Envirowise helps businesses to improve their resource efficiency – in other words, to use raw materials, water and energy more effectively and cut down on waste whenever possible.
Here are a few hints and tips to get you started:
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Don’t think of water use and disposal charges as fixed costs. Companies can save around 30% of their water costs through implementing simple and inexpensive water minimisation measures for example, by fixing dripping taps and installing water-saving devices. A tap dripping two drops a second across a year, for example, could waste nearly 10,000 litres of water.
Hint:
Visit the Envirowise Water pages for more advice on reducing water use.
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If your office printers are single sided - re-use paper in the fax machine, but ideally, print double sided. Put paper recycling bins in all your offices - a good guide is one bin between six staff. Segregate waste materials such as paper, cardboard, glass, cans, and plastics.
Hint:
For more information on improving resource efficiency in the office environment, visit the Envirowise Greenofficiency pages.
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Choose minimally packaged products or ask your suppliers to supply products in less packaging. Work with your suppliers to ensure that deliveries are packaged using recyclable, returnable or re-usable materials.
Hint:
Visit the Envirowise Packaging pages for more information on cutting packaging waste.
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Understand the types and quantities of waste being generated by your business and the associated costs. This will help you identify the largest areas of waste production and greatest opportunities to improve performance.
Hint:
This can be done by simply walking around your site and looking at what is being done, how it is being done and recording information about the types of wastes generated. The Envirowise indicator should help you understand which resources are most important when managing your impacts.
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Gain the support of staff within your business so they can help to reduce waste, and appoint champions for collating data on particular waste streams that you want to target for example, paper.
Hint:
Visit the Words to the Wise Tool for more information.