It has become pretty important at Amway. LCA, is an internationally recognized way to determine the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. An LCA analyzes the entire production process from raw materials to manufacturing to distribution to “end of life management.” (Can it be recycled or will it go to a landfill?)

 Amway Research Scientist David Byrne recently attended the LCA XII Conference in Tacoma, Washington, and shared the evolution of Amway’s use of LCA and our goal to be recognized as a sustainability leader in the direct sales industry. Here is the gist of his message:

 Amway’s first product, L.O.C., was a phosphate-free, all-purpose cleaner that was one of the first bio-degradable products on the market. It was the first of many products we designed with environmental considerations. The company’s founders did this because it was the right thing to do.

 However, our Independent Business Owners, customers and partners now want to know about our sustainability efforts. That’s why in 2009 Amway started using LCA. As a test case, an LCA helped shape the design of the new eSpring system launched in Japan that year. The result? It used 46% less energy than its predecessor.

Now sustainability requirements are integrated into corporate objectives for all new products and sustainability claims are tested along with performance claims. At Amway, LCA has been used successfully, and it’s gaining recognition inside and outside the company.

Companies have always used stories as a communication tool to articulate authenticity and original content. If a story is compelling enough, it will travel from person to person and convey a captivating snapshot of a brand.

The simple concept of storytelling hasn’t changed, but the medium we choose has.

For a global brand with over 20,000 employees and a presence in more than 100 countries and territories,  storytelling for Amway is not only a priority, it’s an international social media approach.

There is no denying that social media is a powerful and credible force. Right now, there are more than 950 million active monthly users on Facebook. Each day, 200 million photos are uploaded and 3.2 billion “likes” and comments stream across the social site.

We use the traditional storytelling methods such as press releases, but in order to truly capture the Amway experience, we also offer our fans an interactive social hub of posts, tweets, images, videos and blog articles that provide a digitally holistic picture of our global brand.

“Like” us on Facebook for our corporate Amway, Nutrilite, ARTISTRY and eSpring pages and “Follow” us on Twitter at @Amway  and @ARTISTRYTweets to stay connected and updated.

The next time you enjoy a glass of water from an eSpring water purification system, thank a coconut.

That’s right, a coconut. Scientists chose coconut shells as a carbon source for our water filters because studies show it works much better than other sources, including coal.

“You can use less of it, and it’s a higher quality,” Amway Research Scientist Karen VanderKooi said. “It’s also abundant and renewable.”

The activated shells are extra porous, which makes them superior at attracting contaminants.

Our suppliers use the charcoal from burned coconut shells, typically used for simple fuel, and treat them with high temperatures to make “activated carbon” granules.  The granules are then ground to a fine powder, pressed into a block and fit right into our eSpring cartridges.

The size range of the powder particles is patented and unique to eSpring, says Karen.

“It’s why the carbon filter can reduce over 140 potential health-effect contaminants and can treat up to 5,000 liters of water before needing replacement,” she said.

Our guest blogger is social media consultant Cami Reister.

Fulton Innovation made a big splash at the Consumer Electronics Show this month in Las Vegas. The eCoupled wireless power technology that is making all this innovation possible comes from an Amway core product — our eSpring water treatment system. And Consumer Reports has an article on our product this month. Click here for more information.

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

Kendra Peterson is an intern in the Documents & Design department. She shares her recent experience at an Intern Lunch & Learn.

I walked through the Durables Department with a sponge-like mind, learning all the company had to offer with items such as cook ware, air filtration systems, and water purification. The presenters did an excellent job in the description of their projects. Such a good job, that when a raffle was announced, I knew I just HAD to win.

I entered the room with a smile on my face as I eyed all of the glorious products just waiting to be raffled off.

My eyes opened wide as they announced the first winner. I looked across the table at an elated winner, but still had hope.

However, the next three names were not mine either. The next item was a set of cookware: the apple of my eye, my one greatest desire.

Didn’t win that either. As the last name was called, and the bragging intern to my right stood up, it was then that I realized I would leave empty handed.

But thanks to the Durables team, I now know why I want those items!

Check out the video to see how they convinced me!

Our brands to improve the quality of the water you drink, the indoor air you breathe and the food you cook are now a billion-dollar business for Amway.

Last year Amway’s “durables” brands – eSpring water purifier, Atmosphere air purifier and iCook and Queen cookware – generated US$1 billion in gross sales.

Amway has been selling cookware since 1961.  Our first water treatment system launched in 1984, followed by an air treatment system two years later.

Today our iCook and Queen cookware lines are on stovetops in households all over the world . Our eSpring water purifier is the world’s largest selling brand of “point of use” water filtration systems and the second largest brand of home water filtration systems worldwide.  And Atmosphere was the first air purifier certified  asthma & allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and Allergy Standards LTD.

A few weeks ago Amway had a celebration for the staff who created, manufactured and marketed these brands that help people live healthier lives.

It was a way of saying “thanks a billion” for producing products that helped our distributors generate $1 billion in sales.

Most people’s jobs involve making something.

The engineers in Amway’s Reliability Lab make a living breaking things.

“Our customers have an expectation of quality and reliability,” says Mark Gammage, senior group leader in Research & Development. “To meet that expectation, we have to determine the product’s weakest points.”

The lab, dubbed the “room of doom,” is where we find our products’ breaking points. The Reliability Lab puts products like our eSpring Water Purifier and Atmosphere Air Purifier under unusual conditions and pressure, as opposed to normal conditions over the average lifespan of those products. Part of the lab tests the effects of different electrical voltages and surges on electronics, or how the products perform under unusually high heat or humidity.

Our iCook and Queen knives are subjected to repetitive cutting and dishwasher conditions, to test durability and performance. The buttons on Atmosphere’s electronic panel might be pushed thousands of times by a machine, simulating years of constant use. Our eSpring unit could be subjected to a water pressure of 350-400 psi (pounds per square inch) when normal use is between 0-50 psi.

And when the products break or fail, our engineers know what needs to be improved in future designs.

“We make the quality of our products the same all over the world,” Mark said. “The Reliability Lab makes sure that when our products go out the door, they’re the best they can be.”

More than 450 products carry the Amway name and every day, there’s work underway on new ones and improvements to those we already offer.

Ideas for those products come from scientists, researchers, marketers, Amway distributors, customers and other great minds. And many are brought to life at our Rapid Prototyping Center.

Mike Kelly, senior scientist for Durables Research and Development at Amway, says his job is to listen to people’s ideas and take them from a sketch or artist’s rendering to a 3D computer model and finally, to a working prototype.

“We think of ourselves as artisans. We build beautiful, functional things,” Mike explained. “We put a lot of attention to detail into every piece, even if it will end up inside of a product like an eSpring Water Purifier, where it will never be seen once it’s assembled.”

We do a lot of  prototyping on-site, including machining, casting, and even labeling. We have help from machines, such as a Selective Laser Sintering one that uses a laser to melt nylon powder into the models we need. We work with pliable materials; rigid materials; we can paint; stain; drill; create in a variety of colors.

When we need help, we partner with the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), a center for excellence in rapid prototyping. We’re part of a consortium with companies like Kohler and Harley Davidson that collaborate with MSOE on the science and practice of rapid prototyping.

Sometimes multiple prototypes are developed for a single product.  For Artistry Crème Luxury/Creme LX, Mike says the lab created 22 iterations of the packaging,  including everything from the miniature spatula to the retail display case.   They were very proud of the results.

And so are we,  just as we are of our Rapid Prototyping Center –  the birthing center for Amway ideas.

A lot of best practices were developed in the design of the eSpring Water Purifier.

Now Amway has been honored for those practices.

Last week Frost & Sullivan announced the winners of its third annual Asia Pacific Best Practices Awards, which recognize outstanding performance in several industries.  Amway was honored as the 2010 Asia Pacific Water Filtration Company of the Year.

Picking up awards is getting to be a regular practice for eSpring.  Last year the brand was honored with an environmental stewardship award for a redesign that reduced the unit’s plastic content and energy use.

Until last week, if you wanted to find Amway brands on Facebook, you had to poke around a bit.

Many of our Amway affiliates host their own Facebook pages and some have launched Nutrilite and Artistry pages as well.  One has even developed a Facebook game.

But now you have a simple way to connect with our brands on Facebook through four new global brand pages for Amway, Artistry, eSpring and Nutrilite.   From these “home bases” you can reach our affiliate Facebook pages for in-market and in-language updates and information.

We think you’ll “like” this.