Workplace Waste Reduction Efforts Work
The lack of a return on investment (ROI) is still a large obstacle to implementing waste reduction processes in the workplace, a recent survey by Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium found.
More than half of the companies in the survey cited “ROI constraints” as a key challenge to making company processes sustainable. But these businesses are rising to the challenge by establishing low-cost, workforce sustainability efforts at the grassroots level, according to the Consortium’s new survey report Waste and Recycling Sustainability: Ideas for Reducing Your Company’s Impact on the Environment, which is available with registration.
“We’ve said before that sustainability is not always about being Earth friendly; many times these green initiatives also need to be wallet friendly,” said Bruce Tompkins executive director of the Consortium and author of the report. “The good news is that companies have found inexpensive but effective techniques for keeping waste out of landfills.”
Respondents from leading retail and manufacturing companies:
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place clearly marked recycling collection bins in easily accessible areas (84 percent).
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provide different types of containers for various types of waste to avoid mixing incompatible materials (68 percent);
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ensure that every employee has a recycling bin at his/her desk (58 percent);
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develop a company policy to recycle every possible material (51 percent); and
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provide reusable mugs, glassware, plate, and utensils for employee use in the cafeteria or break rooms (51 percent).
Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium is a source for supply chain benchmarking and best practices knowledge.