What Is An EMS And How Does It Help A Business With Waste Reduction?

Companies increasingly need to demonstrate a strong commitment to their environmental responsibilities and put clear plans and strategies into place to underpin this.

What is an Environmental Management Strategy (EMS)?

An EMS sets out the framework behind that commitment and how a business will seek to improve its energy efficiency and sustainability. It also provides a consistent means for any organization to prioritize and allocate appropriate resources.

The role of waste disposal in an EMS

An area that’s causing increasingly concern for businesses is the rising cost of waste disposal and balancing that with their environmental priorities.

Good project management is key to identifying where a company’s problems may lie and in finding realistic solutions. So anyone working in a strategic role in business needs to be fully informed on the main issues.

Completing an assessment and strategy

Once a company’s senior management team has agreed their EMS strategy, a detailed waste assessment may also need to be carried out. This will identify the company’s present position and set measurable actions to address any presenting issues.

The assessment can be done independently or alongside a specialist waste or recycling organization. A variety of online management tools are also available, via these organizations, which can provide you with an invaluable range of data and analyses.

You will then be able to use the information provided to devise a set of measurable actions and milestones against any issues that have been flagged up

This document should aim to achieve the following objectives

• set goals for waste reduction going forwards;
• encourage all staff to reduce waste, and to suggest new methods of waste reduction;
• produce clear outlines of the benefits of reducing waste, so that a consistent message can be promoted and
• monitor progress towards waste reduction targets.

Investing in waste management machinery

If the assessment shows that your company is producing a large volume of unavoidable refuse, dedicated waste management machinery may be the best solution.

There are a wide variety of waste balers available which reduce the physical size of your rubbish, reduce costs and help the company take better control of its waste.

Other key benefits of reducing your company’s refuse production include:

• Cost savings: because the business pays for waste disposal by volume, it goes without saying that reducing that volume will reduce disposal costs.
• Improving sustainability: customers are increasingly demanding that businesses act in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. Committing to better waste management is just one way your business can work towards that aim.
• Cutting emissions: all waste products have a carbon footprint and landfill is a major source of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Efficient waste management can reduce an organisation’s contribution to this problem.

We hope this has given you some valuable insight into how a waste management strategy can help a business address this important issue.  As part of a company’s wider EMS, it will provide a strong set of objectives that everyone in a business should work towards.