Businesses - Go Green, Watch Your Waste

Many businesses want to improve their environmental performance but are not sure where to start. The information here aims to give all types of business simple starting points to reduce the environmental impact of their business operations. The added benefit being that good environmental practice often makes good economic sense so follow the links below to:

“Go Green and Cut Costs”

Waste         Energy         Transport

Waste

Your Business Waste - Your Legal Duty:
You must comply with the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Waste Management: Duty of Care (see below for more details). Derbyshire Dales District Council offers a commercial/trade waste collection service to businesses in the area which fully meets the Duty of Care requirements. For full details and costs of this service please follow the link to the Commercial Waste page.

Follow the 3R’s, Reduce, Re-use and Recycle to cut your business waste and save money on waste disposal!

Reduce:

• Set photocopiers and printers to double-sided wherever possible
• Set up company policies so employees use email instead of faxes, letters and memos
• Switch to mugs, plates and glasses for meetings and in the office instead of relying on disposable items
• Buy supplies in bulk to reduce unnecessary packaging and speak to your suppliers about cutting out unnecessary packaging in their goods, as you will have to dispose of their packaging.
• Examine your own processes and production and take action to reduce waste. Take each part of your business in turn and tackle the wastage by changing policies and practices e.g. unnecessary print outs, wasted off-cuts, rejects or items that are past their use by date.
• Look into your product packaging to see where wastage could be prevented. (Particularly if you are a take away food business as your packaging may end up as street litter).
• Have an employee ‘Green Idea’ suggestion box so people working at each different part of your business can have a say in your environmental improvements.
• Buy long life items that will last and avoid anything disposable where possible.
• Have electrical appliances and machinery regularly serviced and maintained rather than creating waste when they are replaced.
• Look at your suppliers and specify products that are made of recycled material or have a re-conditioned content to ‘close the loop’ (for example recycled paper, stationery, cardboard, aggregates etc.)
• Have a ‘Green procurement’ policy and choose recycled, fairly traded and eco-friendly products. For more ideas visit www.greenshop.co.uk* or www.recyclenow.com*
• Set up a ‘take-back’ scheme for waste material from your products. Perhaps you can save money by recycling and re-using it in your manufacturing and processing.

Re-Use:

• Use scrap paper in your fax machine
• Use scrap paper and mis-copies for message pads.
• Compost fruit and vegetable waste from kitchens, canteens and lunch boxes!
• Re-use envelopes, paper clips and jiffy bags. Either re-use envelopes for internal mail or make / purchase envelope re-use labels and spread your environmental messages to your customers and suppliers.
• If each one of the UK’s 10 million office workers used one fewer staple daily, there would be a saving of 328 kilos of steel a day – 120 tonnes a year! Use a paper clip instead!
• Donate any magazines, journals, books and papers instead of binning or recycling them. Voluntary groups, surgeries or partner organisations overseas may be welcome recipients.
• Donate any old furniture when offices are refurbished. Try the Furniture Re-use network at www.frn.org.uk*
• When you are re-stocking or upgrading workshops and warehouses you may be able to donate, recycle or re-use the old machinery and tools. Ask local schools, volunteer groups and organisations if they would like them or contact ‘Tools for Self Reliance’. This is an organisation which works with local groups in four African countries providing tools and skills training to help artisans and craft workers. To see if your tools may be suitable for donation visit www.tfsr.org*
• Don’t upgrade computers unnecessarily or throw them away. Many charities and organisations refurbish computers and give them to local communities or send them to developing countries to help bridge the technology gap! Try www.donateapc.org.uk* or www.computeraid.org*
• Use confidential shredded paper in compost bins or as animal bedding!

Recycle:

Remember that under the Waste ‘Duty of Care’ regulations everyone has a responsibility to ensure that their waste is passed on to authorised carriers only. Ask to see a waste carrier’s licence, make sure you have waste transfer notes and ensure that the waste is being disposed of or recycled properly and responsibly. Check if the company who is taking your waste is a registered waste carrier at the Environment Agency's public register website.*

Collections of recyclables (like all ‘trade waste’) are likely to be chargeable, although recycling certain items may actually earn you money! The collection prices may, however, be less than your regular trade refuse collection and obviously the more you reduce, re-use and recycle the less other refuse there will be. Ultimately you may not need as many trade waste bins or such frequent emptying saving money on this outgoing.

• Organise a paper or cardboard recycling collection; recycling a 1 metre stack of newspaper saves 1 tree! Collections of paper depend on their quality and grade. For more information visit the Confederation of Paper Industries at www.paper.org.uk* or www.severnside.com*
• Organise a can collection for office canteens, vending machines, staff rooms etc. or take cans to a local ‘Cash for Cans’ scheme to raise money. You could donate your company’s cans to a local charity who are collecting aluminium as a fundraising activity. Visit www.alupro.org.uk* for more details
• IT equipment, fluorescent tubes, ink cartridges, mobile phones etc. can all be recycled (and could make a profit for your company!). Try www.officegreen.net* or ask if your local school is part of the “recycool” scheme for mobile phones and ink cartridges and ‘pledge’ your recycling to them to help them to raise funds. Visit www.recycool.org* for more details.
• A wide range of other materials can be recycled. Look at what waste you have left and have a look on the Internet. Try www.wastecare.co.uk* for online quotes for materials and quantities.
• Don’t forget to promote what you’ve done in the local press, business news and in your internal communications.

For more support in greening your workplace contact Global Action Plan* or call 020 7405 5633.
Visit Waste Online* and view the “Waste in the workplace” information sheets.
Or view the Environment Agency Business Pages*

If you’re doing really well think about applying for an accredited Environmental Management System such as the International Standard Mark such as ISO14001 or the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).

Your Business Waste - Your Legal Duty:
You must comply with the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Waste Management: Duty of Care. This ‘duty of care’ is a law which says that you must take all reasonable steps to keep waste safe. If you give waste to someone else, you must be sure they are authorised to take it and can transport, recycle or dispose of it safely. If you break this law, you can be fined an unlimited amount.

For simple guidelines on what this means for you and your business visit the DEFRA website, download the DEFRA guideline leaflets.  Or download the full legal documentation.  

Please telephone the Environment Hotline on 01629 761215 or email environmenthotline@derbyshiredales.gov.uk for further information and current Derbyshire Dales charges for commercial waste.

Energy

Work out how much money you could save your business and get handy hints, tips and advice online from the Carbon Trust  for more business advice follow this link to the Carbon Trust business pages.  Do an energy audit to locate and identify problems.

No cost options:

• Turn off lights when not in use.
• Turn down thermostats.
• Check water temperature is not too hot.
• Turn off appliances, computers, photocopiers etc. A photocopier left on overnight uses enough electricity to photocopy an extra 5300 copies.
• Set office equipment to ‘power down’ when not in use. Set PC’s, monitors and copiers to use ‘sleep’ mode when not in use. This can help cut energy costs by up to 50%!
• Close doors and windows to reduce heat loss.
• Examine boiler/heating start up and close down times. Are they heating buildings when they are empty?
• Only boil as much water as you need for drinks. Don’t fill the kettle to the top unnecessarily.
• Switch off rather than use standby options on appliances. TV’s and videos use about £7 of electricity per year if they are left on standby.
• Do you really need a water cooler? Do vending machines always need to be turned on?
• Put up signs reminding workers to turn off appliances and lights in infrequently used areas.

Cost options:

• Look into solar powered or wind up equipment such as calculators.
• Set up a ‘Green procurement policy’ and switch to green / renewable energy suppliers.
• Look into the option of having renewable power sources on site such as a mini wind turbine or solar panels on the roof.
• Buy low energy light bulbs, change strip lighting to high efficiency equipment and reduce the use of filament bulbs.
• Install sun pipes to maintain natural light throughout your building.
• Buy low energy appliances on replacement.
• Fit light sensors in public areas so lights automatically turn off when the area is not in use. This can reduce lighting cists by up to 40%.
• Insulate walls, ceilings and lofts wherever possible to keep in the heat.
• Install double glazing windows.
• Fix draught excluders around doors and curtains/blinds at windows to keep in the heat.
• Fit radiator thermostatic controls and reflectors to deflect heat back into the room.
• Install programmable thermostats to automatically control temperature settings and timings.
• In any extension or new build to premises specify that energy efficiency measures should be built in.
• Repair leaking water fixtures and toilets promptly. A dripping tap can waste up to 2700 gallons of water per year (if it is a hot tap additional energy is wasted).
• Fit save-a-flush systems in your toilet cisterns. These can save up to 1 litre per flush giving a saving of nearly 2000 litres per person per year. Your water supplier and sewage company is likely to be Severn Trent Water or Yorkshire Water. See the links below for more details.
• Severn Trent Water* – advice for businesses on cutting water wastage and costs or order a save-a-flush
• Yorkshire Water* – Advice for businesses on cutting water wastage and costs or order a water conservation kit
• Paint and decorate your premises in light colours. Light colours reflect light and the lighter the colours you use the less artificial light is required to illuminate the area.

For further information on Buildings related issues (such as working out the energy performance of non-domestic properties) visit www.bre.co.uk/brecsu/*

Transport

Controlling travel and transport in your businesses does not just have environmental benefits! It benefits your community and neighbours by reducing traffic, accident and danger risks, and congestion and making the area safer and more enjoyable. Employees are provided with the opportunity for daily exercise by walking or cycling to work and have increased awareness of travel options that may be cheaper, more convenient and less time consuming than driving. Your business is likely to save money, need less parking space (which can then lower costs and put the land to better use), have lower business travel and fuel costs, save time and reduce staff stress!

• Look at changing work patterns so people can work from home if possible. This saves time, energy and pollution!
• A simple staff travel survey could help to identify any barriers to improving workers transport issues.  These can then be tackled (see ideas below).
• Promote cycling or walking to work – provide secure convenient cycle parking or lockers for clothes and cycling accessories. (If you have a lot of employees think about providing changing and shower facilities for those who like to walk or cycle). Promote the health aspect of walking and cycling to your workforce.
• Organise a lift share scheme – or encourage your employees to sign up to the Derbyshire-wide car share scheme which helps to securely match up people taking similar routes. Visit Car Share Derbyshire*; This site also includes information about public transport, cycling and footpath networks, travel passes and journey planners for Derbyshire.
• Find out the local public transport provision to and from your work premises and make your employees aware of their options (this can make a difference to when and how your workers travel).
• Review your site – is the pedestrian access safe, well-maintained and well lit so people will use it?
• Look at your car parking facilities – does it cost your businesses a lot to provide parking? If more people walk, cycle or use public transport there will be less need for expensive car parking spaces. Or does it cost your employees to come to work and park? If so help to make them aware of the alternatives or provide free or allocated car parking for people who are part of a ‘lift share’ scheme.
• Encourage workers to walk or use public transport to attend meetings and events off site.
• If your business has company cars, lease schemes, trucks, vans or a delivery fleet try to invest in the most fuel efficient and low emission option and encourage all staff to reduce unnecessary journeys.
• Have fleet and pool vehicles serviced regularly to optimise performance and maintain fuel efficiency.
• Consider installing IT solutions such as satellite navigation to reduce fuel and time wasted on finding locations.
• When replacing vehicles review if it is really necessary, if there is any alternative or invest in the most up date options (electric or green fuel cars).
• Promote your travel plans and policies to visitors and delivery companies or include environmental clauses in contracts to encourage your suppliers and customers to consider the impact of their travel.
• Develop a full fleet or company travel plan – visit the Energy Saving Trust* for a free fleet health check or visit the Department for Transport* for guidelines and ideas.

* NB: All companies, organisations and web links provided are suggested contacts only and do not constitute a recommendation by Derbyshire Dales District Council.