Waste Planning for Sustainablity

Each organization that aims to be sustainable needs to integrate waste planning in its agenda for sustainability. An organization needs to take an extra mile to better understand carbon emissions and know more than what's on the surface.

As carbon emissions management is the poster child of sustainability, many organizations do not pay enough attention to other areas of environmental efficiency. Oftentimes, waste planning is not given that much importance in any organization and is taken lightly from generation to generation. 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. Oftentimes, waste planning is not given that much importance in any organization and is taken lightly from generation to generation. 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. It is also important to note that the pressure to make organizations accountable to their waste throughout the product lifecycle is increasing in trend.

It is essential to be able to set targets for any initiatives agreed on waste planning. It is almost not possible to manage in the absence of proper approaches to measure like waste footprint, which can be similar in approaching 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.

Consider a comprehensive approach to saving from an environmental standpoint. 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.