38 . Glasgow Business August 2015
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Resource Efficient Scotland discovered the company was churning through 25 reams of paper per year for every person in the office. Tis was five more than the legal sector average, but the company wanted to aspire to be the best performing in the sector with a miniscule five reams by 2018, by introducing measures such as having double sided printing set as a default and using scrap paper in place of notepads. But then, the cost of the actual
paper isn’t the whole story. “Tere are lots of costs which may be harder for staff to see,” Boylan said. “Tere are also inks and toner costs for printing and perhaps charges per copy under a maintenance contract. If you add them all up they overwhelm the cost of the actual paper.” While energy and paper are
the most obvious, reducing packaging is oſten neglected. And it doesn’t just apply to the manufacturing industry. Boylan said: “We worked with a cleaning company and discovered they were buying their cleaning supplies in individual small containers. But bulk buying
“Crucially, the key to these measures is changing the behaviour of staff, and that means introducing awareness-raising activities”
cleaning liquid and decanting into reusable botles has managed to save them money and reduce their packaging waste – it’s a double whammy.” Apart from reduction in
materials use, the most visible aspect of being green, particularly in offices, is recycling, which should also form part of EMS activities as it is now required by law through the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012.
Ten companies can start to
look at projects to upgrade the fabric of a building, from insulation and lighting controls to heating systems. And beyond that there is the really big-ticket items, such as solar panels and wind turbines which may have the wow factor, but “can have a long payback period”, Boylan explained.
STAFF AWARENESS
Crucially, the key to these measures is changing the behaviour of staff, and that means introducing awareness-raising activities. “Underneath every
Environmental Management System should be manuals with simple procedures on the ways to do things. Tere shouldn’t be reams and reams of documentation – no more than two pages for each,”
Boylan said. “And this should be followed up with regular training across the organisation. It can be as simple as a five-minute meeting of a ‘toolbox talk’ before a shiſt to rundown what can be done to save resources, as well as reminding staff what failing to do these things can cost the company.” Despite the relative ease with
which to introduce a relatively light-touch EMS, there remain obstacles to introducing one. Tese range from a misperception on the difficulty of the process, to the lack of time or manpower to see it through. But as Boylan said: “I would say that undertaking the activities as part of an Environmental Management System should not be seen as an added extra, but rather as good business practice that should be part of business as usual.”
The savings you could make
If the results of a recent programme is anything to go by, the savings that companies can unlock from being greener is impressive. Mabbett, in partnership with
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, launched the first cohort of the Green Light Programme earlier this year. Mabbett undertook environmental audits funded by Resource Efficient Scotland, provided EMS Workshops funded by Scottish Enterprise and signposted support for the first tranche of companies comprising 11 members of Glasgow Chamber. Early results from the
programme shows that £108,000 of savings were identified, which
is the equivalent of diverting 461 tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere. Of this, around £30,000 of savings were identified based on no-cost or low-cost actions. “The feedback from the
companies in the first phase has been amazing,” explained Geraldine Boylan from Mabbett. And the second cohort of
the Green Light Programme is planned to start in autumn, with applications being accepted now. If your company is
interested in the next phase, contact Suzanne Nelson or Blair Stevenson at 0141 204 8339 or greenlight@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
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