Social Responsibility
How Can ISO 14001 Benefit My Business?
May 16, 2012 | 
Author Environmental Issues are now of paramount consideration by company directors, owners and employees worldwide.
Since the 14001 EMS includes everyone in the business and all aspects of the organization that affect the environment, it can improve an organization’s environmental performance in many ways. This improved performance comes at a cost to the organization, a cost which can be recovered by aggressively seeking benefits.
Some of those benefits are as follows:
All environmental policies and procedures are now in the same format
All documents are now easily accessible to employees so compliance has improved
Regularly scheduled EMS reviews are ensuring both legal and ethical obligations are met in a timely fashion.
Increased Profits
The quantity of materials and energy required for manufacturing a product may be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the product, material handling costs, and waste disposal costs.
An EMS can help reduce incidents of pollution and the associated expense of recovery.
Recycling manufacturing waste and unused inputs could increase revenues. Recycling need not be within the same facility, but with another one that can use the waste as input to their production.
Employee health and safety can be improved, thereby improving productivity, decreasing sick days, and reducing insurable risk.
Insurance claims may be reduced, thus reducing the costs of coverage and settlements.
This is just a sample of the benefits available to business; the list of benefits and potential benefits is considerably larger.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Climate Change, CO2, CSR, Environmental accounting, Footprint, ghg emissions, Iso14001, Social Responsibility | 
Tags: Benefits, Business, carbon reduction, Change, Climate, Corporate, CSR, EMS, Enterprise, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, environmental management system, Global, Green, Greenhouse, ISO 14001, Management, Money, Social, Social Responsibility, Solutions | 
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Glasgow Weee Recycling | For a Brighter Future
Have you ever thought about electronic goods waste?
As per the facts available, we generate around 20 kg per person of electrical waste each and every year, and this figure is growing.
We in the UK alone produces an unbelievable total of one million tonnes of electrical waste, and this makes the overall picture all the more frightening!
People are demanding for more and more of these new electronic products with exciting technologies, while discarding throwing out the old ones. This situation seems to grow more and more complex with each passing day.
To make our planet a better place to live in, the European Economic Union came out with a directive called WEEE Recycling (WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) in a bid to deal with unnecessary electronic waste. As per the directive, all manufacturers, retailers , importers and distributors are required to recycle old technology. New responsibilities have been introduced for businesses, schools, hospitals, and government agencies and all these organizations are needed to ensure that all separately collected WEEE is treated and recycled. Be Seen Go Green Can help and advise you on your obligations under the WEEE directive
At present, there are n numbers of waste management companies around which offer a range of commercial waste management and WEEE recycling services. Not all however have the correct permits or can provide you with the necessary WTC (waste transfer certificate) Which is required to release you from your duty of care in relation to your obligation to ensure that your WEEE is properly disposed of. A few moments of online search will help you come across numerous such companies which offer your waste management services at highly competitive prices. And with so many companies around, it is not that tough to find a good service provider. It is really easy. The Internet can be extremely helpful here. Please bear in mind that when you dispose of WEEE that the company you choose to carry out this service is indeed able to provide WTC to you, if you are unsure and need help in finding such companies contact BE SEEEN GO GREEN
There is no denying the fact that Weee Recycling is playing a vital role in dealing with harmful e-waste or electronic waste. However, a lot of thought and research should go in, before you point your finger on a particular electronic waste recycling service provider.
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in computer recycling, CSR, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, Environmental accounting, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, Green IT, Iso14001, London WEEE, Packaging Waste, Plastic Recycle, Plastic Recycling, Plastic waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle London, Recycle UK, Social Responsibility, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE London, WEEE UK | Tags: Better, computer recycling, Edinburgh, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh WEEE, electrical waste recycling, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, Glasgow, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, glasgow weee, London, London WEEE, recycle, Recycling, Tomorrow, UK, uk weee, weee | No Comments »
Going Green Is Not Just For Big Business-You Can Grow Profits, Too!
The world of big business is making daily headlines by “going green” after discovering that what’s good for the planet is also proving good for business.
IBM recently announced “Project Big Green,” a $1 billion initiative to reduce energy consumption by offering new lines of energy-efficient IT products.
Wal-Mart is adding solar power to more than 20 stores.
PepsiCo is buying renewable energy certificates to offset its carbon footprint. Even major banks and energy firms are being asked by shareholders to prove that they, too, are going green.
It’s not just the biggest businesses that are attracting new customers and shareholders and reaping huge profits by “going green.” Small businesses also are growing eco-profits by embracing surprisingly inexpensive strategies to add value to their products, services and brand.
Consider these innovative examples:
- Bob Smith of Mad River Brewing Company in Blue Lake, California, has attracted positive publicity (and new customers) by promoting his efforts to reduce his small firm’s waste output and take other environmentally conscious steps. In turn, he has received welcome positive publicity from the press. “What PR budget? That is our PR budget,” he told the Albuquerque Tribune about “going green” to market his business.
- In Florida, Natalie Kelly formed Home Therapy Cleaning Services, which uses only nontoxic, all-natural cleaning products for her home cleaning business. She used to sell aromatherapy candles from her home, she told the St. Petersburg Times, but today uses an aromatherapy baking soda blend to freshen carpets.
Here’s what you can do:
- Two inexpensive ways any small business or solo entrepreneur can go green are to change light bulbs to energy-efficient bulbs and use biodegradable cleaning products.
- With that done, tell your customers and the media about these simple ways to go green. You will have just earned instant credibility as a green business, and also as a media resource for simple, effective ways to “go green.”
- Many communities online and offline are forming networks to exchange energy-saving ideas for home and business. Form your own energy network, enlisting neighborhood businesses that will welcome another opportunity to show they’re going green, too. The plus for you is that you will have just positioned yourself and your business as a community environmental leader.
-Write a “green” article on simple ways you are going green and submit it to one of the dozens of “green” Web sites and blogs that invite reader contributions. It’s a great way to market your smart ideas and your business!
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Climate Change, CO2, CRC, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, CSR, Environmental accounting, Footprint, ghg emissions, Glasgow CRC, Green IT, London CRC, Social Enterprise, Social Responsibility, UK CRC | Tags: Business, BusinessYou, carbon reduction, Change, Climate, Emissions, Enterprise, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, Footprint, Going, Green, Greenhouse, Grow, Just, Management, Profits | No Comments »
Ignorance is NO Excuse!
The amount of times I hear company directors say ” I didn’t know we needed to be” or ” I thought it only applied to large companies” is unbelievable. There really is no excuse for ignorance of what environmental legislation affects their business. The buck stops with them!
A recent case concerning Anderton Concrete Products Ltd highlights this ignorance, the following is directly from the EA:
Concrete company fails to comply with packaging regulations
Leicestershire concrete manufacturer ordered to pay over £50,000 fines and costs for failing to register and recycle packaging waste.
Anderton Concrete Products Ltd, pleaded guilty today (28 Jan 2011) at Coalville Magistrates’ Court to 18 offences under the Packaging Regulations, and asked for a further 12 to be taken into account.
The company was fined £36,000, ordered to pay £5,712.55 in costs, £8,408 in compensation, and a £15 victim surcharge.
The business, of Leicester Road, Ibstock, Leicestershire, should have been registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme since the year 2000 and was obliged to recover and recycle packaging waste, as well as filing a certificate at the end of each year to confirm it had met these obligations.
However, the company did not register with a compliance scheme until 2010.
The court heard a routine check by the Environment Agency in January 2010 established that the company should have been registered in previous years.
The company’s explanation for failing to comply with the packaging waste regulations was that it was unaware that it was an obligated company under the regulations.
By failing to register, the company had avoided fees and other costs of £23,615.
Speaking after the case an Environment Officer said: “The packaging regulations are designed to reduce the amount of packaging used by businesses and increase the amount of packaging waste recycled. This case highlights the need for businesses to make sure they understand their responsibility.”
In mitigation, the court heard that the company had entered an early guilty plea, had cooperated fully with the investigation and were not aware that the company were obligated under the regulations. It was an oversight not a deliberate intention to evade the regulations. In addition, the company is now fully compliant.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, 2005 and 2007 (as amended).
As you can see, not knowing really is a costly business.
At Be seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Climate Change, CO2, computer recycling, CRC, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, CSR, Edinburgh CRC, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, Energy, Environmental accounting, Food Recycling, Food Waste, Footprint, ghg emissions, Glasgow CRC, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, Global Warming, Green IT, Iso14001, landfill, London CRC, London Recycle, London WEEE, Packaging Waste, Plastic Recycle, Plastic Recycling, Plastic waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle London, Recycle UK, recycling, Skip Hire, Social Enterprise, Social Responsibility, UK CRC, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, USA carbon management, USA congress, USA EPA, USA ghg emissions, Waste management, Waste Plastic, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE London, WEEE UK, wheelie bin | Tags: Business, carbon reduction, Change, computer recycling, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh waste, Edinburgh WEEE, Efficiency, electrical waste recycling, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, Footprint, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, glasgow waste, glasgow weee, Green, London Waste, London WEEE, Management, packaging, packaging waste, recycle, Recycling, Uk waste, uk weee, Waste, waste management, waste packaging, weee | No Comments »
WEEE Recycling
A licensed IT recycling and IT disposal service enables you to deliver on your corporate social responsibility objects and of course, helps you to comply withall the legal requirements.
The IT disposal and IT recycling service must be completely secure.
On collection of any waste IT equipment, a Waste Transfer Notice (WTN) is issued, do not allow removal of your WEEE equipment without a WTN! The WTN discharges the duty of care for the IT equipment from you on to the collection service provider who are the licensed waste carrier.
Of serious consideration is Data protection. The proper and comprehensive destruction of data from computers and other IT equipment is critical. The waste collector should offer a comprehensive data destruction service. There are several data wiping options which are either carried out on or off site. All options are fully certified and complete data destruction documentation is provided. It is imperative this documentation gets checked out proir to the Data destruction being undertaken.
Often WEEE is still in perfectly good working order but not suitable to the needs of the client anymore. When this is the case the WEEE may have a residual value, if so, the disposal service may make you an offer.
To the uninitiated compliance with the WEEE recycling directive can be confusing and at times tedious.
So what is WEEE?
The ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive’ became law in the UK in 2007. It covers the production,sale, distribution, disposal and recycling of electrical equipment. It is designed to minimise the environmental impact of WEEE. As far as the waste management industry is concerned, this amounts to diverting as much as possible away from landfill through proper reuse and recycling initiatives, and ensuring that the remainder is separated from other categories of waste before being treated.
Electrical equipment contains some very toxic substances,
such as lead, mercury and brominated flame-retardants so it needs to
be dealt with responsibly.
Below is a list of the main WEEE recycling categories:
• IT & telecommunication equipment
• Consumer equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical & electronic tools
• Toys, leisure & sports equipment
• Automatic dispensers
• Household appliance
What is your duty of care?
• All businesses are obliged under the WEEE directive to ensure that any WEEE from their business is disposed of using a licensed waste carrier (or transported to a licensed recycling facility using their own vehicles).
• The licensed waste carrier MUST supply you with a waste transfer notice, which both parties must sign, which broadly details the load. At this point your duty of care is passed on to the carrier.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in computer recycling, Edinburgh Recycle, Edinburgh WEEE, eee, glasgow eee, glasgow recycling, Glasgow waste, glasgow weee, Green IT, landfill, London Recycle, London WEEE, Packaging Waste, Plastic Recycle, Plastic Recycling, Plastic waste, Recycle Edinburgh, Recycle London, Recycle UK, recycling, Social Responsibility, UK Recycle, UK WEEE, Waste management, Waste Plastic, weee, WEEE Edinburgh, WEEE London | Tags: computer recycling, edinburgh recycle, Edinburgh Recycling, Edinburgh WEEE, electrical waste recycling, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, Geen IT, glasgow eee, glasgow recycle, glasgow recycling, glasgow weee, IT companies, IT consultants, IT recycling, IT waste, London WEEE, Management, Old PC's, Recycling, weee | No Comments »
EU report supports Mandatory Emissions Reporting
The EU should implement mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting framework for businesses, according to a recent study published by the European Commission’s environment department.
The 239-page study conducted by consultancy ERM analyses a range of corporate carbon reporting methodologies. Of the 80 in use globally, nine are assessed in detail including ISO 14064:2006 and the French Bilan Carbone method.
ERM identifies problems in the existing voluntary approach, not least that the results of different methodologies cannot be easily compared. Few methods fully integrate corporate target setting, and guidance is often missing for specific sectors.
A major GHG reporting scheme such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is more suited for large companies and does not oblige firms to report CO2 from their supply chains, called scope 3 emissions in the first round of CRC implementation. Although phase 2 does infact suggest that scope 3 emissions will be included. However, Its reliability may also be questionable, as participants are not required to verify their emissions, says ERM.
Any new scheme backed by the EU would have “a significant risk of low uptake” if it is only voluntary, according to the consultancy. This is partly because leading ones, such as the carbon dsiclosure project, are widely used in some sectors already. The UK government published revised voluntary reporting guidelines in Spetember 2009, with the Scottish governments Zero Waste plan requesting that public sector organisation report their emissions voluntarily from Jan 2011.
To maximise participation rates and ensure a level playing field, a mandatory approach will be needed, says ERM. A new scheme must also include “strong measures aimed at setting corporate GHG reduction targets”.
This year, 2011, the commission will publish a corporate environmental impact assessment method which will take into account the study’s advice on carbon emissions. An impact assessment method for products will also be published ahead of the 2012 review of the EU’s sustainable consumption and production strategy.
Mandatory emissions reporting is now a question of when rather than if.
Following the UK governements report in December 2010 to parliament on how effective reporting is in the battle of emissions reduction it seems certain that we will see the introduction of legislation of some sort to enforce reporting. The Climate Change Act 2008 requires this legislation to be inplace by 6th April 2012, or an explanation why it hasn’t been introduced. The mechanism for reporting will be the companies act 2006, section 416 (4), the directors report.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Climate Change, CO2, CRC, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, CSR, Edinburgh CRC, Energy, Environmental accounting, Footprint, ghg emissions, Glasgow CRC, Global Warming, Iso14001, London CRC, Social Responsibility | Tags: accounting, Business, carbon accounting, carbon reduction, Change, Climate, Corporate, Edinburgh CRC, Emissions, emissions reporting, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, environmental accounting, EU, EU emissions reporting, Footprint, ghg, ghg emissions, Glasgow CRC, Global, global warming, Green, Greenhouse, greenhouse gases, London CRC, Management, mandatory emissions reporting | 2 Comments »
Company Fined for Discharging Waste in Drains
Firm fined over £55,000 for unlawfully discharging waste down drains
On 18 April 2011 a drainage company from Longridge, Preston was fined almost £56,000 for the unlawful depositing and disposal of liquid waste – the first ever prosecution of this type in the North West of England.
A and D Drains Services Limited and its director, Mr David Rodrigues were sentenced in Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty in January to eight charges, each brought by the Environment Agency – four in relation to illegal disposals of liquid waste and four in relation to creating false paperwork to cover up its illegal actions.
Whilst sentencing, the High Court Judge recognised the seriousness of the case where the company was paid and trusted by its customers to dispose of waste liquids lawfully, but instead put the waste down the drain systems. They were therefore penalised accordingly.
The Judge imposed a £15,900 confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act and the company and it’s director, David Rodriguez, were also ordered to pay combined fines of £40,000 which included £22,500 costs to the Environment Agency. All of which must be paid within 12 months, or Mr David Rodrigues would face 12 months imprisonment.
Jennie Frieze prosecuting for the Environment Agency said: “This is the first ever prosecution of this type brought about by the Environment Agency in the North West under the Proceeds of Crime Act and is also the first ever prosecution of a drainage company for such a crime. The sentencing reflects the seriousness of the waste crimes the company committed.
“This case took a huge amount of work by the Environment Agency leading to the prosecution of 269 illegal disposals of liquid wastes, as well as a prosecution for illegitimate behaviour whereby the company tried to cover up their illegal actions.
“The liquids disposed of included wastes from septic tanks, petrol stations (hazardous waste) and industrial sites and like all unlawful disposals of waste, has the potential to cause harm to the environment and human health.
“The message from this prosecution is clear – the Environment Agency is able to trace waste criminals and put an end to their unlawful operations.”
Are you sure what you are discharging in to our drainage system isn’t going to land you in hot water?
At Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in Social Responsibility, Waste, Waste management | Tags: Business, Drains, Environment, environment agency, Liquid waste, Waste, waste management | No Comments »