecting the environment and inspiring our members to do the same is important to us at Black on Purpose Television. It is through key partnerships with our many stakeholders that we are able to strive for operational excellence as a company, build a team of engaged and passionate associates, and deliver an “Amazing” experience to each member by understanding their needs and offering them the right products and services that fit their lives.

Founded in 2013, BOP TV has been integral members of the communities in which we operate. Our Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Reports share our efforts as an organization continuously working towards social and environmental stewardship. We recognize our responsibility to the communities we serve and believe that great value can be driven by the responsible management of our environmental, social and economic resources.  

We have developed and implemented several policies to support our sustainability efforts. 

The global economy challenges Corporations to create sustainable business relationship by participating in the sustainable development of communities in which they operate. We believe the ability of corporations to continue to provide goods/services in our in our interdependent world depends on their acceptability to the societies where they do business. Corporate citizenship goes beyond traditional functions of creating jobs and and paying taxes, to include corporate practices designed  to protect human rights, civil rights, worker rights, land and the environment.

According to Dow Jones Sustainability indexes, “Sustainability leaders encourage long lasting social well being in communities where they operate, engage in an active dialog with with different stakeholders and respond to their specific and ever evolving needs thereby securing a long term license to operate”, as well as  superior customer and employee loyalty.

In the 2004 statement published by social research analysts reported that they value public reporting because “we find compelling the large and growing body of evidence linking companies’ strong performance addressing social and environmental issues to strong performance in creating long – term shareholder value… we belive that companies can more effectively communicate their perspectives and report performance on complex social and environmental issues through a comprehensive report than through press releases and other ad hoc communications” (www.socialinvest.org) Sustainable issues can include for instance, a corporation’s choices regarding materials, its consumption of energy, its impact on human and civil rights , its impact on disposal and recycling  and its role in the economy of local communities. Concerned investors evaluate companies on their financial, environmental and social performance, A growing number of companies have published sustainability reports and are taking a long-term  approach to creating shareholder value through embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental and social developments. “At BOP TV we have made sustainability a long-term strategic business priority… Sustainability is about ensuring that our business is innovative , competitive and profitable in a world that is facing major environmental and social changes.

Paper Procurement Policy

Black On Purpose Television Network – BOP TV

 SUSTAINABLE PAPER PROCUREMENT POLICY Our Commitments 

Black on Purpose Television Network -BOP TV  and its affiliates, including the Center for Media, Arts and Technology are committed to having a positive role in promoting the sustainability of forests and other  natural resources. The objective of this policy is to encourage a sustainable combination of resources  and processes to produce the paper for: 

  • catalogs and retail flyers/circulars 
  • internal use 
  • direct mail 

Sustainable Fiber 

BOP TV will not knowingly source fiber from illegally harvested or traded sources. Our goal is to  procure paper sourced from credibly certified forest sources with verified chain-of-custody. We use  principles of lifecycle assessment to comparatively rate the environmental impact of paper  procurement choices. In practice, this means working with our suppliers to get more accurate  understandings of the lifecycle costs of paper choices based on grade types and fiber sources available. 

Supplier Requirements and Preferred Sustainable Supplier Program 

We require all of our paper suppliers to meet our supplier requirements. By meeting those  requirements and going beyond them, suppliers can also qualify for our preferred sustainable supplier  program. The preferred program gives purchasing preference to suppliers who otherwise meet our  price, reliability and quality requirements. 

Supplier Requirements 

All paper suppliers to BOP TV must ensure that their products are legally harvested and traded. Paper  suppliers to BOP TV are not permitted to provide paper from “unwanted” forest sources. An Unwanted Source falls within one or more of the following categories: 

  • The source forest is known or suspected of containing high conservation values, except where:  

o The forest is certified or in progress of certification under a credible certification  standard ensuring responsible management practices, or  

o The forest manager can otherwise demonstrate that the forest and/or surrounding  landscape is managed to ensure those values are maintained. 

  • The source forest is being actively converted from natural forest to a plantation or other land  use, except where the conversion is justified on grounds of net social and environmental gain,  including the enhancement of high conservation values in the surrounding landscape;  • The timber was illegally harvested, exported, imported, or traded; 
  • The timber is conflict timber (i.e., it is traded in a way that drives violent armed conflict or  threatens national or regional stability);

last update June 2015 1 

  • The harvesting or processing entity, or a related political or military regime, is violating human  rights; 
  • The timber is from transgenic genetically modified trees; 
  • The source forest is unknown. 

Preferred Paper Supplier Program 

Our preferred paper supplier program provides a positive incentive to suppliers who clearly  demonstrate that they source sustainably managed forest products and demonstrate leadership in other  environmental aspects of their operations. The preferred paper supplier program evaluates suppliers on  the following criteria: 

  • Chain-of-custody Certification: Chain-of-custody Certification is an accounting system audit  that tracks certified forest fiber, recycled content and/or non-certified forest fiber. BOP TV gives  preference to suppliers that have third-party independent chain of custody certification. The  non-certified forest fiber must meet the controlled wood or non-controversial sources  definitions of FSC, PEFC and/or SFI. 
  • Procurement system certification: BOP TV gives preference to suppliers that have third party  independent certification of their procurement systems that also focus on improving forestry on  uncertified lands through logger training, landowner outreach and best management practices. 
  • High Conservation Values: BOP TV gives preference to suppliers that demonstrate that they are  not sourcing fiber from forests that possess one or more of the following attributes, unless the  forest is third-party certified to one of the standards that BOP TV recognizes:  

o Forest areas containing globally, regionally, or nationally significant concentrations of  biodiversity values (e.g., endemism, endangered species, and refugia). 

o Forest areas containing globally, regionally, or nationally significant large landscape  level forests contained within, or containing, the management unit where viable  populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of  distribution and abundance. 

o Forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened, or endangered, critically imperiled or  imperiled ecosystems. 

o Forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g., watershed  protection and erosion control). 

o Forest areas that provide essential ecosystems services to nearby human populations in  critical sustainable situations. 

o Forest areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural,  ecological, economic, or religious significance). 

  • Certification: BOP TV gives preference to suppliers that provide certification by a third party that  a forest is well managed, under a certification system requiring (a) transparency, stakeholder  involvement, and the administration of a standard for forest management that is broadly  accepted, such as, CSA, FSC, PEFC, and SFI; (b) compatibility between the standard and  globally applicable principles that balance economic, ecological, and equity dimensions of  forest management; and (c) an independent and credible mechanism for verifying the  achievement of these standards and communicating the results to all major stakeholders.


Efficient Use 

BOP TV is committed to the efficient use of paper and encourages the recycling of paper through the  following actions: 

  • Appropriateness of size 
  • Appropriateness of paper basis weight 
  • Management of mailing lists 
  • Reduction initiatives, including digital media and versioning 
  • Promotion of the recycling of catalogs and retail flyers/circulars by customers • Increase internal recycling 
  • Possible use of alternative fibers 

Transparency 

BOP TV is committed to the transparent implementation of this policy. SHC may require suppliers to audit  their compliance with the policy.  

Living Document 

In the spirit of continuous improvement, BOP TV will review this policy on a regular basis and benchmark  it against other industry leaders. 

last update June 2022

PVC Policy

BOP TV will:

– Identify safer, more sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to PVC and incorporate them into the design and manufacturing process for private label merchandise and packaging;

– Show preference for PVC-free materials that do not contain highly hazardous chemicals and set a long term goal of sourcing bio-based polymers that are sustainably sourced, have higher recycled content, and can be reused, recycled, or composted;

– Show preference to incorporate the Society of the Plastics Industry labeling system on private label merchandise packaging to make it easier for consumers to incorporate packaging options into their purchase decision;

– Show preference to mark private label merchandise as PVC-free when true;

– Encourage vendors to reduce or eliminate their use of PVC in merchandise and packaging;

– Encourage vendors to utilize the Society of the Plastics Industry labeling system on packaging;

– Encourage vendors to label their merchandise as PVC-free when true.