Do you want support in improving the resource efficiency of your business? Are you looking for real carbon savings as part of a Net-Zero strategy or do you just want to save money?
A 2017 Business Resource Efficiency study for Defra showed that there remained between £5.7bn and £7.2bn of resource efficiency savings available to UK industry at low or no cost in terms of investment, of which the vast majority (£3bn to £4.6bn) related to material losses (against only £2.3bn for remaining energy opportunities and £0.3bn for water).
One of the reasons for this is the fact that, unlike energy and water which are metered, companies cannot ‘meter’ materials use and wastage of those materials. Procurement data for raw materials and overall waste quantity data provide some answers, but don’t always explain where materials are being lost at the various stages of the process; whether this be in part made product, materials lost to effluent or lost value in product returns (e.g. in retail). These lost materials, components and products will have had value added in various ways, and consequently, while waste disposal costs are often low, the true cost of waste to the business is generally 10 to 20 times higher. It is not unusual for us to find material and product wastage costs in hundreds of thousands or even millions per year.
We provide expert resource efficiency and waste reviews, and related cost and carbon analysis, to help companies across all sectors (manufacturing, commercial and retail) better understand where materials are being lost in their processes, and the true cost of that waste, for example related to material and product losses, utility and labour costs. To do this we use on site surveys and our proprietary True Cost of Waste model. By raising awareness of the true ‘embedded’ cost of wastage within a business (in carbon and cost terms) we then help prioritise improvement opportunities, and help create the business case for change, whether as part of a Net Zero or sustainability strategy, or simply to improve profitability.
Contact us to discuss how we could support you in reaching your resource efficiency and waste reduction goals.
