Managing waste for business sustainability
All businesses have an impact on the environment. For example, every business produces some sort of waste - and all waste has the potential to cause pollution.
The scale of your business' environmental impact depends on the types of activity you undertake and how effectively you manage your environmental responsibilities.
You must ensure your business complies with a range of environmental rules. These include areas such as preventing pollution and the handling and management of waste.
To help prevent climate change you must also comply with rules regarding dangerous or hazardous waste and the disposal of liquid waste.
What is waste?
All businesses produce waste and have legal responsibilities for it. Waste is defined as any substance or object that you:
- Discard
- Intend to discard
- Are required to discard
Waste could be potato peelings thrown away by a café, unwanted rubble created by a construction company or perhaps outdated computer equipment in your office.
You can significantly reduce the amount of waste you produce by separating waste and re-using and recycling the different collections. By doing this you can become more sustainable and save your business money.
Managing waste saves you money
But a responsible environmental management policy isn't just about legal compliance. It can also save your business money - and boost your reputation.
England produces about 220 million tonnes of controlled waste per year, but only reuses or recycles a fraction of this.
Companies often underestimate how much waste actually costs — did you know that it could be up to 4% of your business turnover?
More benefits of managing waste can be found here.
