How do you know if your Waste Management Programs are effective?

February 12th, 2019

How do you know if your waste management programs are being effective?

 

Todays post is from our SafeSourcing Archives

On an old post that still has merit,  we presented a series of blogs about the Four R’s of Waste Management; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy, which went through the basics of each and how your company can take steps to becoming greener.  Today we will be focusing on how to measure the results of your programs for both accounting and PR purposes.

Tons of waste diverted from the landfill – By reusing and recycling products within your organization you are contributing to the reduction of tons of waste which is sent to landfills.  Your recycling partners many times can help track this metric with you.

Amount of disposal costs saved – Every company pays for the disposal of waste.  The less waste produced by your company the less frequently your waste disposal company has to pick up that waste which means lower costs for your company and an accounting bottom-line expense reduction.

Amount of purchase costs saved – Companies that focus on reusing and rebuying product can save millions of dollars when they do not have to purchase new products from vendors.  This is an important metric many companies use to measure the effectiveness of their programs.

Value of materials donated – In some cases the value generated by your waste management programs will be in the manner of credits that directly affect the company’s taxable income.  This is another key measurement factor especially in the recycling focused programs.

Revenues earned – Many programs lead to products that can be sold off to 3rd parties as used inventory.  Revenues earned is a metric with high visibility and importance to many companies’ executive level.

Jobs created or retained – In an economy where the country’s unemployment rate has been a much-watched indicator, many companies have integrated the number of jobs added or saved due to waste management programs into their corporate reporting.  Many times this metric is tied closely with revenues earned.

Families/individuals/organizations assisted – By donating or recycling products, businesses have the capability to help thousands of schools, families and other organizations with products they would have normally thrown away.  This applies frequently to technical products that the company may have outgrown but that still have useful lives.

These are just a few of KPI’s or metrics that you might use in order to report how effective your Four R programs are doing, both internally and externally.  For more information on the Four R’s  or companies that can help you with processes or programs relating to the Four R’s, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.

We look forward to your comments.

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