Measure, measure, measure
It may not sound terrifically exciting, but measuring waste is essential. By knowing how much - in quantity and cost - the company wastes, you can calculate savings to be had, track progress, benchmark and convince others.
You'll need figures for all wastes, big and small, including:
- water, electricity and gas consumption - from utility bills
- effluent treatment - obtain costs from your subcontractor
- skips and landfill - from your subcontractors
- packaging, paper & board - inbound and outbound
- VOCs, solvents and other chemicals
- consumables and office equipment
- by-products of manufacture, unused raw materials... and more...
This could take a while, but you don't have to do it alone. Your finance department can produce bills that state both quantities and costs. Your warehouse can provide figures for packaging. Get subcontractors involved. Use your team.
Plugging these figures into a spreadsheet provides a simple way to calculate and track your 'waste account'.
- Action Point Convert waste to annual figures. Wasting one a day doesn't sound a lot. Wasting 365 each year does.
Benchmark
Armed with this baseline of waste performance, you can see how you compare with competitors, national or industry standards. Maybe you're doing really well. Maybe there's room to improve. Either way, knowledge is power.
Visit our Publications section to download industry-specific Benchmarking Guides, to compare performance and to help set realistic targets.
Key environmental performance indicators
Key performance indicators are the set of measurements deemed essential to understanding a company's operational health. Key environmental performance indicators are selected criteria covering issues such as material use, product yield, water use and generation of waste. Find out more about key performance indicators
Next - Identify solutions
