Helping the environment: It doesn't have to cost the Earth

Did you know that office based businesses are responsible for emitting 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year? It’s the simple things that seem to be causing the problem. Leaving a photocopier on overnight uses enough energy to print 5,000 A4 copies!

 

Most energy in the UK comes from non-renewable fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which as we all know, are running out. Burning them contributes to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and to global climate change.

 

As leading business entrepreneur and Dragons' Den judge, Duncan Bannatyne points out: "We live in a world of finite resources which will eventually disappear, unless we take action now to reverse the damage. We all share this responsibility but innovative businesses can play a leading role in securing the future prosperity of our planet.

 

"Demonstrating good green credentials is a key principle of smart business, providing financial advantage as well as environmental benefits."

 

Reducing your business' energy use, could save you money. If you reduce the temperature in your office by 1°C, you could reduce your heating bills by 10%.

 

It's not only energy that's the problem. Waste is also a massive issue.

 

About 1.8 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste is generated every year, making it the fastest growing waste stream in the UK. Hardly a surprise when you consider how many mobile phones you have owned since they became a mass media channel just 12 years ago.

 

If your business uses electrical and electronic equipment (such as mobile phones, computer monitors and printers) there are regulations that you must comply with, known as the WEEE regulations, which aim to reduce the amount of this waste going to landfill. If your WEEE contains hazardous substances you may need to treat it as hazardous waste.

 

All businesses, no matter how small, have a legal duty of care to store, transport and dispose of business waste without causing harm to the environment. This involves ensuring that it is stored and transported securely and appropriately so it does not escape; making sure that your waste is only transported and handled by people that are authorised to do so; and completing waste transfer notes or hazardous waste consignment notes to document all waste you transfer.

 

In order to create less waste, it is recommended that businesses reduce, reuse and recycle their waste. This can reduce costs as well as reducing your impact on the environment. For example, the cost of landfill tax is currently £48 per tonne, but this will increase by £8 per year until April 2013. If you reduce the amount of waste you produce, your business could save 4-5% of it's turnover by paying less landfill tax.

 

An SME focusing on waste disposal, Envar Ltd, saved £624,000 in disposal costs by diverting waste from landfill sites.

 

A further benefit of choosing to recycle over sending waste to landfill is the potential energy savings. Recycling two glass bottles saves enough energy to boil five cups of tea! But what exactly can you recycle?

 

This question becomes all the more difficult to answer when you realise that many waste types are considered hazardous. Did you know that fluorescent light tubes are hazardous waste?

 

Hazardous waste (or special waste as it is known in Scotland) is any waste that is harmful to human health or the environment. There are special controls for moving, transporting or disposing off hazardous/special waste, which means that it can't go in with your general waste and is subject to different rules to most things you recycle. It is recommended that you dispose of hazardous waste appropriately, in line with the legislation, at sites that are authorised to accept it.