Waste Reduction Programs

The Best route to improved operations and lower emissions is to Educate Internally

Almost every process and every product that we use requires a certain amount of energy. Traditionally, this energy requires the use of fossil fuels during generation and results in a byproduct of carbon emissions. We can now, in turn, see a byproduct of an unrestricted approach to energy generation and carbon emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions since the dawn of the industrial age have caused a significant buildup of gases in our atmosphere, leading to global warming and a significant threat of adverse climate change. This threat is not unstoppable but requires concerted action to reverse and thus it is necessary to conserve and analyze our need for each and every product from its conception through disposal.

Product Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) is Complex yet Very Valuable

If we do not use what we do not need, it follows that the product will not be manufactured. As such a business should evaluate each product purchased as part of its supply chain and each product that it has overall responsibility for.

• Start off by renegotiating contracts with your suppliers to extend warranties and service agreements. Review capital purchases and see if you can extend the usable life, if necessary through a reevaluation of your maintenance programs.

• Always consider the purchase of refurbished, recycled or used items wherever possible. In this way you will indirectly cut down on the carbon production required to produce the alternative items as fresh.

• Educate those responsible within your workforce for product regeneration, supplies and procurement. Each member of the organization should be fully aware of your corporate doctrine and should be held accountable for conformation.

• If your organization receives bulk orders of supplies with attached packaging, insist that the supplier retains the packaging after delivery. This will significantly reduce your waste reduction issue and may prompt the supplier to reuse or recycle the materials in turn.

• Appoint a logistics officer to establish “just-in-time” supply schedules. This has become quite a sophisticated industry and is designed to streamline distribution and production. If you work in the perishable industry, this is especially important to avoid spoilage.

• Emphasize durability in the workplace. Assign “real world” values to all assets, materials, supplies and products. Encourage feedback from all employees and ideas to help generate further economies and efficiencies throughout the operation.

At the corporate level, legislation may soon arrive to force an enterprise to take all steps possible to reduce its carbon footprint. As part of this pending initiative the company must not only look at its direct or indirect energy production and/or usage needs, but must compose a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to reveal areas for conservation.

A concerted waste reduction program will be a part of your company's new corporate sustainability ethic. This has developed from the theory of the ideal to the pressure of the necessary, as a company's stakeholders are insisting on tangible results.

About Verisae

Verisae helps measure, manage and reduce equipment and energy costs including the related business and environmental impacts of carbon emissions. The Sustainability Resource Planning (“SRP”) software platform improves operational efficiency, protects brand integrity and helps ensure regulatory compliance for distributed enterprises across many industries. Verisae delivers a broad range of sustainability solutions to dozens of clients globally with thousands of daily users including an extended network of third-party suppliers. Verisae’s integrated sustainability platform actively tracks millions of assets across thousands of sites worldwide.

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