Going green to save firms' money

A commitment to best environmental practice is not just a way for small firms to feel good about themselves - it can save them a lot of money. Here Martin Gibson, director of Envirowise, the government-financed programme designed to help companies reduce their environmental costs, looks at how small companies can best go green.

QUESTION
Anita Dhillon, UK
I am purchasing a coffee shop and would really appreciate some help on how I can become more environmentally friendly.
I'd also like to know what help I can get from the local council to pay for schemes such as food waste management and recycling.

ANSWER
Martin Gibson, director of Envirowise
The start of a new business venture is a great time to think about how to address environmental issues.

You can lay down the foundations for good environmental practice and make sure that they are carried out cost-effectively. This should help your business to be more cost-efficient, without compromising quality. It can also be a good selling point to some customers. I think it's important to understand that most of your environmental impact is likely to come from things that you buy.

"You may find more efficient equipment is more expensive
to purchase but cheaper overall when running costs are included"

In your case, this will include water, coffee, milk, food and energy. It will also include any new fixtures and fittings that you purchase. As your question recognises, there will also be an environmental impact from wasting things and disposing of waste. So the first guidance I would give is to avoid throwing away things you buy without using them.

This may seem obvious but you might be surprised at how often it happens. The next guidance is to meet your customer's real expectations. Do they really want lots of paper napkins, packets of sugar and a cardboard try if they are taking drinks away? You will need to speak to them to find out, rather than make assumptions.

Energy efficiency
Another part of making sure you use what you buy is being energy efficient. Heating water for the coffee and for washing-up is energy intensive, so think about how you can only heat what you need. You may find more efficient equipment is more expensive to purchase but cheaper overall when running costs are included. Heating and cooling are also big energy users. Again, try to get the most energy efficient equipment.

Bring your employees on board is vital to the success of your efforts. If you aren't sure where to start with this, get back to me and I will give you some pointers. On getting help with waste, it depends where you are whether the council will be able to offer any services. It is usually worth contacting commercial waste companies to see what services they can offer, even if your council can help.

Have you spoken to other local businesses about what they do with their wastes? You may find they already have a good waste contractor who can meet your needs.

Simple guidelines
Although you are bound to produce some waste, you should try to reduce it by following the principles of the "waste hierarchy framework". This sets out the most desirable waste management options, ranking them in order of environment impact and potential cost savings.

Follow the steps below. I have used packaging as an example of how to apply them:

• Eliminate: avoid generating potential waste. For example, ask your suppliers to find ways of reducing the amount of packaging used or look at the possibility of employing re-usable packaging such as plastic crates.
• Reduce: think about the quantity of products you buy e.g. coffee. Buy in bulk where possible, and you will reduce the amount of waste packaging you produce.
• Re-use: there may be opportunities to re-use items normally thrown away after their initial use. Talk to your suppliers about supplying products in reusable containers.
• Recycle: once the amount of packaging has been reduced and re-used as much as possible, consider recycling waste materials. Speak to your Local Authority or waste disposal contractor.
• Dispose: you can even reduce the cost of disposing items that must be thrown away, by squashing boxes as flat as possible or breaking down bulky items.
  
  

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