Saving the Planet...and Money
The UK's latest study on waste showed that 222.2 million tonnes of waste was generated in one year by the UK, more than twice the weight of the Great Wall of China.
KNOWLEDGE
Approximately 20% of the total waste generated is commercial and industrial waste, sitting at around 40 million tonnes per year. These high figures are a cause for concern considering:
- 2/3's of businesses have no environmental sustainability policy in place
- 90% of businesses have no recycling policy in place
- 100 companies are responsible for more than 90% of all global plastic waste, 20 of these responsible for 55% of the worlds plastic waste.
- Only 9% of the world's plastic ever produced has been recycled.
- There is 5 billion tonnes of plastic waste on Earth. Enough to cover the planet in plastic.
- By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean by weight than fish.
Considering the advances we have made in technologies, these figures are incredibly disheartening. Why is it that only half of the plastic sent to recycling plants is actually recycled and the rest sent to oversea landfill sites due to contamination issues? We have recently introduced Artificial Intelligence into society, a digital software capable of so much. If we have the intellectual capacity to achieve this, why are we not investing as much time and intelligence finding an innovative, efficient recycling system? A system that could not only have a huge positive environmental impact, but could save the country millions in costs associated with waste disposal.
IMPACT
Waste and sustainability is a national problem: a national problem that has found itself as a key player in the bidding world. But this isn't the sole reason that organisations should address sustainability in the workplace, it should be a problem every individual naturally wishes to addresses as our collective lack of care continues to kill our planet.
An effective sustainable policy and procedure within the workplace would therefore not only help you and your employees save the planet, but will in time save money.
- Recycling:
- Introduce a clear recycling policy with guidelines and bins. To make it as easy as possible, organisations should provide clearly colour coded and labelled bins placed in busy communal areas/around the office, with additional recycling stations for items e.g., ink/batteries
- Partner with specialised e-waste recyclers. Old items can often be traded in for money. It is estimated that un-recycled e-waste contains £45 billion worth of recoverable metals
- Create an incentive programme, encouraging employees to participate in recycling.
- Implement electronic communication and document sharing to reduce paper usage. A robust online system will reduce costs and improve efficiency/organisation.
- Make sustainable choices when purchasing office equipment
- Introduce measurable sustainability goals/changes e.g., acquire an environmental certification such as ISO14001, carbon emission reduction goals e.g., carbon neutral by xx, assisted by partnerships with companies such as B corp.
- Raise awareness among employees, encouraging sustainability practices and goals e.g., posters, incentive programmes, education
- IEMA sustainability training, providing education and certification on sustainable best practice in the workplace.
TACTIC
Social Value Model Example
BeyondNow's services are designed with a sustainability first approach, constructed around the three principles, reduce, reuse and recycle. To create new recycling habits within our workplace, we aim to achieve consistent sustainable practices through culture change programmes within our workplace; ensuring that sustainability is promoted not only by our employees, partners, and stakeholders within the workplace, but is encouraged outside the workplace as well.
During induction, all employees are educated on sustainability and the value behind our initiatives, receiving level 1 IEMA sustainability certification. Aligned with this, they are then introduced to our sustainability policies and best practice guidelines, including:
Reduce:
- An introduction to our digital and communication system, reducing the requirement of paper for communication. Our online system xx is used between colleagues and stakeholders, reducing the organisations annual paper usage by xx%. This is aligned to our goal of reducing paper and plastic waste by 10% year on year.
Reuse
- Each staff member will receive a re-usable plastic bottle and mug to be used in the office discouraging purchasing of single-use plastics. To encourage this, staff are able to pick a bottle and mug of their choice up to the combined value of £20.
- Re-use stations are visible around the office, including office and packaging supplies e.g., bubble wrap, envelopes, paper. Items can be used by staff for both work and personal packaging.
Recycle
- A clear recycling policy with visible paper, plastic and battery bins are placed around the office. To encourage employees to recycle both work and personal items, we run an incentive programme where teams who recycle the most have an early finish Friday once a month. We have a monthly designated recycling monitor to award team points and ensure that all items recycled are acceptable.
- Where electronic goods are unable to be donated or refurbished, electronic waste is recycled twice a year via xx. Staff are invited to dispose of old mobile phones, laptops, batteries and any small devices containing batteries through us.
- To discourage employees throwing away recyclable materials, we have a reduced number of general waste bins in the office.
XX has the environmental certification ISO14001. Working with our sustainable partner xx, we have achieved sustainable practice within the organisation and through our supply chain, where the sourcing of recyclable/compostable products is prioritised. We have agreed KPIs with all of our suppliers that aim to reduce single use plastics by xx% by 2030.
Published by
Emma Smith | Co-Founder
BeyondNow