What sustainability challenges is the mattress industry working to solve, and where in the value chain do the greatest barriers or opportunities currently exist? What initiatives
are underway, and what are the upstream or downstream processes that could affect possible solutions?
These are just some of the questions that Purdue University’s Value Chain Map Assessment Project hopes to answer to determine how the International Sleep Products Association can best support and accelerate sustainability efforts across the mattress value chain. ISPA partnered with senior environmental and ecological engineering students in Purdue’s School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering on a senior design project in which they conducted an online assessment and produced a report that provides an overview of risks and opportunities related to sustainability in the mattress industry.
During the process, students worked closely with ISPA staff and members, including Kate Caddy, director of sustainability; Marty Salamone, government affairs and sustainability manager; and ISPA’s Sustainability Committee to develop the assessment.
Senior design students were specially selected to lead this project based on their interests. BedTimes spoke with the student team leading this project to learn more about their goals.
Ben Cobler
Major: Environmental and ecological engineering, with a minor in management.
After graduation: Water resources engineering, wastewater engineering, or some other equivalent role, while focusing on sustainability in the design process.
Fun fact: I am scuba certified and have been on more than 25 dives, including the Great Barrier Reef.
What I look for in a mattress: One of the most important things for me when I am sleeping is temperature, so I look for a mattress that will stay cool and keep me from getting too hot.
Project goal: Our assessment is helping to identify current gaps in the sustainability of the mattress industry so that we can offer potential solutions and tools to fill those gaps. Companies within ISPA all value sustainability differently, and there are different levels that each one is at in terms of how much they incorporate sustainability into their game plan. I think this assessment will help these companies level up their incorporation of sustainability and hopefully show the companies why it will be important in the future.
Overall, I think this project will help the industry jumpstart sustainable practices for those who don’t have them and improve upon the practices of those who do.
Chantelle Miller
Major: Environmental and ecological engineering, with a minor in environmental politics and policy.
After graduation: Internship with V3 Companies, Indianapolis, in its wetlands and ecology division, then a master’s degree in EEE (4+1 combined degree program) at Purdue, focusing on a research project on the logistics of recycling used cooking oil. In the future, I hope to work in the recycling field.
Fun fact: I picked up Chinese lion dancing at Purdue through its Asian and Asian American Cultural and Resource Center.
What I look for in a mattress: I have a pretty terrible sleep schedule, so by the time I go to sleep, I’m just happy to be in something resembling a bed!
Project goal: I think this assessment will be valuable for mattress manufacturers to see where their impact lies the most so they can focus their sustainability improvements. There’s a lot of things you can do in the name of sustainability, to the point it can feel overwhelming, so having some recommendation of where to start can be very valuable.
I also think this assessment can help each party in the value chain see what other parties are particularly struggling with or care about, so they might be able to work toward larger value chain issues better together.
Alba Samu Rodriguez
Major: Environmental and ecological engineering, with a concentration in corporate and industrial sustainability, and a minor in management.
After graduation: Master’s degree in sustainability management at Columbia University in New York City. After that, I plan to work in corporate sustainability.
Fun fact: I have studied in five different countries: Spain (home country), Ireland, Canada, Germany, and the United States.
What I look for in a mattress: Mainly that it is soft enough that it accommodates my body nicely but is not too soft.
Project goal: It’s my hope that this project can help the industry move toward more sustainable initiatives. From the start, ISPA’s Kate Caddy and Marty Salamone were excellent mentors, helping us understand what parts of the industry we needed to focus on. The main goal of performing a value chain map assessment is to be able to identify gaps and challenges within the value chain and then offer solutions or methods to tackle them. Additionally, I hope they can use this as a guide to understand where the industry currently stands and what steps to take to move forward.
Another thing that this project made me realize, and I hope it does for the industry as well, is how interconnected and dependent all stakeholders and stages of the value chain are. Understanding these links will allow them to understand what they need from each other.
Audrey Heckel
Major: Environmental and ecological engineering.
After graduation: I’ll be working full-time with Parsons as an associate drainage engineer in Atlanta.
Fun fact: I am a caving officer for the Purdue Outing Club. I get to see lots of cool cave formations (like stalagmites and stalactites) as well as crayfish, salamanders, and bats!
What I look for in a mattress: I am honestly not super picky about what kind of mattress I am using. Based on the sleeping pads I use when camping, though, I am always so grateful to come home to a mattress where I don’t feel the ground or bedframe underneath me.
Project goal: I think this assessment project will allow the industry to more clearly gauge where they are at in terms of sustainability and create a viable plan to meet their goals. Our assessment will identify areas within the industry that contribute most to negative environmental impacts, show where communication can be improved between each stage, and provide tools for ISPA to share with its member companies so that they can determine how involved they currently are in sustainability practices and how they can improve.
The goal of this assessment is to show where additional resources and practices should be implemented to help the industry grow as a whole and become more sustainable. I hope that our work can be used to help companies understand how important sustainability is for them and to help them start or continue to work toward long-term sustainability goals.
