As carbon emissions management is the poster child of sustainability, many organizations do not pay enough attention to other areas of environmental efficiency. Waste planning is often given scant regard, always a subject of “off-the-shelf” handling and a generic approach handed down through successive generations. Many organizations do not realize that real, financial savings can be accomplished by effective waste planning, as there are real costs attached all the way down the line.
Each organization should have a structured waste planning initiative, based on prevention, first and foremost. This initiative may start at the supplier stage, as often goods used in the production of products include excess packaging, which will need to be disposed of. Suppliers should be forced to reduce the amount of packaging used. Conduct a number-crunching exercise to quantify the amount of real savings your business could accomplish on a yearly basis.
Get to know how much money your organization is actually spending through a systematic approach to waste calculations. Go beyond the organization and look at the entire product lifecycle. Remember that once a product has been distributed to the customer your organization may, especially in the light of current developments, be made accountable for associated waste, which may not materialize for months or even years.
It is important to establish targets for any waste planning initiatives agreed. Remember that it is impossible to manage without the ability to measure and a company’s waste footprint should be established, just as the organization would calculate its carbon footprint.
Companies can adequately calculate exactly how much it costs them to deal with waste once they have their footprint determined. With a baseline in mind, targets can be established and incentives placed.
Sustainability should not be a halfhearted effort and as such cannot be comprehensive unless waste planning is included within its parameters. The very core of the organization should be infused with all these elements. Waste must be minimized at source, recycling and reuse initiatives put in place and the amount of actual waste ready for disposal thereby minimized.
From an environmental point of view, a comprehensive approach to saving is important. Water is a very finite resource as well and most organizations do not realize that their energy use may shortly be the subject of potential legislation to cap greenhouse gases. Throughout the organization every asset must be categorized and tracked, so that ultimate efficiency can be viewed.
No longer can environmental efficiency be considered by the public relations department alone. This should be a competitive issue for every organization. Energy management and greenhouse gas containment should be a focal point, but waste planning cannot be overlooked.
Daniel Stouffer has a lot of information about your waste planning and how a visit to www.verisae.com can be of use to you.
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.