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What's NZ doing?
Businesses
The business case for waste minimisation is simple:
"Waste is a cost and cost reductions enhance the bottom line".
Becoming more efficient makes good business sense.
Waste equals lost profits When cardboard is mixed with other materials and sent to landfill it ends up costing a business about $400 per tonne, but when it is recycled it will
only cost the business $40 per tonne.
It costs around $1000 to dump a tonne of screwed up paper (in rubbish bags), compared with $40-60 per tonne to recycle flat paper. High waste paper producers (or users) can earn $60-100 per tonne through recycling.
It is estimated that 30,000 tonnes of office paper is still landfilled each year at a cost of approximately $9 million to Auckland businesses!
(Data presented at the Retail Merchants Association's Zero Waste Workshop, 6
March 2002 by Peter Thorne, GM of Paper Reclaim) Businesses can: - Achieve more value from lower inputs of materials and energy (and with reduced emissions).
- Maximise the amount of product per unit of raw material and reduce the cost of production.
- Reduce disposal costs of waste.
(New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) www.nzbcsd.org.nz ) Embracing sustainability also means that businesses will: - Be a responsible employer ensuring you attract a committed workforce
- Build community, supplier and regulatory relationships
- Increase competitiveness through innovation
Triple Bottom Line This approach to business is often referred to as the 'Triple Bottom Line' or Sustainable Development Reporting (SDR).
(World Business Council for Sustainable Development).
It recognises that a better quality of life, for everyone, is dependent upon economic progress that is not harmful to the natural environment and the social fabric of society.
For more information go to www.wbcsd.org The Sustainable Business Network and Ministry for the Environment have produced 'Enterprise Three', a report aimed at encouraging smaller businesses to undertake 'triple bottom line' reporting. Go to www.sustainable.org.nz/resource.asp?id=12 for copies of the report.
Some innovative businesses within New Zealand have adopted a Zero Waste policy.
See also
Case Studies,
Solutions for Businesses
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