We spoke with RS Category Manager Megan Shaw to learn more about the new Better World product range from RS and how it makes it easier for industrial organizations that want to make a difference to choose sustainability.
RS is a global product and service solutions provider for industrial customers. The company operates in 36 markets, stocks over 800,000 industrial and specialist products, and lists an additional five million products sourced from over 2,500 suppliers. This extensive range supports RS customers throughout the industrial lifecycle of designing, building, and maintaining equipment and operations and, per its purpose — Making amazing happen for a better world — enables them to operate efficiently and sustainably, delivering results for people, planet, and profit.
To better serve industrial customers, RS also offers a tailored service model designed to sustainably leverage its efficient physical, digital, and process infrastructure and combines a technically led and digitally enabled approach with an exceptional team of experts committed to making a difference.
As part of its commitment to enabling efficient, sustainable industrial operations, RS recently launched the new Better World product range, which is designed to simplify the procurement process for industrial customers — including engineers, innovators, procurement professionals, and problem solvers — seeking more sustainable and responsible solutions by making these products quick and easy to identify and validate.
Here, RS Category Manager Megan Shaw introduces the RS approach to sustainability, addresses growing industrial market interest in sustainability, and introduces the new Better World product range.
Hi Megan. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your role at RS.
I’m a category manager at RS in the Americas, and I have been with the company for seven years. I started in a supply planner role, overseeing our inventory and purchases with our partners. Then I moved into a supplier manager role, serving as a relationship liaison for our partners. I became a category manager about two and a half years ago and am now responsible for overseeing RS partners with product portfolios that fit within industrial networking, sensors, process control, thermal management and enclosures.
Before RS, I worked in inventory control in the oil and gas manufacturing industry. That company was actually a customer of RS (now RS) at the time, so I already knew the company well before I joined the team.
Please also provide us with a brief introduction to RS.
RS is a digitally enabled omni-channel product and service solutions dedicated to providing global industrial, maintenance, repair, and operations customers with a seamless experience across all interactions. Our solutions help drive efficiencies and reduce costs through each stage of the industrial product life cycle, and we continuously strive to further enhance our product offering and create positive change for our planet, one product at a time.
Today, we’re discussing sustainability. Can you please tell us more about how sustainability relates to RS’ purpose, vision, and values?
Helping customers achieve more sustainable business practices is a critical part of our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) action plan. We’re committed to collaborating with supplier partners that align with our values within the ethical policy space, covering everything from materials to labor practices.
As a category manager, one of my other areas of responsibility is overseeing what we call “Doing Business Responsibly,” which ensures that regional suppliers in the Americas are held to the highest ethical and environmental standards. From there, we’ve introduced the Better World products range, looking at science-based targets of sustainability and working with our suppliers to see which products and businesses are like-minded in those realms.
Whether you’re passionate about parts being made from greener materials, aim to reduce energy waste or water, or need more resilient, longer-lasting solutions, we want to make it easy for businesses to find what they need — and we know our customers are looking for this.
RS and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) collaborated on an indirect procurement report published earlier this year that identified sustainable and ethical procurement as a key driver for procurement professionals. This report also revealed that 71% of the procurement professionals polled consider ESG factors when selecting products and services. So, we’re very excited that we get to showcase a wide range of products that satisfy these demands in a clear, easily accessible, and credible way.
In what ways are industrial companies considering sustainability?
Industrial sustainability encompasses a great many things, ranging from recycled packaging materials to conserving water and energy and extending product life cycles.
There are numerous sustainability certifications that can help companies better support their claims and establish trust. For instance, Blue Sign is a standard that aims to reduce the environmental footprint of the entire textile manufacturing supply chain. This certification recognizes products that use fewer resources and approved chemicals in production, and supply chain partners can earn it by making responsible material and component selections and submitting them for ecological impact assessments.
Similarly, RS earned a platinum sustainability rating from EcoVadis, the world’s largest sustainability ratings network, which means that we scored in the top 1% of companies evaluated. RS has been actively implementing sustainable changes, such as lowering emissions, reducing single-use plastic, and installing LED motion sensor lights and solar panels for energy savings and renewable generation, for a few years now, and all of these little changes add up to a much bigger impact.
RS recently introduced the new Better World product portfolio. Can you tell us more about this initiative and how RS came up with the framework and criteria?
The Better World product portfolio launched in the Americas in May 2024 and is a designated portfolio of industrial products that support sustainability. It includes products that are made more sustainably, that enable more sustainable solutions — helping to reduce waste, save energy, or lower emissions, and products that support circularity.
It came about due to conversations we had with customers experiencing a greater need for sustainable product solutions and supplies working to make their products in a more sustainable manner or better support sustainability and circularity. It also helps support our ESG 2030 goals by showcasing our partners that are doing their part to do business more responsibly.
RS EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) launched the Better World product portfolio before we did, so they helped us throughout this process, sharing data, experiences, and best practices. We partnered with third-party sustainability experts to help identify the certifications and claims that best fit our customers’ needs and industry standards. From there, we developed a list of certifications that would be a part of our assessment, along with claims that products would need to meet.
There are minimum standards and requirements for all products. We don’t want to simply label something as a part of our Better World product portfolio without ensuring that it’s fully audited and has the backing to prove it. But we are continuously striving to expand this range with a broader selection of sustainability improvements.
What kinds of products are a part of the Better World range? How can customers find them?
We currently have more than 30,000 unique products in the RS Better World products portfolio globally, with 16,000 available via RS Americas and more to come both globally and regionally. Right now, a majority of those products sit within the circuit breakers, switch, contactors and accessories, and motor starters product families, which are in our automation and control category. But given current market trends, I expect that we’ll continue to add more consumable products and EV charging products. We already have some of these in the Better World range, but I believe we’re on the brink of being able to add many more from our partners.
There are a few different ways you can find Better World products. You can find the products available in the Americas by visiting the RS Better World products page, searching the RS website for “Better World” products, or using the Better World Products toggle button when you search (see below), and you can easily identify them amidst other product search results via the Better World badge (pictured left).
Please tell us more about what makes a Better World product. How does RS assess and select Better World products? What are the criteria?
Product must fall into one or more of the following categories:
- Made More Sustainably: These products are produced using sustainable, reusable, or alternative materials and greener manufacturing processes.
- Sustainable Solution: These products are engineered to enable sustainable solutions that help organizations improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, protect the environment, or otherwise support a company’s ESG goals. Other initiative areas include improving air quality, protecting health and safety, reducing waste, enabling renewable energy solutions, and saving water.
- Supports Circularity: These products support a system that increases the lifespan of materials by reusing and reducing waste via a combination long useful lifetimes, reusability, repairability, or recycling. They can, for instance, be designed to extend product life, support disassembly and recharging, and enable end-user repairable or come with pre-defined take-back procedures.
To validate the products in the Better World range, we have two different frameworks. The first is a variety of third-party certifications targeting things like emissions, energy savings, longevity, and more. The second is a claims-based framework for products that may not have a third-party certification but do save energy, reduce plastic, or save water. To learn more about the categories and review process, you can check out our Better World Product Guidelines and this RS Fact Sheet.
Is there anything else you’d like RS customers to know about RS or its Better World Products?
We’re seeing many of our partners really lead the way when it comes to sustainability. They are setting the tone for what the industry is doing, and we’re excited to partner with our suppliers to further expand our line of Better World products. At the end of the day, many of our customers are looking for ways to build their products in a more sustainable way, and the more products we have that fit those needs, the better the experience we provide for our customers.
The voice of the customer is crucial for us. We listen to what they say and what they want to see next and, in turn, look for opportunities to fulfill those needs by partnering with our suppliers. We try to be proactive and look for great ideas wherever they are.
We also encourage both our partners and customers alike to check out our Better World materials and browse the product range — and not just once because we’re continuing to grow and expand our Better World product range with new products and information designed to help keep our customers at the forefront of sustainable innovation.
RS: Making Industrial Sustainability Easier
It’s easier than ever to find products that align with your sustainability needs with the help of RS. To find the latest products available within the RS Better World range, including circuit breakers, switches, contactors, and motor starters, please visit the links embedded here. For assistance identifying, procuring, deploying, and maintaining Better World products engineered for sustainability, please contact your local RS representative at 1.866.433.5722 or reach out to the RS technical support team. For more information about RS ESG initiatives beyond the Better World product portfolio, check out our 2023/24 ESG report and our 2024 ESG Supplier Handbook.
