Sustainability Communications Webinar by IEMA / Sustain-affinity

On 17th May Sustain-affinity and IEMA hosted a webinar called “30 ways to reduce your impacts and impacts and initiate engagement”

These are my personal notes for sharing; my comments are in italics, – Marek Bidwell

So did we reach 30 tips, let’s see?

Lee Tims (Sustain-affinity: Green Marketing and Communications Organisation)

  • We haven’t been on earth for a long time, just a few minutes [you know what I mean,  and look what we’ve done with it]
  • There are a wide range of pressing environmental issues (climate change, loss bio-diversity etc)
  • We are using Bruntland definition of sustainability
  • Explaining about the sustainaffinity hash tag for twitter

Michelle Campbell (Environmental Academy)

  • Michelle has experience writing Environmental Management Systems
  • Explanation of PCDA cycle
  • 3 main benefits
    • Profitability – resource efficiency
    • Compliance – over 200 pieces of environmental legislation [for the time-being, Red Tape Review!]
    • Responsibility
    • Types of EMS standard (EMAS, 14001, etc)
      • Top 3 China, Japan, UK
      • Gather Data
      • Set Objectives & Targets – SMART
      • Managing the System – responsibilities, training, control etc.

Twitter question from Harry Taylor – Does a company gain a  true USP from these standards?

[Harry, have a look at http://www.bms-services.com/what-you-need-to-know-to-future-proof-your-ems/ to future proof and add value to your EMS]

Simon Drury (WRAP)

  • Talking about costs of waste, often 4% of turnover
  • Case studies:
    • Rigby Taylor: achieved savings of 205,000 in 3 years
    • Denso: reduced paper towels to mop up oil, moved to rags
    • Duco: redesigned steel drums to enable longer use and also safer
    • Strattons Hotel: using single washing product to reduce waste bottles
    • Ginsters: implemented anaerobic digestion to provide income to factory
    • Warren Evans: reduced wood waste with CHP plant, better ventilation and dust removal
    • [It continues to amaze me how much organisation can save on waste, I put this down to busy operational staff not having time to focus on waste unless prioritised by directors]
  • Production Stages
    • Consider each stage of your processes and ask how you can make it leaner and greener
    • Reduce hazardous waste through substitution
    • Reduce packaging
    • Look at industrial symbiosis, what waste can you sell onto other people? [look up www.nisp.org.uk ]
    • Consumption Strategies
      • Eg: Reducing food waste by portion control, only buy what you need
      • Convert this into a management system such as ISO 14001 to embed processes
  • Call WRAP for help! 0808 100 2040

[Lookup at that old trusty Envirowise Publication EN30 finding hidden profit. If you’ve not got a copy on your bookshelf I found it at http://www.enviroeu.com/online/file.php/1/eng-docs/EnviroWise_-_Waste_minimisation_for_managers.pdf

What happened to all those Envirowise Publications?]

 

Rachel Hodge (EON Sustainable Energy Communications Mgr)

  • EON are not tied into any particular renewables manufacturer
  • Provide lots of types of energy advice
  • Reasons to save energy, reduce carbon and cost etc, means to show CR, compliance with CRC
  • The Energy Hierarchy
    • Insulate → Moderate → Generate

[No mention of off-setting which seems to be out of favour these days, look up those wonderful efficient cook stoves that reduce indoor air pollution and GHGs.

By way of comparison IEMAs GHG Hierarchy is Avoid Reduce Substitute Compensate: IEMA eBrieft July 2011]

  • Generation is not cost effective without Insulate and Moderate first
  • Monitoring and targeting
  • Behavioural Aspects
    • Providing building users with information

{This is a good point, I have seen modern complex heating timers installed in Council Houses but residents don’t know how to use them so they are just left on constant.]

  • Lighting eg: LEDs can save 80% on lighting

[I love my new 3W LEDs from http://www.big-energy.co.uk , so much better that those I purchased a couple of years ago from a large DIY chain.]

  • Micro Generation eg: using biomass instead of Gas
  • Display energy use and generation at HQ so staff are kept in the picture
  • Important to understanding funding schemes such as ECA, FITs, Renewable Heat Incentive (I must get those solar panel fitted to my roof before the FITs reduction)
  • The future

 

Tony Rheinberg (Marketing Manager, Ideal Standard)

  • Water Savings
    • UK householders consume average of 150 litres water / day
    • Most people only think they use 40 litres
    • Some interesting water facts
    • 63% of water used in the bathroom, only 5% drunk [water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink]
    • There are lots of ways organisation can reduce water usage
    • How to reduce water
      • Carry out audit, look for leakages etc, cleaning regime
      • Recover water from manufacturing processes
      • Don’t take away from the pleasure of bathing – liking this
      • Slide on flushing volume history – I’ve seen it all now
      • Toilets have to pass tests
      • Offer taps with sensors and flow regulators
      • Urinals can also consume a lot of water if unregulated

[Don’t forget about process water savings, techniques like Water Pinch Analysis.]

Final slide on forthcoming seminars – [looks like Thursdays at 4 will be busy for the next few weeks – thank you to all speakers, very interesting]

[A quick recount of the tips total – I would say at least 30, I probably missed some]