subject: Taking A Closer Look At Waste Planning [print this page] Waste planning should be a comprehensive part of any company's look at sustainability. A company should be able to look past the poster child of carbon emissions.
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.
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 company must conduct a systematic analysis of where it is spending money associated with waste. Waste planning begins at the very start of the product lifecycle and continues long after the product has left the distribution station en route for the customer. Note that there is increasing pressure to make companies accountable for waste throughout the product's entire lifecycle, this responsibility extending to the ultimate disposal by another party.
It is essential to be able to set targets for any initiatives agreed on waste planning. 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.
With a waste footprint in mind, companies can calculate how much it costs them to handle and deal with waste currently. Targets may then be established, to give additional incentive, should it be needed.
Waste planning needs to be part of an organization's comprehensive sustainability agenda. It is essential that sustainability needs to be the main focus of an organization, rather than just being an afterthought. It is important to ensure that waste production will be minimized at the source. While some waste element is unavoidable, consider recycling or reuse before the last resort -- disposal.
A comprehensive approach in achieving savings from an environmental perspective needs to be pursued. Most companies use water wastefully and do not realize that by understanding their energy use they can save and be ready for potential legislation. One approach to efficiency needs to be cascaded throughout the entire organization, where every asset is not only checked for efficient operations but is also tagged and categorized as part of an efficient asset management.
Environmental efficiency is becoming a key competitive issue for all organizations and is no longer the subject of a contrite, public relations exercise. Waste planning must be addressed as keenly as energy management and greenhouse gas emission abatement.
