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Updated Jun 26, 2015

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Let's talk about the power of sustainability

As the pressure mounts on individuals, organisations and countries to cut their carbon contribution, sustainability is becoming a daily conversation.

Talk has moved from the dangers of unsustainable use of resources, instead focusing on the benefits to those who pursue sustainability.

With Standards available to companies, the positives of obtaining such certification are numerous.

First of all, the idea of a voluntary certification appeals to clients, as it reflects well in terms of supply chain and responsibility. Lately, there has been a huge media campaign, headed by publications such as The Guardian for divestment from coal, gas and oil.

Furthermore, the benefits of investing in green practices is widely agreed to pay for itself after a period of time (the length of time depends on the size of investment corresponding to the resources used prior to such investment). For example, Nestle UK and Ireland recently made headlines for the news that they have achieved Zero Waste to Landfill in their Fawdon-based factory. This comes only one year after investing millions into an anaerobic digestion system. Not only do they no longer put waste into landfill sites which will improve various aspects of their business including investment potential, but the anaerobic digestion plant provides a portion of the energy the factory uses, which saves money. Smaller changes have positive financial effects also - less paper printed means less ink, paper and energy powering printers, is needed.

The EU declares it is on target to meet the 20% reduction rate by 2020 from emission levels from 1990, but 20% isn't the bottom line.

Improvement is needed until we can reach the best possible rate of emissions, eliminate waste and produce our own reliable, sustainable energy sources. The ISO 14001 Standard works on this premise of improvement. The Standard is awarded to organisations that consider the environment during their day-to-day running, but it is reviewed annually, to confirm awarded organisations are continually developing policies in order to increase efficiency and decrease emissions and waste amongst other things.

BSI, the British Standard Institute, set out their "Top Ten Tips" for implementing the ISO 14001 Standard:

  • Get commitment and support from senior management;
  • Engage the whole business with good internal communication;
  • Compare your existing quality systems with ISO 14001 requirements;
  • Get customer and supplier feedback on current environmental management;
  • Establish an implementation team to get the best results;
  • Map out and share roles, responsibilities and timescales;
  • Adapt the basic principles of environmental management to your business;
  • Motivate staff involvement with training and incentives;
  • Share ISO 14001 knowledge and encourage staff to train as internal auditors;
  • Regularly review your ISO 14001 system to make sure you are continually improving it.

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