How to dispose of pesticides and biocides

In this guide:

  • Types of pesticides and biocides

    Types of pesticides, the differences between pesticides and biocides, and examples of uses for these products.

    Pesticides and biocides are chemicals or organisms used to control pests such as harmful or unwanted animals, plants, fungi, viruses or bacteria which cause damage.

    Pesticides and biocides can harm human health if you do not store and use them properly.

    Pesticides and biocides can cause significant water pollution and land contamination if there is an accident or if they are not used in a responsible way. If they enter surface water or groundwater, even in very small amounts, they can have devastating effects.

    What is the difference between pesticides and biocides?

    Pesticide is a general term that covers many substances, including biocides, that are used. to prevent, destroy, repel, attract or control certain forms of plant or animal life that are considered to be pests.

    More commonly the term pesticide is used to refer to plant protection products that are specifically used to protect crops against harmful pests and diseases, influence the life processes of plants, or to control unwanted vegetation such as residential or agricultural weeds and invasive species.

    Biocides are typically not used on plants or crops, but are used to protect humans, animals, materials or articles against harmful organisms like pests or bacteria.

    Examples of pesticides and biocides

    Pesticides and biocides include:

    • fungicides
    • insecticides
    • herbicides
    • plant growth regulators
    • rodenticides (rat and mouse poisons)
    • animal and bird repellents
    • mole control products
    • wood and masonry preservatives
    • disinfectants
    • human and veterinary medicines
    • anti-fouling products
    • molluscicides (snail and slug pellets)
    • algaecides
    • earthworm control agents

    Common uses of pesticides and biocides

    Businesses that use pesticides and biocides include those involved in:

    • agriculture - arable, vegetable and fruit growing, pasture, livestock and poultry
    • aquaculture - fish and shellfish farming (veterinary medicine)
    • forestry and woodland management
    • horticulture
    • wood and masonry preservation
    • managing invasive species and removing bracken
    • pest control
    • weed control, such as on pavements, industrial complexes and alongside roads and railways
    • marine anti-fouling painting and coating
    • gardening and landscaping
    • managing parks and golf courses (amenity sector)
    • food storage and preparation
    • healthcare
    • care of domestic pets
    Actions
    Industry guidance on biocides
    Industry guidance on pesticides
    Pesticides and biocides environmental legislation
    Also on this site
    Preventing water pollution
    Contaminated land
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/types-pesticides-and-biocides

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  • Approval and labelling when supplying pesticides and biocides

    How to apply for approval to sell pesticides and biocides, and information you must provide to customers.

    If you supply pesticides or biocides you must check that the pesticides or biocides you sell have been approved for sale and use in Northern Ireland and that your products are labelled correctly. You may need to provide a safety data sheet (SDS) for your customers.

    Apply to place pesticides and biocides on the market

    Before you place a new pesticide or biocide product on the market, you must gain approval for that product before you market it. You must apply to the relevant registration authority and supply them with all the data and information they need to evaluate your product.

    Once an approved product is on sale you should monitor it. If you find out about adverse effects of the pesticide or biocide on human health or the environment, you must tell the registration authority as soon as possible. You should also tell them about any unwanted effects on what is being treated.

    If you place a biocidal product on the market for the first time, you may need to provide certain information to the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS).

    Provide information for customers of pesticides and biocides

    If you market or sell pesticides or biocides you must ensure that all packaging, labelling and advertising meets the requirements in the product's authorisation. In some cases, it must also meet the requirements of the Chemical Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulations.

    If you supply pesticides or biocides you may need to use a hazard warning label or provide an SDS. This is now a requirement of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation - see storing chemicals.

    If you sell, supply or store to sell plant protection products, you should follow the 'Code of Practice for Suppliers of Pesticides to Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry' (the Yellow Code). This statutory code of practice covers storage, training requirements, transport, waste disposal and how to deal with spills - download the Yellow Code (PDF, 915K).

    If you sell or supply plant protection products, you must ensure that there is sufficient staff holding specified certificates available at the time of the sale to provide adequate information to customers on use of the products, health and environmental risks and safety instructions.

    You can find a full list of certificates relating to the sale and supply of pesticides that are considered to meet legal requirements (PDF, 208K).

    The Yellow Code will also tell you who needs a certificate of competence for the job they do. You should ensure your staff keep their training up-to-date.

    Actions
    Pesticides and biocides environmental legislation
    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

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  • Approved pesticide and biocide products and qualifications

    Check if your pesticide or biocide is an approved product, qualifications for fumigation and POPs phase out.

    Before you use any pesticide or biocide, you must make sure that it has been approved by the correct regulating body:

    You must not use any banned pesticides or biocides.

    You must only use the product in accordance with the conditions set by their authorisation and as specified on the product labelling.

    Training and certificates for using plant protection products

    If you use pesticides or biocides as part of your job you must have the correct training, instruction and guidance. For advice on training requirements, you can read a code of good agricultural practice.

    If you employ someone else to apply plant protection products for you, make sure they have the appropriate qualifications to do the job. If you use someone who isn't qualified, you may have to pay to clean up any pollution incidents they cause.

    Be qualified to fumigate

    Fumigation is a potentially hazardous process which uses toxic gases to kill pests.

    Professional users of pesticides products are required to hold a specified certificate of competence. There is no requirement for a specified certificate of competence for those using a professional biocidal product, although everyone who uses biocides is responsible for using them correctly and safely.

    If you employ someone else to carry out fumigation, check that they are qualified.

    Find a list of UK designated bodies and recognised specified certificates (PDF, 208K).

    Actions
    Approved and withdrawn plant protection products register
    Authorised veterinary medicinal products register
    Pesticides and biocides environmental legislation
    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/approved-pesticide-and-biocide-products-and-qualifications

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  • Care when using pesticides and biocides

    Using pesticides and biocides - aerial application, using pesticides and biocides near water, dealing with spills.

    You must not use pesticides and biocides in or near water unless they are specifically approved for that use - find a register of approved plant protection products.

    If you are planning to use a herbicide in or near to water, you must contact the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) Water Management Unit on Tel 0300 200 7850.

    Rules for aerial application of herbicides and biocides

    To apply pesticides from aircraft (aerial spraying) must have a permit, and permission will only be granted in limited circumstances. The application of pesticides by drone is considered to be aerial spraying and so is also subject to the permitting arrangements. Permits are issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on behalf of the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). 

    Find more information on protected areas in NI.

    Before you apply a pesticide by aerial application, you should also notify:

    • local beekeeper groups, at least 48 hours before application
    • the local council, 24 to 48 hours before application
    • occupants or owners of property within 25 metres of the area to be treated, 24 to 48 hours before application
    • the person in charge of any school, hospital or other institution within 150 metres of the flight path, 24 to 48 hours before application
    Actions
    Code of good agricultural practice
    Pesticides and biocides environmental legislation
    DAERA guidance on the use of pesticides
    DAERA Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products (PDF, 2.27MB)
    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/care-when-using-pesticides-and-biocides

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  • Good practice for storage and sustainable use of pesticides and biocides

    Storing your pesticides and biocides to prevent spills, and alternatives to using pesticides and biocides.

    Store all chemicals in an area where you can contain spills. Keep chemical containers within an impermeable secondary containment area that will hold liquids if the main containers leak or break.

    Secondary containment areas include bunds, bunded or spill pallets, sump pallets, bunded storage units and storage cabinets with integral sumps.

    If you have one storage container in a bund, the bund should be able to hold at least 110 per cent of its volume.

    If you have more than one container, your bund should be able to contain at least 110 per cent of the volume of the largest container or 25 per cent of the total volume you are likely to store, whichever is greater.

    Download guidance on storing pesticides (PDF, 97K).

    Manage your pesticide use

    Keep an inventory of the pesticides and biocides you have on site, and details of when you received them and when you should dispose of them if you don't use them up. This will help you to avoid having more than you need, and therefore reduce your waste.

    Check the pesticides register of approved products to see if products you use are going to be withdrawn - the register gives details of product approval, revocation and withdrawal.

    Producers, suppliers, distributors, importers, and exporters of plant protection products are legally required to keep records of the plant protection products they produce, import, export, store or place on the market for at least five years.

    A professional user of plant protection products must keep for at least three years, records of the plant protection products they use, containing the name of the plant protection product, the time and the dose of application, the area and the crop where the plant protection product was used.

    Alternatives to pesticides and biocides

    It's a good idea to only by the amount of pesticides and biocides that you need. Think carefully whether you really need to use a pesticide at all. If you use a pesticide when you don't need to you:

    • will be wasting money
    • will increase the possibility of pests becoming resistant
    • could damage the treated area

    You can use techniques that reduce the use of pesticides and biocides, including biological and cultural control methods, and using disease-resistant varieties of plants. Cultural control methods include crop rotation and techniques to maintain crops in peak health so they are less susceptible to pests. This is known as integrated pest management (IPM) - find more information on reducing pesticide use.

    IPM is a key element in using pesticides sustainably. The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has produced a guide on IPM, primarily to assist farmers with understanding the requirements, however the general principles must be implemented by all professional users of pesticides.

    Actions
    Pesticides and biocides leaflets
    Code of good agricultural practice
    Pesticides and biocides environmental legislation
    DAERA guidance on the use of pesticides
    DAERA Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products (PDF, 2.27MB)
    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/good-practice-storage-and-sustainable-use-pesticides-and-biocides

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  • How to get approval for pesticides and biocides

    The types of pesticides and biocides which require regulatory approval, and who you should apply to for this approval.

    Pesticides and biocides must be approved before you can import, use, sell, store, supply or advertise them. Pesticides and biocides are approved depending on the product's use.

    Biocidal products are approved by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD). This covers products including:

    • disinfectants
    • insecticides (not for use on crops or plants)
    • fungicides (not for use on crops or plants)
    • algaecides
    • pest/rodent control
    • preservatives
    • other products used for food storage and public hygiene

    Plant protection products (PPP) are also approved and regulated by the CRD. This covers products including:

    • herbicides
    • insecticides
    • fungicides
    • molluscicides (snail and slug pellets)
    • plant growth regulators

    Human medicinal products are approved and regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This covers products used on humans such as anti-headlice treatments and some skin disinfectants.

    Veterinary medicines are approved and regulated by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). This covers products used on animals such as sheep dip, worming and flea treatments.

    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-get-approval-pesticides-and-biocides

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  • How to dispose of pesticides and biocides

    How to ensure that your waste pesticides and biocides are disposed of correctly and transported safely.

    You are legally responsible for ensuring that all waste your business produces or handles is stored, transported and disposed of safely - this is your duty of care.

    Pesticides and biocides are likely to be classed as hazardous waste. You will have to separate this from other waste.

    You must ensure that anyone you pass your waste on to is authorised to take and transport it, and that they take it to an authorised disposal site.

    Keep copies of waste paperwork

    As the waste producer, you must ensure that all waste leaving your site is covered by a waste transfer note, or a consignment note if it is hazardous waste.

    You must keep copies of waste transfer notes for two years and consignment notes for three years.

    For more information on moving, transporting and disposing of hazardous waste, see dealing with hazardous waste.

    Deal with dilute pesticides, biocides and wash water

    You should treat water used for washing down equipment or rinsing empty containers as dilute pesticides or biocides. There are different disposal options for dealing with dilute pesticides, biocides and wash water:

    You may need to register an exemption from waste management licensing to dispose of wash water from pesticide and biocide containers - see environmental permits and licences - an overview.

    Deal with concentrates and ready-to-use formulations

    You must transport and dispose of concentrates and ready-to-use formulations as hazardous waste. You must use a waste contractor.

    You should never dilute concentrates or ready-to-use formulations to dispose of them as dilute pesticides or biocides.

    Rinse packaging and containers correctly

    Check product labels to see if your waste containers and packaging should be rinsed. You must never rinse or clean containers of hydrogen cyanide gassing powders or aluminium, magnesium or zinc phosphates as they react with moisture to produce a poisonous gas.

    If your containers and packaging can be rinsed, you must follow the product label instructions and rinse the container, the lid and foil seal. Place the rinsed foil seal inside the container. You can dispose of containers that have been triple-rinsed and drained as normal waste.

    If your containers cannot be rinsed, you must handle them as if they contain pesticides or biocides. You must dispose of them as hazardous waste.

    Reduce waste pesticides and biocides

    Reducing your use of pesticides will also reduce the amount of waste pesticide and empty containers you produce, saving your business money. Reduce your waste pesticides and biocides by following the guidance in the Code of Good Agricultural Practice and Section 5 of the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products.

    Actions
    Approved plant protection products register
    DAERA guidance on the use of pesticides
    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Managing hazardous substances
    Dealing with hazardous waste
    Introduction to environmental permits and licences
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-dispose-pesticides-and-biocides

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  • How to deal with pesticide and biocide spills

    How to deal with incidents involving pesticides and biocides, and how to report any pollution incidents.

    You should know how to deal with incidents involving pesticides or biocides. Incidents include:

    • spills of pesticides or biocides to the environment
    • adverse reactions or illness caused by exposure to pesticides or biocides, for example respiratory problems
    • pets or wild animals being poisoned due to irresponsible or illegal use of pesticides or biocides

    Prepare for pesticide pollution incidents

    If you use pesticides and biocides as part of your job you must be trained in emergency procedures. Your emergency action plans should be kept up to date to cover new equipment or new ways of working. Many product labels will have specific advice on what to do if there is an incident. This information is always on the manufacturer's safety data sheet, which you should be able to get when you buy the product.

    Make sure that your staff are familiar with emergency procedures and know how to implement them. If you store lots of pesticides or biocides - for example, if you have a warehouse - you may need to install a spill alarm so that you can evacuate the building if there is an incident.

    Keep a spill kit nearby

    You should ensure that you have a spill kit close to where you might need it. Your spill kit should contain absorbent materials such as sand or cat litter, and other containment equipment suitable for the type and quantity of pesticides and biocides you store and use on your site.

    Try to prevent liquid spills from entering drains or watercourses. For example, use earth to block the flow of large spills, or use sand or a commercial spill kit to soak them up.

    You should never hose down a spill, as you could cause a much worse pollution incident. If you store pesticides or biocides in a vehicle, you should also carry a suitable spill kit.

    Use bunds and drip trays

    You should store all pesticides and biocides in an area where you can contain spills. This should be on or within a secondary containment system such as:

    • an impermeable bunded area
    • a bunded pallet or spill pallet
    • a sump pallet
    • a bunded storage unit
    • a drip tray

    See our guide on storing chemicals.

    Prevent environmental damage from pesticides and biocides

    Water pollution can be classed as environmental damage in some circumstances. You must prevent and remedy environmental damage that occurs from water pollution or land contamination caused by your business activities. If anyone else reports environmental damage as a result of your activities, an enforcing authority will have to investigate - see preventing water pollution.

    Report pesticides and biocides pollution incidents

    You should report any pollution incidents as soon as they happen to the NIEA Water Pollution Hotline on Tel 0800 80 70 60.

    If you suspect that your health has been adversely affected by pesticides or biocides, you should report it to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) - download pesticide incident notification form (PDF, 171K).

    If you suspect wildlife has been harmed by an incident involving pesticides or biocides, you should call the police at Tel 101 or in an emergency call Tel 999. Information can also be given anonymously through the Crime Stoppers Charity at Tel 0800 555 111.

    If you suspect a domestic animal has been harmed by an incident involving pesticides or biocides, you should call the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on Tel 0300 200 7840.

    Local councils are responsible for enforcement of the Welfare of Animals (NI) Act 2011, as it applies to non-farmed animals such as domestic pets.

    Actions
    DAERA Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products (PDF, 2.27MB)
    Pesticides and biocides environmental legislation
    DAERA guidance on the use of pesticides
    Also on this site
    Storing chemicals
    Contaminated land
    Managing hazardous substances
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-deal-pesticide-and-biocide-spills

    Links

How end users can recycle waste batteries

In this guide:

  • Batteries business regulations

    Rules for businesses classed as producers, distributors, treatment operators, recyclers or exporters of waste batteries.

    Different types of business are affected by batteries regulations including:

    • producers, ie anyone placing batteries on the United Kingdom market on a professional basis - this can be loose or within electrical and electronic equipment
    • distributors and retailers
    • recyclers and exporters of waste batteries

    To understand your responsibilities you need to know if your business is classed as a battery producer or a battery distributor. Be aware that it is possible for you to be both a producer and a distributor.

    Is my business a battery producer?

    You are a producer of batteries if you manufacture or import batteries or appliances containing batteries and place them on the UK market for the first time, including:

    • businesses with a UK presence that import batteries into the UK and then sell them wholesale in the UK
    • businesses with a UK presence that manufacture or import products which include batteries (such as laptop computers) into the UK and then sell them in the UK
    • UK battery manufacturers that sell to the general public or retailers

    Examples of businesses that aren't producers include those that:

    • import batteries into the UK and then sell them overseas without placing any on the UK market
    • buy batteries wholesale from another business that has already placed the batteries on the UK market

    Is my business a battery distributor or retailer?

    The regulations place obligations on distributors, ie those supplying portable batteries on a professional basis to end users. If you supply 32 kilograms or more of portable batteries to end users per year, you must comply with the distributor requirements. This includes retailers that supply batteries to consumers and/or businesses. If you only supply batteries contained within equipment - rather than separate batteries - you do not have to take back waste batteries from end users.

    Examples of distributors include:

    • a retailer that sells them to end users - whether a business or the general public
    • wholesalers that supply both to end users and retail outlets

    'Supply' includes selling, providing and/or making available portable batteries to end users.

    If you are unsure whether you supply 32 kilograms or more of batteries, use an online battery weight calculator.

    Is my business a battery user?

    Battery users have no obligations under the batteries regulations. However, they should dispose of their waste batteries in an environmentally sound way. For example, the disposal of whole, untreated industrial and automotive batteries in landfill or by incineration is banned.

    Treating, recycling or exporting waste batteries

    If you are involved in the treatment, recycling or export of waste batteries for recycling you must comply with a number of obligations.

    Help
    DAERA Helpline
    Actions
    Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations guidance
    Producer responsibilities when placing batteries on the UK market
    NetRegs batteries legislation guidance
    Also on this site
    Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
    RoHS: Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
    Ecodesign and energy labelling in manufacturing
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/batteries-business-regulations

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  • Types of battery

    How to tell whether your business is placing portable, industrial or automotive batteries on the market.

    A battery is defined as any source of electrical energy generated by direct conversion of chemical energy and consisting of one or more battery cells.

    Battery regulations apply to both single-use batteries (also known as primary batteries) and rechargeable batteries (known as secondary batteries or accumulators). However, batteries used for specific military purposes or in equipment designed to be sent into space are outside the scope of the regulations.

    Batteries are divided into three categories:

    • portable
    • industrial
    • automotive

    Your business must comply with different requirements depending on the type of batteries it places on the market.

    Portable batteries

    Portable batteries are batteries or battery packs that are:

    • sealed
    • hand carried without difficulty
    • neither an industrial or automotive battery

    Examples of portable batteries include:

    • AA or AAA batteries that might be used to power the remote control for a television
    • batteries used in mobile phones, portable MP3 players or laptop computers
    • button cells found on a PC motherboard or in a wristwatch

    Industrial and automotive batteries

    Industrial batteries are batteries or battery packs of any size that are:

    • designed exclusively for professional or industrial uses
    • used as a source of power for propulsion in electric vehicles
    • unsealed but are not automotive batteries
    • sealed but are not portable batteries

    Examples of industrial batteries include those designed for use:

    • in barcode readers and payment card readers in shops
    • in professional video equipment and professional studios
    • as a source of power and propulsion to drive the motor in forklift trucks, golf buggies and mobility buggies
    • in lighthouses

    Automotive batteries are used in vehicles such as cars, vans, lorries, buses and other types of road transport for starting the engine, and lighting.

    Help
    DAERA Helpline
    Actions
    Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations guidance
    Producer responsibilities when placing batteries on the UK market
    NetRegs batteries legislation guidance
    Also on this site
    Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
    RoHS: Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
    Ecodesign and energy labelling in manufacturing
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/types-battery

    Links

  • Battery labelling and substance restrictions

    Restrictions on the use of certain substances and how you must label batteries you intend to place on the market.

    If you manufacture or import batteries with the intention of placing them on the market, you must meet certain requirements that restrict the use of cadmium and mercury and set out how batteries should be labelled.

    Substance restrictions in batteries

    If you place batteries on the market you must ensure that they comply with the substance restrictions for cadmium and mercury. You must not place on the market:

    • any battery that contains more than 0.0005 per cent (5 parts per million) of mercury by weight - button cells are permitted a mercury content of no more than 2 per cent by weight
    • any portable battery that contains more than 0.002 per cent of cadmium by weight - this does not apply to portable batteries intended for use in emergency and alarm systems including emergency lighting, medical equipment or cordless power tools

    Using the crossed out wheeled bin symbol on batteries

    If you place batteries on the market you must label them with a crossed out wheeled bin symbol, which tells users that they should be recycled rather than thrown in a bin and sent to landfill. If the batteries are too small to be labelled, you must print the symbol on the packaging. The regulations set out specific dimensions for the marking of batteries and packaging with the symbol. See an example of the crossed out wheeled bin symbol.

    Using appropriate chemical symbols on batteries

    If you place batteries on the market you must label them with the appropriate chemical symbol or symbols beneath the crossed out wheeled bin symbol.

    The chemical symbol is intended to show that one of the restricted materials is present in the battery, not the amount of that material. The regulations set out specific dimensions for the marking of batteries and packaging with the symbol.

    Removability of waste batteries from appliances

    If you place appliances on the market that contain batteries, or are designed to incorporate batteries, you must ensure that:

    • the appliance is designed so that a waste battery can be readily removed from it
    • instructions are included showing how the battery can be removed safely and, where appropriate, informing the end user of the type of battery incorporated

    This requirement does not apply where, for safety, performance, medical or data integrity reasons, continuity of power supply is necessary and a permanent connection is required between the appliance and the battery.

    Help
    DAERA Helpline
    Actions
    Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations guidance
    Producer responsibilities when placing batteries on the UK market
    NetRegs batteries legislation guidance
    Also on this site
    RoHS: Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
    Ecodesign and energy labelling in manufacturing
    Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/battery-labelling-and-substance-restrictions

    Links

  • Industrial and automotive battery producer responsibilities

    When you must take back waste industrial and automotive batteries, keep records and register as a producer.

    The majority of automotive batteries are traditional 12-Volt lead-acid batteries that have been used in cars, vans or trucks for many decades. They do not include batteries used in car key fobs or power propulsion for electric vehicles. A hybrid vehicle, for example, is likely to have two batteries - an automotive battery for ignition and an industrial battery for propulsion.

    If you are a producer of industrial and/or automotive batteries you must register on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) within 28 days of the first day that you place batteries on the market. The NPWD is an integrated system that maintains a register of all types of battery producer - portable, industrial and automotive.

    Industrial battery take back

    Producers of industrial batteries must offer and be ready to take back and collect waste industrial batteries from end users free of charge in the following instances:

    • when the producer is supplying new industrial batteries to the end user during the calendar year of purchase.
    • when the end user is not able to return waste industrial batteries to the original producer that supplied the batteries or outside the calendar year of purchase, eg when not purchasing new batteries from a producer.
    • If an end user is unable to dispose of waste industrial batteries by either of the options above

    You must publish details of how end users can contact you to arrange free take back and collection of their waste industrial batteries by 1 December of the year before you place batteries on the market. As a minimum for example, this information should be made available and easily accessible on your website.

    Automotive battery take back

    Producers of automotive batteries must offer to take back and collect waste automotive batteries from final holders free of charge. Final holders include garages, scrap yards, end-of-life vehicle authorised treatment facilities, civic amenity sites or anyone else that removes automotive batteries from vehicles as part of their daily business.

    If you intend to place automotive batteries on the market, you must publish details of how final holders can contact you to arrange free collection of their waste automotive batteries by 1 December in the year before you place batteries on the market. As a minimum for example, this information should be made available and easily accessible on your website.

    Sending waste batteries for recycling or export

    All collected waste industrial and automotive batteries must be sent to an approved battery treatment operator (ABTO) for recycling, or to an approved battery exporter (ABE) that can export the waste batteries for recycling. Collection and transport may be carried out by appropriately authorised third parties.

    Storing waste batteries

    If you store waste industrial or automotive batteries at your site, you may need a waste management licence or registered exemption.

    You can register an exemption from waste management licensing if you store less than five tonnes of automotive or industrial batteries in any six month period. If you store more than five tonnes, you must have a waste management licence. Find information on complex exemptions.

    Record keeping and reporting

    You must keep written records of the total amount of:

    • industrial and automotive batteries, in tonnes and by chemistry, that you have placed on the market for every year that you are registered as a producer
    • waste industrial and automotive batteries, in tonnes and by chemistry, that you have been requested to take back and collect, or arranged to have been collected, and sent for treatment and recycling

    For each year that you place industrial or automotive batteries on the UK market you must send an annual report to BIS, using the NPWD system. This must be sent by 31 March covering the preceding calendar year and include the information above.

    Help
    DAERA Helpline
    Actions
    National Packaging Waste Database
    Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations guidance
    NetRegs batteries legislation guidance
    Also on this site
    Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
    RoHS: Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
    Ecodesign and energy labelling in manufacturing
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/industrial-and-automotive-battery-producer-responsibilities

    Links

  • Portable battery producer responsibilities

    When and how your business must register as a producer of portable batteries, and what records you need to keep.

    If you place portable batteries on the United Kingdom market, either included with electrical equipment or separately, you must join a battery compliance scheme (BCS) or register directly with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

    Battery compliance schemes

    If you place more than one tonne of portable batteries per year on the UK market, you must join one of several approved BCSs by 15 October in the year preceding the compliance year. If you do not know by 15 October if you will be placing batteries on the market in the forthcoming compliance year, you must join a compliance scheme within 28 days of when you start placing batteries on the market. BCS act on behalf of producers of portable batteries to meet their collection and recycling obligations. You should consider the services each BCS offers and the associated costs.

    You must provide your BCS with the sales data it requires.

    A BCS takes responsibility for:

    • registering producers on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD)
    • reporting sales data
    • publicity and collection
    • making sure waste portable batteries are treated and recycled
    • reporting recycling data

    Small producers of portable batteries

    If you place one tonne or less of portable batteries per year on the UK market, you must register directly with the NIEA using the NPWD. The NPWD is an integrated system that maintains a register of all types of battery producer - portable, industrial and automotive.

    You must register using the NPWD within 28 days of the date when you first place portable batteries on the market. You must provide information about your business and the tonnage and chemistry type of batteries you place on the market.

    Find information on battery producer responsibilities.

    Find information on the NPWD on the Environment Agency website.

    Record keeping

    All producers must keep written records of the total amount of batteries in tonnes that they place on the market in the UK for the first time per year, every year.

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  • Portable battery distributor and retailer responsibilities

    When distributors and retailers must take back waste batteries, how to set up a collection point and disposal.

    If you supply 32 kilograms or more of portable batteries per year to end users, you must allow all end users to return waste portable batteries free of charge. If you have more than one retail outlet, you only have to take back batteries at those that supply more than the 32 kilogram threshold. The responsibilities apply even if you are using distance selling methods.

    One pack of four AA batteries per day is approximately 32 kilograms per year. To work out how much you supply, use a battery weight calculator.

    You must:

    • ensure there is a free collection point for all kinds of waste portable batteries, not only the types you supply
    • provide information to end users about your take-back arrangements

    Only batteries supplied separately from equipment count towards the 32 kilograms threshold. Distributors of equipment containing portable batteries - such as laptop computers or mobile phones - do not have to take back waste portable batteries unless they also supply portable batteries separately.

    You must not charge end users for returning waste portable batteries. They can drop off waste portable batteries without having to buy new batteries. You must not show customers the separate cost of collecting, treating and recycling batteries.

    Point-of-sale information

    You must provide information to customers about your take-back facility, including the location of your take-back facility and how it can be used.

    If you supply portable batteries online or by mail order, you could include the identifier on your website or on other relevant documentation. You will still need to provide the information about your take-back service, however.

    Store waste batteries securely

    You should collect waste batteries in secure containers.

    If you store waste portable batteries at a collection point, this activity is exempt from waste management licensing, although you will need to register an exemption.

    If you intend to transport the waste batteries you collect yourself, you must comply with controls on hazardous waste and dangerous goods.

    You must also ensure that the batteries collected are taken for recycling. Distributors with obligations to have a take-back system are entitled to request a free collection from battery compliance schemes (BCSs).

    BCS duties

    You should contact a BCS to arrange for the waste batteries that you have collected to be taken away. The BCS must respond within 21 days in order to make arrangements for collection. The collection must be free of charge to the distributor.

    Distributors below the 32 kilogram threshold

    If you supply less than 32 kilograms of portable batteries in a year, you have no waste portable battery take-back responsibilities. You can still choose to collect waste batteries, but you will not be entitled to free collection by a BCS. You may need to arrange for the transport and disposal of the waste portable batteries that you have collected yourself. You must therefore comply with controls on hazardous waste and dangerous goods.

    It is recommended that you contact a BCS or your waste contractor before you start collecting waste portable batteries to find out what recycling options they operate that you may be able to access.

    How the regulations are enforced

    The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is responsible for ensuring that portable battery distributors meet their obligations. Their inspectors have the right to visit you without giving notice to check that you are doing so.

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  • How end users can recycle waste batteries

    How you can recycle waste portable, industrial and automotive batteries once you have finished using them.

    There are several different ways that you can recycle your batteries at the end of their life, depending on the type.

    Recycling waste portable batteries

    If your business uses portable batteries, your supplier will operate a take-back scheme unless they supply less than 32 kilograms of batteries per year. You should check with your supplier to find out their arrangements for the collection of waste portable batteries and whether they are convenient for you. You could also contact your current waste contractor to discuss what options they offer.

    Waste management contractors and local authorities may also have collections available in your area.

    Mixed waste batteries and certain types of batteries are classed as waste. You must only transport your waste batteries to sites that have the appropriate waste management licence or exemption from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

    Recycling waste industrial batteries

    If you buy new industrial batteries, the battery producer must, if requested, take back and collect your waste industrial batteries free of charge within the calendar year of purchase. Contact the supplier of your industrial battery to find out what arrangements they have in place.

    If you are discarding your waste industrial batteries after the calendar year of purchase and not replacing them with new ones, you can approach the original supplier to request free take back and collection as long as they are still registered as a producer and placing that chemistry of industrial battery on the market (or have done so in the previous three years). Alternatively, you can approach other producers of industrial batteries for take back and collection free of charge as long as they are placing the same chemistry of battery on the market or have done so in the previous three years.

    As a last resort, if you are unable to dispose of waste industrial batteries by either of the options above, you can contact any producer of industrial batteries to request take back and collection free of charge.

    You can search for registered battery producers.

    Recycling waste automotive batteries

    You are likely to be a 'final holder' of waste automotive batteries if you run a:

    • garage
    • scrap yard
    • end-of-life vehicle authorised treatment facility
    • local council civic amenity site

    You can request free collection of waste automotive batteries from any producer who currently supplies new automotive batteries. For a list of registered producers you can call the NIEA Batteries Helpline on Tel 028 9056 9382.

    You may find that the value of lead in waste automotive batteries means that independent battery collectors may approach you to purchase and take away your waste batteries due to their value. However, you are likely to need a number of waste batteries to make it worth their while. You must make sure your waste automotive batteries are stored, handled, recycled or disposed of safely and legally by licensed individuals or businesses.

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  • Treating or recycling waste batteries

    The legal requirements and approvals needed for your business in order to treat or recycle waste batteries.

    If you treat or recycle waste batteries you must have a permit or licence. You may also need approval to be an approved battery treatment operator (ABTO).

    Batteries - applying for a permit or licence

    If you treat or recycle waste batteries you must have a waste management licence or registered exemption from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

    You must comply with the conditions in your licence or you can be fined or sent to prison.

    If you treat waste batteries and your licence was issued before 20 May 2009, you must comply with the following conditions:

    • remove all fluids and acids from the batteries
    • store waste batteries, and the materials that result from treatment, in secure, covered and impermeable areas

    These conditions have been added to your licence by law.

    If your licence was issued after 20 May 2009, you must comply with the conditions in your licence.

    Apply to be an approved battery treatment operator

    You must apply to NIEA to be an ABTO if you want to:

    • carry out the initial treatment or recycling of automotive or industrial batteries
    • issue batteries evidence notes for the treatment and recycling of waste portable batteries

    If you are an ABTO you must make sure that you:

    • use the best available technology to treat or recycle batteries
    • comply with all relevant health and safety, and waste management regulations
    • remove all fluids and acids from the batteries
    • store waste batteries, and the materials that result from treatment, in secure, covered and impermeable areas

    You must achieve minimum recycling levels of:

    • 65 per cent of the average weight of all lead acid batteries
    • 75 per cent of the average weight of all nickel cadmium batteries
    • 50 per cent of the average weight of other waste batteries

    Keep records of battery treatment

    You must keep records of the amount in tonnes of batteries you accept for treatment or recycling. You must provide NIEA with details of the quantity of batteries you have dealt with and the amount you received from each battery compliance scheme.

    You must provide batteries evidence notes to battery compliance scheme operators to confirm the number of tonnes of batteries you have accepted for treatment in a year. You must supply battery evidence notes before 30 April in the year following each compliance period.

    You must supply to NIEA an independently audited report by 31 May in the following year for each year that you operate.

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  • How to export waste batteries

    Requirements for exporting waste batteries for treatment and recycling and the approvals you'll need to get.

    If you export waste batteries you may need approval to be an approved battery exporter (ABE).

    Apply to be an approved battery exporter

    You must apply to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to be an ABE if you want to:

    • export waste industrial or automotive batteries for treatment or recycling
    • issue batteries evidence notes for exporting waste portable batteries for treatment and recycling

    If you are an ABE, you must ensure that the overseas business that accepts the batteries for treatment:

    • uses the best available technology to treat or recycle batteries
    • complies with all relevant health and safety, and waste management regulations
    • removes all fluids and acids from the batteries
    • stores waste batteries, and the materials that result from treatment, in secure, covered and impermeable areas

    You must ensure that the overseas business that treats or recycles the waste batteries achieves minimum recycling levels of:

    • 65 per cent of the average weight of all lead acid batteries
    • 75 per cent of the average weight of all nickel cadmium batteries
    • 50 per cent of the average weight of other waste batteries

    Keep records of your battery exports

    You must keep records of the total amount in tonnes of batteries that you have exported for treatment or recycling. You must provide NIEA with details of the quantity of batteries you have exported and the amount you received from each battery compliance scheme.

    If you plan to partially treat batteries before exporting them you must register as an approved battery treatment operator. You will have to keep records of the total amount of batteries in tonnes that you treat.

    You must provide battery evidence notes to the operators of battery compliance schemes to confirm the number of tonnes of batteries you have exported in a year. You must supply battery evidence notes before 30 April in the following year.

    You must supply NIEA with an independently audited report by 31 May in the following year for each year you export waste batteries.

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Reuse one-trip transit packaging

In this guide:

  • What is transport packaging?

    Types of transport packaging such as transit and delivery packaging and sustainable transport packaging options.

    Packaging is available in many forms. The type of transport packaging you need depends on the goods or materials you're transporting and the level of protection required.

    Categories of packaging

    The three main categories of packaging are:

    • primary packaging - also known as sales packaging, this protects and identifies the product
    • secondary packaging - groups or binds more than one item together
    • tertiary packaging - also known as transport packaging, this protects the product during storage and transportation

    Packaging goods and materials for transit usually involves a combination of the three types, for example cardboard retail packaging covered by plastic binding on a pallet.

    Types of transport packaging

    The three main types of transport packaging are:

    • containers
    • pallets
    • liquid storage tanks or drums

    Containers such as boxes and crates can be made from many types of material including cardboard, plastic and metal.

    Pallets are traditionally made from wood although plastic pallets are an option.

    Liquid storage containers can be made from metal or plastic.

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  • Top tips to reduce transit packaging

    Take a step-by-step approach to reducing the amount of transit packaging materials you produce and dispose of.

    Using a systematic approach is likely to be the most effective way of making your transit-packaging use more efficient.

    1. Win support and the initial review

    To ensure that your efforts are taken seriously, you need to convince senior management that your business would benefit from keeping packaging to a minimum.

    You may want to carry out an initial review to gather evidence. You could do this, for example, by walking round your site to identify areas of waste and opportunities for improvement. You could estimate the savings associated with a few of the more promising improvements.

    2. Appoint a co-ordinator

    It is useful to have one overall project co-ordinator or 'champion' to lead the work, such as your logistics manager or environmental manager. You should also get the right people involved. This could include:

    • procurement and purchasing staff
    • environmental and waste-management staff
    • manufacturing and logistics managers
    • marketing and product-development staff
    • key external organisations such as packaging and material suppliers
    • customers

    3. Gather information on packaging use and disposal

    Gathering information can help you to identify areas of significant waste and comply with legislation. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations require businesses to gather accurate data on the weight of packaging that they 'handle'. This means that you need to think about all the packaging associated with supply, including display, collation and transit packaging. You should also consider imported packaging for which you were the end-user.

    4. Analyse data and identify areas for improvement

    You should use key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you compare packaging use. KPIs for packaging management include:

    • packaging cost per item, eg pence/item or £/tonne
    • packaging waste per item, eg kilogram/item or kilogram/tonne

    As well as analysing the data, it is useful to convert each waste quantity into a financial value that takes account of both material and disposal costs. This can help you to make the case for improvements.

    5. Prioritise improvement options

    Once you have identified where there may be scope for improvement, you should consider the options and rank them in order of priority. Think about each improvement option in terms of its cost to the business, its likely benefit or savings and the level of difficulty in implementing it.

    Giving priority to the easier and low-cost measures will achieve quick results. This will help to motivate everyone concerned. However, longer term solutions may provide you with the highest overall cost savings.

    6. Produce an action plan

    Once you have considered the various options, you should prepare an action plan that describes what will be done, who will do it and when. Your plan should contain simple, measurable, achievable, realistic targets within appropriate timescales.

    7. Implement the action plan

    Implementation may involve all sorts of measures, from packaging redesign to introducing reusable systems.

    It is important to get everyone involved in implementing the plan, from the managing director down to those, for example, who collect and separate packaging materials.

    8. Review progress

    Once the action plan is in place, you should review progress against targets regularly - perhaps every six months initially, and then on an annual basis.

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  • How to reduce transport packaging

    Ways to reduce transport packaging by limiting the amount of packaging used and innovative ways to avoid its use.

    Reducing your use of transport packaging is cost-effective good for the environment. You can avoid the need for transport packaging altogether, eg by a change in working practices or introducing a new item of equipment.

    Ways to reduce transport packaging

    You can make reductions in transport packaging by:

    • Avoiding extra layers - poor practices result in goods being packaged in too many layers. For example, goods are sometimes wrapped in multiple layers, where at least one layer is redundant.
    • Improving cleanliness - better cleaning in the workplace and throughout the distribution chain reduces the risk of product and packaging contamination.
    • Improving product handling - eg through staff training and improved equipment. This reduces the risk of product damage and the need for packaging.
    • Just-in-time delivery - the product spends less time in the warehouse and is at less risk of contamination and physical damage.
    • Bulk delivery - materials delivered in bulk can avoid the need for packaging. Bulk delivery of liquids and powders can eliminate the need for drums and other containers.
    • Change the product itself - a minor redesign of a product, eg a slight change to a dimension or a material, may allow you to significantly reduce the packaging used to protect it.
    • Alternative on-site handling and distribution - eg you can pipe liquids and powders around the site, while you can move certain light objects around site pneumatically.
    • Alternatives to pallets - you can handle quite heavy loads using slip sheets and push-pull units or, where the load is particularly light, by hand.
    • Optimise one stage of packaging - eg redesigning a product's shelf-ready packaging to make it stronger could mean you can reduce the packaging needed to protect it during transport.
    • Rationalising your packaging - using standard types and sizes of packaging for a range of different products can help with economies of scale, flexibility and reduced warehousing needs. It also enables continuity through the supply chain and the ability to swap out broken or damaged packaging more easily.
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  • Recycle transport packaging

    How to recycle transport packaging successfully by carefully separating, storing and presenting waste transit packaging.

    Most clean transport packaging materials can be either sold or removed free of charge. Recycling businesses or waste-exchange can ensure your transport packaging is successfully recycled.

    How to recycle your transport packaging

    It is important to correctly prepare your transport packaging for recycling.

    • Separate wastes effectively at the source. This reduces contamination, eg from tape, labels, staples and chemicals. Use colour-coded boxes to allow easy separation of transport packaging materials. Make sure that these boxes are close to the waste-producing process and make staff aware of where they are.
    • Empty and/or clean packaging carefully. This will improve the percentage of the transport packaging being taken for reconditioning or recycling. This can make packaging ordinary waste rather than hazardous waste.
    • Avoid using mixed materials, eg metal or plastic closures on a cardboard box. This should make it easier to carry out recycling. Single material designs are desirable for recycling.
    • Clearly mark the packaging. Indicate what types of material are used in your transport packaging so that materials can be separated more easily from mixed waste streams. Plastics can be embossed with the appropriate symbol to eliminate the need for a separate label.
    • Consider whether you can compost the packaging, eg paper and board can be mixed with garden waste to produce quality compost. Your local council or waste management contractor may be able to take your transport packaging waste for composting.
    • Clean contaminated packaging materials. This can increase their value. Careful storage in covered and clearly labelled skips and bins can ensure that materials do not become mixed or contaminated by other materials, water or food (which can attract vermin). Wet paper loads may be rejected by recyclers because they are difficult to handle.
    • Bulk up loads. Recycling may not be economical for sites with low quantities of materials. However, you can increase tonnages by bringing material from several sites through back-haulage in vehicles used for delivery to a central point. Larger tonnages in one place are far more attractive to recyclers.
    • Check your packaging is being recycled. You should request information from your contractor which proves that your transport packaging waste is being recycled and not sent to landfill.

    You should make sure you handle materials for recycling properly. You may need authorisation to deal with transport packaging waste from other businesses.

    Transport packaging waste exchange

    Invest Northern Ireland's Resource Matching Service works directly with businesses to match wasted resources with resource needs. Your transport packaging could be a valuable raw material to another local business. Find out more about the Resource Matching Service and upcoming free resource matching workshops.

    Transport packaging and producer obligations

    If your business handles more than 50 tonnes of packaging in a calendar year and has a turnover of more than £2 million then the producer responsibility obligations applies to your business.

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  • Efficient use of one-trip transport packaging

    How to improve the efficiency of your one-trip packaging by using fewer materials and sustainable transit packing.

    You should use optimised one-trip packaging if you cannot reuse your transport packaging. Good packaging design and good working practices can optimise the amount of transport packaging you use and reduce waste.

    Efficient use of transport boxes and corrugated cases

    You can make transporting boxes and corrugated cases more efficient by:

    • using shrink-wrap instead of a box
    • optimising the design of the box to reduce unused space within it
    • use smaller boxes

    Efficient use of transport drums and intermediate bulk containers

    You can make transporting drums and intermediate bulk containers more efficient by:

    • using plastic drums, intermediate bulk containers or corrugated drums instead of metal
    • ensuring that the drums you use are as lightweight as possible

    Efficient use of transport collation packs

    You can make transporting collation packs more efficient by:

    • using shrink-wrap alone
    • using larger denominations or different formats to save packaging material

    Efficient use of transport packaging fill materials

    You can make transporting fill materials more efficient by:

    • altering the container's design to eliminate unused internal space
    • using paper and used corrugated board as a cheaper fill alternative

    Efficient use of transport box closures

    You can make transporting box closures more efficient by:

    • avoiding using staples which can reduce the possibility of reuse, and make it more difficult to recycle
    • avoiding the use of adhesive tape as a closure - you may be able to secure a corrugated box simply by interlocking the flaps
    • using plastic strapping or banding where a box has a separate or detachable lid and/or base

    Efficient use of transport plastic wrapping

    You can make transporting shrink-wrap, stretch-wrap and plastic bags more efficient by:

    • using a thinner material
    • using a different polymer to provide the same level of protection at lower cost and weight
    • using automatic or semi-automatic pallet wrappers to reduce the use of stretch-wrap

    Efficient use of transport pallets

    You can make transporting pallet loads more efficient by:

    • using palletisation software to help you to optimise the load
    • using shrink-wrap or strapping/banding rather that stretch-wrap for better stability
    • using specialist lightweight, one-trip wooden pallets
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  • What is sustainable transport packaging?

    Types of reusable transport packaging which can reduce waste and help to attract sustainability-conscious customers.

    Transport packaging which can be reused many times and over a long period can save your business money. Savings are possible through cost reductions when dealing with transport packaging waste and the resources needed to make new packaging.

    Types of sustainable transport packaging

    Some of the most popular types of sustainable transport packaging are:

    • pallets - traditional wooden pallets can be reused many times, while plastic pallets are also now available
    • drums and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) - smaller steel and plastic drums are available while IBCs usually have a capacity of 1,000 litres
    • crates, boxes and trays - many types, shape and size of crate, box and tray are available, traditionally made of wood but now available in plastic
    • separators, layer pads and collars - these keep layers of goods apart and provide extra stability while collars and frames, cornerpieces and edge-protectors protect the load from any banding
    • pallet boxes/systems - these consist of a robust fork-lift base and lid that lock to a deep and heavy-duty (double or triple-wall) corrugated board sleeve, which is generally collapsible
    • slip sheets and push-pull systems - these are plastic or corrugated sheets that can be placed under loads, as an alternative to a pallet, taking up very little space and are cheaper
    • metal cages and stillages - still widely used in the UK, eg to collect waste packaging around large retail stores, but now less widely used for external transport
    • specialist reusable systems for a specific product - more expensive than using 'off-the-peg' packaging, specialist systems can offer distribution and handling benefits, and can reduce costs in the longer term

    Reconditioned and leased transport packaging

    Many businesses use reconditioned transport packaging such as boxes, drums, pallets and crates to minimise their transit packaging costs. Over 60 per cent (by weight) of steel drums are reconditioned for reuse in the UK, while over 15 per cent of plastic drums are reused.

    Leasing is also common for drums, IBCs, pallets, crates, layer pads, collars, etc and can be organised through third-party organisations.

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  • Manage a reusable transit packaging system

    How to make sure that your system of reusing transit packaging is run smoothly and efficiently for your business.

    Systems that reuse transit packaging will only save you money if the containers are actually reused and the system is operated efficiently. This means keeping the number of units to a minimum and recovering the packaging quickly.

    Managing the scheme

    With large schemes, it may be cost-effective to have a dedicated manager with no other duties. You may also wish to consider asking a specialist third party to manage the scheme. This can sometimes be more cost-effective than doing it in-house.

    Number of units required

    It is important you work out the correct number of containers required, especially as at any given time some of them will be in transit, at customer or supplier premises or being prepared for reuse. The longer the delay, the greater the total number you will need to maintain the flow of goods.

    Transport and logistics

    Ideally, you should collect reusable packaging as you deliver and then backhaul it. This is straightforward if only one delivery is being made, but when several deliveries are made in one trip, the recovered packaging has to be carried onwards to the next delivery.

    Other potential issues to resolve when operating your own packaging reuse scheme include:

    • limited influence with your customers in ensuring the timely return of containers
    • complicated arrangements when it's necessary to collect a small number of containers or irregular consignments from several sites

    Scale of the scheme

    Small-scale schemes can work well when you have a limited number of suppliers and/or customers, and where they are concentrated regionally.

    Large-scale packaging reuse schemes are generally more efficient than smaller ones. These larger schemes offer two main advantages:

    • you can negotiate better prices for larger container orders and tend to have more influence over the prompt return of containers
    • having more site locations, journeys and containers involved makes it easier and cheaper to smooth out local variations and maintain packaging stocks at the level required to match demand

    Tracking and timely return of containers

    One of the key issues in any scheme is to track containers and make sure they are returned promptly by suppliers and customers. One option is to draw up a formal contract spelling out each party's responsibilities. If you feel that this approach could sour your relationship with your customer, opt for a more informal 'gentlemen's agreement' - but remember that such agreements are hard to enforce.

    It is also important to have some sort of tracking system that allows you to identify the number of containers at each possible location.

    Container cleaning and refurbishment

    Make sure that reusable packaging is separated, cleaned, checked for damage and refurbished as appropriate before each reuse.

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  • Advantages and disadvantages of sustainable transport packaging

    Sustainable transport packaging has benefits for the environment and your business but also consider the drawbacks.

    Sustainability is becoming more important for the public and in business. Transport packaging waste can be costly to your business and the environment.

    More sustainable forms of transport and delivery packaging, whether biodegradable materials or simply sturdy containers designed for ongoing use, can improve your environmental performance and image.

    However you need to carefully weigh the benefits and drawbacks of sustainable transport packaging.

    Advantages of sustainable transport packaging

    The main advantage of using sustainable transport packaging is reducing your impact on the environment.

    Transport packaging waste can be harmful, difficult to recycle and can end up in landfill. By ensuring your containers and pallets can be reused, your business will have less waste to dispose of.

    Potential cost savings of sustainable transport packaging include:

    • reduced raw material and waste disposal costs
    • reduced handling and storage
    • reduced costs of complying with the packaging waste regulations

    A more sustainable approach to packaging will reflect well on your business and may attract customers who value environmental responsibility.

    Environmental clauses are common in tendering so demonstrating a strong commitment to reusable transport packaging may help you to win contracts.

    You may be able to use a specialist third party reusable transport packaging provider to source containers and reduce upfront costs of design and manufacture. Providers may offer a packaging lease or management service which could reduce your ongoing costs.

    Disadvantages of sustainable transport packaging

    The main disadvantage of sustainable or reusable transport packaging systems is cost.

    One-off costs of a sustainable transport packaging system include:

    • the initial purchase of reusable containers
    • modifications to handling and transport facilities
    • additional costs of the tracking system, eg software packages, bar code labelling/reading equipment, electronic chips and detectors

    You may be able to reduce these initial costs by leasing transport containers rather than buying them, or by using a slightly less sturdy design.

    Ongoing costs will include the logistics of returning your reusable packaging and maintenance. It may be cost-effective to have a dedicated staff resource to operate your sustainable transport packaging system.

    Sustainable transport packaging can be less flexible if your products or transit needs change and your packaging design needs to be altered.

    Materials used in sustainable transport packaging may still be harmful to the environment, eg plastic or metal. You should ensure that you have a sustainable end-of-life plan for your sustainable transport packaging, eg recycling or reuse.

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  • Reuse one-trip transit packaging

    How your business can reuse one-trip transit and collation packaging a limited number of times to reduce costs.

    Although dedicated reusable systems generally offer the best solution, one-trip packaging can sometimes be made multi-purpose or reused several times.

    Corrugated and plastic transit cases are available that double as in-store display cases, with the lids and sides acting as the display framework with the products visible inside. A number of large retail chains now use such transit packaging, sometimes with a pallet-style base or wheeled base. It is also known as 'shelf-ready packaging'.

    You may be able to sell your waste corrugated cases to a cardboard box merchant for reuse rather than to a paper/board merchant for recycling. This will maximise your revenue. Similarly, you may be able to send used drums for reconditioning and sell wooden pallets to a pallet merchant.

    If you cannot reuse or sell it, you may be able to donate used packaging to other businesses or to schools or nurseries.

    Although it will not raise revenue, this approach will at least reduce the volume of your general waste and your disposal costs. You must, however, make sure you observe the waste duty of care.

    Making a little effort to separate packaging materials and keep them clean can increase the opportunities for reuse or recycling. Separating used packaging before it becomes mixed in the skip will help to reduce contamination.

    Consider setting up an on-site system for preparing drums, intermediate bulk containers and other liquid containers for reuse. Some businesses benefit significantly from the on-site drainage, washing, relabelling and reuse of drums and other containers.

    If the design of the packaging is inhibiting reuse, consider redesigning it. For example, you may be able to encourage the reuse of corrugated cases by eliminating staples. Review options for whether packaging designed for one trip can be reused for another purpose or by another organisation.

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  • Reduce transit packaging disposal costs

    How to cut down on transit packaging disposal costs for your business by making better use of skips and containers.

    Ideally, you should recondition or recycle waste packaging wherever possible. However, even if it has been reused, packaging will ultimately have to be disposed of. There are a number of measures that you can take to minimise your waste disposal costs:

    • Separate hazardous packaging waste properly. Mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste makes the whole load hazardous and increases costs dramatically.
    • Use the best skips. Ask your waste management contractor if you can rent covered front-end loader (FEL) or larger rear-end loader (REL) units rather than ordinary open skips. FELs and RELs can be emptied into a waste collection compactor vehicle, which is cheaper than having whole skips removed and replaced.
    • Use your waste containers effectively. Skips are often used inefficiently and emptied when only partially full. This increases your waste disposal costs as the number of collections and transport costs are a key element of pricing.
    • Use the largest containers you can. Assuming that there are no health or environmental risks associated with longer storage (eg odour and leakage), it is generally best to use the largest skips possible.
    • Consider buying or leasing volume reduction equipment. Shredders, balers, compactors, roll packers and drum crushers can reduce the volume of general and compressible waste to about 20 per cent of its original volume.
    • Get the best waste contractor deal. Waste removal costs can vary greatly between waste management businesses so you should shop around for the most appropriate deal.
    • Get good data from your contractor. Ask your contractor to provide waste disposal data by weight to help you monitor and minimise packaging waste.
    • Purchase and operate high-value equipment jointly with other businesses. This could be beneficial if you only have small volumes of waste.
    • Consider energy recovery. Options include a small energy-from-waste plant or a combined heat and power plant. Large businesses can bring together waste from all their sites to make this feasible, while smaller businesses could collaborate.

    If you don't transport your waste packaging materials yourself, you must use a licensed waste carrier.

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Recycled plastics as a resource

In this guide:

  • Recycled plastics as a resource

    How your business can use recycled plastics, what the benefits are, the quality standards and where to source it.

    As recycling targets rise, recycled plastics are becoming increasingly available.

    How to use recycled plastics in your business

    You can use recycled plastic in just as many ways as prime or virgin plastic, including in:

    • Packaging - recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) can be used in primary packaging by retailers and branded manufacturers for bottles and trays. However, it must be approved for use with food .
    • Construction products - eg damp proof membrane, drainage pipes, ducting and flooring, scaffolding boards and kerbstones.
    • Landscaping - walkways, jetties, pontoons, bridges, fences and signs can be made from recycled plastic due to its durability, low maintenance and resistance to vandalism and rot.
    • Textile fibre and clothing - polyester fleece clothing and polyester filling for duvets can be made from recycled PET bottles (eg soft drink and water bottles).
    • Street equipment - furniture, seating, bins, signs and planters can be made from plastic. These can be cheap to produce and are resistant to vandalism.
    • Bin liners and refuse sacks - plastic film can be made into new film products such as bin liners, carrier bags and refuse sacks.
    • Other uses - eg traffic management products, automotive products, stationery and industrial strapping.

    Advantages of using recycled plastics

    There are many benefits of using recycled plastics, both for your business and the environment. These include:

    • lowering the cost of materials
    • marketing and PR opportunities associated with reducing your environmental impact
    • making your business ready to comply with future legal measures, such as packaging taxation
    • reducing your dependency on commodity plastic pricing

    The environmental benefits of using recycled plastic include reducing the:

    • volume of waste going to landfill
    • amount of oil used for plastic production
    • amount of energy consumed
    • CO2 emissions associated with the product

    Standards and quality protocols for recycled plastics

    You should look for recycled plastics that have been produced to the requirements of recognised standards and quality protocols. These will help you to ensure you are buying good quality materials.

    The non-packaging plastics quality protocol gives guidance on how to recover waste and transform it into a valuable resource.

    Also on this site
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    How to reuse wasted resources in your business
    How to become a net zero business
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  • Recycled glass as a resource

    How your business can use recycled glass, what the benefits are, the quality standards and where to source it.

    Glass can be recycled repeatedly, so it offers good opportunities for use as a recycled material.

    How to use recycled glass in your business

    • container manufacturing - remelting glass to make new glass products (for clear, green or amber glass) is highly efficient with no loss of quality or physical properties - remelting the glass offers the best environmental benefits for recycling glass
    • insulation - recycled glass can be used in fibreglass insulation in buildings, and mixed colour container glass or flat glass cullet can be used - again there are significant environmental benefits
    • brick manufacturing - powdered glass can be used as a 'fluxing agent' in brick and tile manufacturing
    • water filtration - recycled glass filter methods can be used to filter drinking water, waste water and swimming pool water outperforming traditional sand filters
    • grit blasting - glass grit (recycled glass particles) can be used as a non-toxic alternative to traditional grit blast abrasives, which are used to prepare surfaces before they are painted or repaired
    • concrete and cement - recycled glass can be used as a natural sand replacement in cement and concrete-based products
    • sports turfs - processed sand (recycled glass) can be used in golf bunkers and top dressing for sports fields as an alternative to sand
    • unbound aggregate - crushed glass is suitable for use in applications requiring volumes of unbound aggregate, such as road construction

    Advantages of using recycled glass

    There are many benefits of using recycled glass, both for your business and the environment. Recycling glass can benefit your business by:

    • reducing the cost of materials
    • improving the reputation of your business and increasing brand loyalty - demonstrating to your customers, consumers and investors that you have a real commitment to corporate social responsibility and the environment

    Using recycled glass instead of newly produced glass does not reduce the performance, physical properties, storage stability or visual appeal of the product.

    Environmental benefits of using recycled glass include reducing:

    • the volume of waste sent to landfill
    • CO2 emissions
    • the energy and natural resources required to make new glass

    Standards and quality protocols for recycled glass

    If you intend to use recycled glass products in your business, it should conform to certain standards. These standards can also help you identify good quality recycled products.

    Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 101 provides guidance for businesses collecting and delivering recovered container glass or 'cullet'. PAS 101 contains a four-tier grading system.

    PAS 102 provides guidance for businesses producing processed glass as a granular media for manufacturing, sports and water filtration applications.

    WRAP and the Environment Agency have produced a quality protocol for flat glass to set out approved standards for recycled flat glass - download the quality protocol for flat glass (PDF, 204K).

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  • Recycled and secondary aggregates as a resource

    How your business can use recycled and secondary aggregates, the quality standards and where to source them.

    Recycled aggregates come from reprocessing materials that have previously been used in construction including recycled concrete from construction and demolition waste material. Secondary aggregates are by-products of other industrial processes that have not previously been used in construction.

    How to use recycled aggregates in your business

    You can use recycled and secondary aggregates (RSA) in many different applications including in:

    • bituminous (asphalt) road construction
    • ground improvements
    • earthworks - cuttings and embankments
    • utilities reinstatement
    • shallow and deep foundations
    • buildings - residential and industrial
    • geosystems - composite systems that work in the ground, such as for retaining walls and landfill applications

    Construction materials which use RSA include:

    • concrete - coarse and fine aggregates mixed with cement and water
    • bituminous - coarse aggregate mixed with fine aggregate filler
    • hydraulically bound - aggregates which set and harden when added to a binder material and water
    • unbound materials - materials ranging in size from fine grains to stony material

    Advantages of using recycled and secondary aggregates

    There are many benefits of using RSA, for your business, the environment and the local community. Business benefits of using RSA include:

    • cost savings over new (virgin) aggregates
    • reducing the costs of transporting aggregates if recovered materials are available locally
    • lowering your costs and shortening the timescales associated with some construction techniques, eg 'crack and seat' in road maintenance

    Using locally sourced RSA can also have environmental and social benefits, including:

    • conserving natural resources by reducing (or eliminating altogether) the demand for virgin materials
    • reducing energy consumption, transport emissions and disposal of waste to landfill
    • creating educational opportunities

    Quality protocols for recycled and secondary aggregates

    The quality protocol for the production of aggregates from inert waste sets out quality standards for when aggregates have been fully recovered, ceased to be a waste and become a product.

    Download the end of waste criteria for the production of aggregates from inert waste (PDF, 297K).

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  • Recycled paper as a resource

    How your business can use recycled paper, what the benefits are, the quality standards and where to source it.

    The market for recycled paper is increasing as businesses come to realise the benefits.

    How to use recycled paper in your business

    There are many potential applications for paper with high recycled content, including:

    • magazine publishing and printing industries - only a small fraction of the 1 million tonnes of paper used each year for magazine publishing contains recycled content
    • newsprint
    • tissue
    • corrugated flutings
    • packaging

    Advantages of using recycled paper

    Using recycled paper has several benefits both for your business and the environment because it:

    • reduces the need for raw virgin pulp
    • is equal in quality to paper from virgin forest sources
    • is readily available
    • demonstrates your business is committed to sustainable procurement
    • reduces the volume of biodegradable waste sent to landfill
    • reduces energy use and CO2 emissions
    • increases your business' environmental credentials and supports a corporate social responsibility agenda
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  • Recycled organics as a resource

    How your business can use recycled organic materials such as compost and biofertiliser, and the quality standards.

    Organic waste - eg 'green' and food waste - can be turned into products such as compost and biofertiliser by processes including composting and anaerobic digestion.

    How to use recycled organic material in your business

    You can use recycled organic material that has been composted in various applications, including:

    • mulch
    • soil conditioner
    • topsoil constituent
    • turf dressing

    Anaerobic digestion produces biogas, a source of renewable energy. You can use biogas:

    • to generate electricity
    • to generate heat to power on-site equipment
    • as excess electricity exported to the national grid
    • as an injection to the gas grid
    • as a vehicle fuel

    Another by-product of anaerobic digestion is biofertiliser. This is rich in the nutrients required for healthy plant growth and fertile soil.

    Advantages of using recycled organic materials

    Using recycled organic materials can benefit your business in a number of ways, including:

    • reducing your overall material costs
    • improving your reputation as a user of recycled materials
    • ensuring that you comply with existing and future legal requirements

    The use of compost can also:

    • help farmers meet soil management standards required for the Single Payment Scheme - see our guide on the Single Payment Scheme
    • provide valuable nutrients to soil by improving yield
    • increase soil organic matter and water holding capacity

    Standards and quality protocols for recycling organic material

    Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 100 on producing quality compost describes the recommended composting process including:

    • how compost is made
    • the materials which can be used
    • quality controls
    • how compost should be labelled

    PAS 110 performs the same function for fertilisers and other products produced by anaerobic digestion.

    The quality protocol for compost sets out the standards for using biodegradable wastes to produce quality compost, and when it is no longer classed as waste.

    The use of compost can also:

    • help farmers meet soil management standards required for the Single Payment Scheme - see our guide on the Single Payment Scheme (SPS)
    • provide valuable nutrients to soil by improving yield
    • increase soil organic matter and water holding capacity
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  • Recycled wood as a resource

    How your business can use recycled wood, what the benefits are, the quality standards and where to source it.

    Using recycled wood conserves natural resources by decreasing the demand for new (virgin) materials. Products can be made entirely from waste wood or contain a proportion of new (virgin) material such as wood chip or wood shavings.

    How to use recycled wood in your business

    You can use recycled wood to manufacture a range of quality products for different markets, including:

    • landscaping products - mulches, surfacing material for pathways and play surfaces
    • equestrian products - equestrian surfaces such as indoor and outdoor arenas, and paddocks
    • animal products - wood fibre bedding surfacing for horses, poultry and cattle, and cat litter
    • energy - fuel chips and pellets
    • sports surfaces
    • soil remediation
    • plant beds and walkways
    • wood panelboards

    Standards for recycling wood

    You should ensure recycled wood products have been assessed to identify contamination from substances such as arsenic and copper based preservatives. There are currently no quality protocols for the treatment of wood waste. You should therefore ensure you use a reputable supplier.

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  • Recycled plasterboard as a resource

    How your business can use recycled plasterboard, the benefits, the quality standards and where to source it.

    Plasterboard waste from construction offcuts can be recycled and the gypsum and paper recovered if it is free from contamination.

    How to use recycled plasterboard in your business

    You may be able to use recycled gypsum from waste plasterboard in a variety of applications which currently use gypsum from natural or synthetic sources including:

    • concrete construction products
    • lining for walls and ceilings
    • forming structures such as partitions
    • soil improver

    Advantages of using recycled plasterboard

    Using recycled gypsum from plasterboard is beneficial to your business and the environment because it:

    • reduces the volume of waste sent to landfill
    • reduces your costs
    • increases your business profile and commitment to corporate social responsibility

    UK plasterboard manufacturers and WRAP have signed up to the Ashdown Agreement to:

    • reduce plasterboard waste to landfill
    • increase plasterboard recycling

    The voluntary agreement is reviewed annually to evaluate progress against its targets.

    Standards and quality protocols for recycling plasterboard

    If you are sourcing recycled plasterboard to use in your business, it should conform to certain standards. This will help you choose good quality recycled gypsum.

    Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 109 sets out the specification for the production of recycled gypsum from waste plasterboard. PAS 109 covers the:

    • selection, receipt and handling of input materials
    • specifications of product grades
    • storage, labelling, dispatch and traceability of products
    • requirements for quality management systems to ensure it is fit for intended use

    The quality protocol for recycled gypsum sets out the standards that gypsum needs to meet for it not to be classed as waste.

    Where to source recycled plasterboard

    There are a number of businesses that recover gypsum from used plasterboard and manufacture new plasterboard from this recovered material.

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  • Recycled tyres as a resource

    How your business can use recycled tyres, what the benefits are, the quality standards and where to source them.

    Tyres under a certain size and shredded tyre material are banned from landfill, so there is likely to be a regular supply of materials from reprocessed tyres.

    How to use recycled tyres in your business

    You can use tyres or derived materials for a number of different applications including:

    • construction - eg roof tiling, acoustic barriers and waterproof membranes
    • landscaping - eg paving, walkways and porous piping
    • horticulture - eg mulches, composting and drainage infill
    • civil engineering - eg sea defences
    • retreading or reuse as part-worns
    • playground facilities
    • sports industry - artificial sports tracks and sports barriers
    • flooring - eg carpet underlay and matting
    • equestrian - eg surfacing
    • landfill engineering
    • fuel in cement kilns
    • footwear
    • coasters
    • transport - eg traffic management, automotive parts and rubberised asphalt

    Retread tyres are made from similar compounds and are legally required to be manufactured to the same strict performance criteria.

    Advantages of using recycled tyres

    Using recycled tyres is beneficial to your business and the environment because it can:

    • reduce costs
    • provide a sustainable, safe and durable alternative to new tyres
    • reduce the numbers of new tyres needed which minimises waste

    Standards and quality protocols for recycling tyres

    If you are sourcing materials from recycled tyres to use in your business, you should look for those that conform to certain standards. This will help you buy good quality materials.

    Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 107 sets out standards for producing size-reduced tyre rubber from end-of-life tyres.

    PAS 108 was developed in collaboration with the tyres reprocessing industry and provides a specification for producing compact tyre bales for use in construction.

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Can I sell waste resources from my business?

In this guide:

  • What is the circular economy?

    How a circular economy works to minimise use of finite resources and reduce waste and how your business can benefit.

    In our current economy we take materials from the earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste.

    The process is mostly one-way and it operates as though:

    • there is an infinite supply of resources
    • the earth has infinite capacity to deal with our waste 

    However this is not the case.

    How a circular economy works

    A circular economy is about reducing the amount of waste being produced in the first place. It is a model in which we:

    • rethink and reduce our use of finite resources
    • switch to renewing resources
    • minimise waste
    • maintain the value of products and materials for as long as possible

    By designing out waste from concept to production and use, by-products and end-of-use waste can be a resource, and a valuable secondary raw material.

    Becoming a circular economy requires all levels of society - government, businesses, innovators, investors, entrepreneurs and consumers - to play their part in the process and work together to minimise disruption.

    How to become a circular business

    A circular business maximises benefits from all its resources, while reducing negative environmental impacts from their use.

    Innovation is central to achieving greater outputs through more efficient use of resources. By doing things differently businesses can create value which is essential for driving productivity and competitiveness.

    Circular use of materials in your business may need new process improvements, data and analytics, emerging technology, skills and more agile thinking to increase productivity.

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  • Advantages of reusing waste

    The benefits of reusing waste in your business or enabling another organisation to reuse it as a resource.

    You may be able to reuse materials and equipment in your own business or another organisation may be able to reuse your unwanted and wasted resources.

    Reusing resources can reduce the costs of buying raw materials or having to pay for disposal. You may also be able to generate income from materials and goods that are valuable to another business.

    Reusing wasted resources within your business

    The goods and materials you can reuse will depend on your type of business. Office-based businesses, for example, can:

    • refill toner and ink-jet cartridges
    • use waste paper as notepaper
    • use durable cups, mugs, glasses and cutlery rather than disposable alternatives
    • reuse envelopes and other packaging
    • donate used equipment and furniture to charities
    • use greywater recycling systems for your toilets

    Manufacturing businesses, for example, may be able to reuse packaging and off-cuts, and capture waste heat generated by manufacturing processes for heating or reuse elsewhere in production.

    You should speak to your staff and ask them to 'think before they throw' as someone else may want to use their waste.

    Reuse by other organisations

    You can offer unwanted materials to other organisations which can use them without alteration, such as:

    • production by-products
    • second-hand products
    • end-of-line products
    • obsolete equipment

    Industrial symbiosis encourages resource matching between businesses - you can find out more about the advantages and disadvanges of trading waste and what resource matching is.

    You could try business-to-business online waste exchanges which trade a wide range of used industrial materials and equipment. You may also be able to sell goods and materials on online auction sites.

    Donating goods and materials can improve the image of your business and demonstrate your corporate social responsibility.

    Whichever way you choose to deal with your wasted resources, you are responsible for making sure you comply with your duty of care for business waste.

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  • What is resource matching?

    How matching resources between businesses can improve profitability in the local economy and benefit the environment.

    Resource matching is the transferring of unwanted materials from one business or organisation to be reused, recycled, reprocessed and repackaged by another.

    Agreeing to receive wasted resources can be on the basis of:

    • being paid for waste
    • paying nothing for its removal
    • paying less than the cost for its disposal

    Invest NI has a free Industrial Symbiosis Service that provides guidance and introductions on how to achieve resource matching specific to your business needs. The Industrial Symbiosis Service can introduce you to a broad range of solutions and partners including businesses, social enterprises, charities, and other third sector organisations.

    Examples of successful resource matching

    Wasted materials which can be successfully matched come from a variety of sources and processes. Here are some recent examples of different types of resource matching which have been successfully supported by Invest NI's Industrial Symbiosis Service:

    Redundant raw materials

    • Problem: unopened bags of sodium chloride that no longer met production guidelines now surplus to requirements.
    • Solution: another industry sector can use that material for boiler water treatment.
    • Benefits: avoided disposal costs as a chemical waste, accessed a cheaper source of new product for boiler water treatment processes.

    Improving operating costs and productivity

    • Problem: pulverising blades costing a manufacturer significant downtime and sharpening costs.
    • Solutions: introduced to a local company that applied their design and special purpose machine skills and production capacity to produce a machine to sharpen blades on site.
    • Benefits: reduced shipping and transportation costs, reduced production downtime, improved blade quality, improved product specification.

    Waste packaging

    • Problem: over 100 hessian sacks a week destined for landfill accumulating at a coffee roasting company.
    • Solutions: used for set and stage decoration at music festivals and multi-use venues; environmentally friendly alternative for floating paths in vulnerable peaty ground in mountainous areas, beekeeping functions.
    • Benefits: improved land management and conservation work, cost savings on new materials for set and stage decoration, avoided landfill disposal.

    Cross-sectoral resource matching

    • Problem: sole trader with niche production requirements needed to source sustainable and ethical materials to handcraft yoga bags.
    • Solution: PVC truck tarpaulins destined for landfill met the product specifications including colour, texture and durability.
    • Benefits: removed waste management costs, reuse of materials for new product development.

    If you have a wasted resource, or a niche material need that could be fulfilled by other businesses' waste, contact the Invest NI Resource Matching service.

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  • How to match resources with other businesses

    Find partner businesses to exchange wasted resources with and save money on waste disposal through resource matching.

    Finding reuse and recycling solutions helps businesses reduce waste management producers, while helping potential users reduce raw material costs.

    It also fosters the development of partnerships between businesses, and offers networking and collaborative opportunities to small firms.

    A business improvement technique called resource matching or industrial symbiosis provides businesses with the opportunity to match an excess of any resource such as waste, transport, storage, skills, capacity, energy, with other businesses that could use that resource.

    Invest Northern Ireland's Resource Matching service works directly with businesses of all sizes and from all sectors. Experienced industrial symbiosis practitioners provide advice, support and guidance to businesses on resource efficiency, legislation and waste management.

    Resource Matching Workshops are a key element of the service and facilitate businesses in resource efficiency and industrial symbiosis.

    The Resource Matching Service also partners with trade organisations and research organisations to bring innovative and specific solutions to businesses.

    Resource matching activities can include:

    • advisory visits to review business production from raw material input to final product and wasted resources generated
    • quick win workshops
    • cross-sectoral networking
    • identification of potential matches between business participants
    • follow-up visits with businesses to progress synergies
    • referrals to other Invest NI support

    Relevant businesses can receive details of available resources and activities through emails, phone calls, visits and referrals to Invest NI.

    The Resource Matching service can introduce you to a broad range of solutions including social enterprises, charities, and other third sector organisations.

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    Invest NI Resource Matching service
    Actions
    Invest NI Resource Matching service
    Also on this site
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-match-resources-other-businesses

    Links

  • Advantages and disadvantages of trading waste

    Some of the benefits and drawbacks of using your waste as a potential commodity for other businesses to trade and use.

    Before you get involved in a waste exchange programme you should be aware of certain key issues:

    • the type of waste you produce or the type of waste you can use
    • the waste exchange method and associated costs
    • legal and contractual responsibilities such as terms of payment, obligations, material specifications, legal compliance and duty of care

    Finding waste streams with exchange potential is becoming easier with the development of web-based exchanges. These enable you to identify potential exchange partners.

    To exchange waste legally and safely you must ensure that the business to which you sell your waste is licensed to receive it. You are responsible for the waste until the exchange partner receives it, and are therefore accountable throughout the handling and transport stages.

    Finding reliable exchange partners and waste carrier services is a vital part of the waste exchange process.

    It is important to have an official contract between yourself and the waste exchange partner, both for those supplying waste or those collecting waste from you.

    Help
    Invest NI Resource Matching service
    Actions
    Invest NI Resource Matching service
    Also on this site
    Dispose of your waste
    Introduction to waste management
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/advantages-and-disadvantages-trading-waste

    Links

  • Can I sell waste resources from my business?

    How to price your waste competitively to trade successfully with exchange partners and make money for your business.

    Some wasted resources can retain enough value to allow your business to put a price on them. There are a number of factors which can determine if it's worth your while.

    Pricing your wasted resources depends on its nature, quantity and quality, and the demand within the market. Setting a competitive price can help you can trade successfully with a number of partners.

    You need to account for the administrative and logistical activities involved in trading your waste. These may include:

    • filling in paperwork
    • collecting and delivering materials
    • transporting and storing materials
    • reprocessing materials if necessary

    In some cases, where the resource can be reused without additional processing, it may be more beneficial to donate the materials rather than set a price.

    It is important to keep up to date with the current value of the waste materials with which you are dealing. This will help you to offer competitive prices, and to understand the commercial value of the waste you are buying and/or selling - find the latest market value of waste materials to both collectors and buyers of recyclable materials (registration required).

    Help
    Invest NI Resource Matching service
    Actions
    Invest NI Resource Matching service
    The Environment Exchange
    Also on this site
    How to recycle your business waste
    Introduction to waste management
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/can-i-sell-waste-resources-my-business

    Links

Improve the social impact of your business

In this guide:

  • Advantages of sustainable business practices

    How taking a sustainable approach for your business can help to reduce costs and risks while improving your reputation.

    Taking a sustainable approach to business means that your business has no negative impact on the environment or society, while remaining financially sound. It encourages you to focus on long-term goals and strategy, and offers a wide range of benefits.

    A sustainable approach will help your business comply with regulations and avoid any non-compliance costs. It can also help you qualify for reductions in environmental taxes such as the climate change levy.

    There are significant savings to be made by using resources such as raw materials, energy and water more efficiently.

    You should aim to take responsibility for your business as a whole, not just what happens under your roof. This means looking at the behaviour of your suppliers and your customers. Your supply chain could be a source of major inefficiencies, especially if you source materials from overseas. Do you know how your supplies reached you and how they were manufactured? Equally, are your products simple to recycle?

    Improved reputation through sustainability

    A sustainable approach can improve the reputation of your business and the products and services you offer. Many individual consumers prefer to buy from responsible businesses, while business customers may choose sustainable suppliers as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    A good reputation can help you attract and retain employees, and improves your standing with the local community. By reducing the risks in your business and showing that it is well managed, a sustainable approach can also make it easier to attract investors and to work with regulators.

    How to manage your environmental impacts

    To help you manage, measure, monitor and report on your sustainability performance and to gain from the benefits, you could use an environmental management systems (EMS).

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Improve your environmental performance
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/advantages-sustainable-business-practices

    Links

  • How to make a commitment to being a sustainable business

    A credible strategy for sustainable development reflects your business values and can attract top-level support.

    To be effective, your sustainable development strategy requires top-level commitment, as well as support throughout your business.

    Understanding how the strategy benefits your business makes this easier. Management need to recognise that sustainable development shouldn't be a cost, or just a way of complying with legislation, but a method of improving your business, boosting profits and reducing your environmental and social impacts.

    A credible strategy should reflect the requirements of stakeholders in your business - such as employees, customers, investors, regulators and the local community.

    A genuine commitment also needs to tie in with the values of your business and your overall business mission. A strategy that does not do this is unlikely to achieve its desired outcomes. You should incorporate your commitment in your policies and business strategy.

    Once this commitment has been established, you need to ensure finance and other resources are available to make things happen. You also need to ensure that sustainability is taken into account in your decision-making processes at every level. For example, decisions made during the design of new products can have a major effect on your overall impact on the environment and society.

    You may find it useful to appoint one or more sustainability champions - this can help to maintain your commitment to sustainable development and continuous improvement.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    Lead and motivate your staff
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-make-commitment-being-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Involve stakeholders in your sustainable business

    How you can work with employees, customers and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable business.

    Taking into account the requirements of key stakeholders will help you develop a sustainability strategy that delivers the greatest business benefits.

    For example, individual consumers may prefer to purchase 'green' products from 'green' suppliers. Business customers may also prefer to source from more sustainable suppliers, as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    Other key stakeholders include suppliers, employees, investors and regulators. In each case, understanding and reflecting their concerns can help you develop a more effective business strategy.

    You should ensure that stakeholders understand your commitment to sustainable development, and what you are doing about it. For example, you might publicise your policy and specific objectives through developing and implementing sustainability plans.

    Environmental regulators and other organisations are also good sources of ideas and advice.

    Engaging employees in sustainability

    Your employees can be a very useful source of ideas. They often have a good understanding of the impact of different activities, and how customers and other stakeholders feel about your business as they are more likely to interact with them on a daily basis.

    Employees can also be an important part of executing your plans, and may in any case want to help make the business more sustainable. It's worth considering training and incentives to encourage employees to support your strategy.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Labour Relations Agency
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Inform and consult your employees
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ecodesign in product and service development
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/involve-stakeholders-your-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Assess your environmental and social impacts

    How to identify the full impact of your business, products and services as part of your sustainability strategy.

    A strategic approach to sustainability should look at the full impact your business has on the environment and society. This includes:

    • your use of raw materials, water and other resources
    • your energy use and its impact on climate change
    • the waste and pollution your business produces
    • the impact your business has on your employees and the local, wider and international community

    There are a number of techniques that you could use to assess your impacts - eg by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

    You should take into account the impact your business has throughout the full life cycle of your goods or services, and across the whole supply chain. For example:

    • Do you source sustainable materials from suppliers who are committed to sustainable development?
    • Do your suppliers treat their employees fairly and ethically?
    • How much energy is used producing and delivering materials to you - and delivering products to your customers?
    • How are your products used and disposed of? Can your products and packaging be easily recycled or reused?

    Think about life cycle opportunities offered by good ecodesign for goods and services.

    You should look forward to anticipate how changing legislation and stakeholder requirements will affect you. Your suppliers and advisers can also help you keep up to date by identifying new, more sustainable technologies you can use. You may find that there are business growth opportunities by considering sustainable innovation.

    Assessing the impact of your business in this way helps you identify the best opportunities to make improvements. For example, the best option for a manufacturer might be through making more energy-efficient products - see how to develop and implement sustainability plans.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Carry out an environmental review of your business
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/assess-your-environmental-and-social-impacts

    Links

  • How to develop and implement sustainability plans

    Ways to identify opportunities for your business to be more sustainable and how to use objectives to drive improvement.

    Once you've assessed the environmental and social impacts of your business, you should develop a sustainability action plan that describes the changes you will make and how you are going to implement them.

    Your plan should focus on the highest priority changes for your business which you can achieve with the least effort. Your priorities may depend on a number of factors such as the cost and availability of resources used by your business, the likelihood of future regulatory requirements and opportunities to grow your business through sustainable innovation.

    You should set long-term objectives and shorter-term targets and use your action plan to detail how you will work towards them.

    A management system can help you do this in a systematic way, building a process of continual improvement.

    You can also refer to a standard that has been produced to provide guidance on managing sustainable development in a business, the BS8900 standard on sustainable development.

    Monitoring and reporting sustainability performance

    Monitoring is a key element of the feedback loop you need to control your sustainability performance. Checking progress towards objectives lets you know whether your action plans are working. It also lets you know when you have achieved your targets and objectives and need to set new ones.

    You should carry out monitoring and auditing on a regular basis to take account of how your business has changed. Auditing is a key ingredient of an effective management system, ensuring that the system itself is working and helping you identify ways to improve it.

    You can help to ensure that sustainability remains a priority for your business by reporting regularly on progress. You can use your reports to keep employees and other stakeholders informed.

    Public reporting helps to maximise the benefits of sustainable development for your business. For example, investors and regulators can see that your business has a sound approach, helping to reduce risks. Employees can see that you are committed, helping to motivate them to play their part in making your business more sustainable - see how to produce environmental reports for your business.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ethical trading
    Basics of environmental management systems
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-develop-and-implement-sustainability-plans

    Links

  • Improve the social impact of your business

    How becoming a more sustainable business can improve your reputation as an employer, neighbour, supplier and customer.

    As part of your efforts to become more sustainable, you should look to improve the social impacts of your business. Locally, your business can have a significant social impact, both as an employer and as a neighbour.

    Employing local people can be a substantial benefit for the community as well as your business. A fair approach to recruiting and developing staff can help integrate your business into the community and improve your reputation. Purchasing from local suppliers can have similar benefits.

    Many businesses also get involved in community initiatives - for example, by supporting a local charity or giving staff time off to work on local initiatives. Adopting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy can deliver business benefits as well as helping the community.

    As a neighbour, the emissions and traffic your business generates need to be managed carefully to ensure that their impact on the local environment is acceptable. For example, a noisy bar or restaurant might face growing local opposition.

    To become more sustainable you should also consider the impact of the goods and services you offer. These may face growing customer resistance or regulation if they have an adverse social impact.

    You also need to consider the effects you have through your supply chain. The suppliers you use, and the deals you negotiate with them, have a knock-on effect on their communities both in the UK and overseas. For example, you might choose to import only from suppliers who can demonstrate that they treat their employees fairly.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Noise pollution, odour and other nuisances
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/improve-social-impact-your-business

    Links

How to develop and implement sustainability plans

In this guide:

  • Advantages of sustainable business practices

    How taking a sustainable approach for your business can help to reduce costs and risks while improving your reputation.

    Taking a sustainable approach to business means that your business has no negative impact on the environment or society, while remaining financially sound. It encourages you to focus on long-term goals and strategy, and offers a wide range of benefits.

    A sustainable approach will help your business comply with regulations and avoid any non-compliance costs. It can also help you qualify for reductions in environmental taxes such as the climate change levy.

    There are significant savings to be made by using resources such as raw materials, energy and water more efficiently.

    You should aim to take responsibility for your business as a whole, not just what happens under your roof. This means looking at the behaviour of your suppliers and your customers. Your supply chain could be a source of major inefficiencies, especially if you source materials from overseas. Do you know how your supplies reached you and how they were manufactured? Equally, are your products simple to recycle?

    Improved reputation through sustainability

    A sustainable approach can improve the reputation of your business and the products and services you offer. Many individual consumers prefer to buy from responsible businesses, while business customers may choose sustainable suppliers as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    A good reputation can help you attract and retain employees, and improves your standing with the local community. By reducing the risks in your business and showing that it is well managed, a sustainable approach can also make it easier to attract investors and to work with regulators.

    How to manage your environmental impacts

    To help you manage, measure, monitor and report on your sustainability performance and to gain from the benefits, you could use an environmental management systems (EMS).

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Improve your environmental performance
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/advantages-sustainable-business-practices

    Links

  • How to make a commitment to being a sustainable business

    A credible strategy for sustainable development reflects your business values and can attract top-level support.

    To be effective, your sustainable development strategy requires top-level commitment, as well as support throughout your business.

    Understanding how the strategy benefits your business makes this easier. Management need to recognise that sustainable development shouldn't be a cost, or just a way of complying with legislation, but a method of improving your business, boosting profits and reducing your environmental and social impacts.

    A credible strategy should reflect the requirements of stakeholders in your business - such as employees, customers, investors, regulators and the local community.

    A genuine commitment also needs to tie in with the values of your business and your overall business mission. A strategy that does not do this is unlikely to achieve its desired outcomes. You should incorporate your commitment in your policies and business strategy.

    Once this commitment has been established, you need to ensure finance and other resources are available to make things happen. You also need to ensure that sustainability is taken into account in your decision-making processes at every level. For example, decisions made during the design of new products can have a major effect on your overall impact on the environment and society.

    You may find it useful to appoint one or more sustainability champions - this can help to maintain your commitment to sustainable development and continuous improvement.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    Lead and motivate your staff
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-make-commitment-being-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Involve stakeholders in your sustainable business

    How you can work with employees, customers and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable business.

    Taking into account the requirements of key stakeholders will help you develop a sustainability strategy that delivers the greatest business benefits.

    For example, individual consumers may prefer to purchase 'green' products from 'green' suppliers. Business customers may also prefer to source from more sustainable suppliers, as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    Other key stakeholders include suppliers, employees, investors and regulators. In each case, understanding and reflecting their concerns can help you develop a more effective business strategy.

    You should ensure that stakeholders understand your commitment to sustainable development, and what you are doing about it. For example, you might publicise your policy and specific objectives through developing and implementing sustainability plans.

    Environmental regulators and other organisations are also good sources of ideas and advice.

    Engaging employees in sustainability

    Your employees can be a very useful source of ideas. They often have a good understanding of the impact of different activities, and how customers and other stakeholders feel about your business as they are more likely to interact with them on a daily basis.

    Employees can also be an important part of executing your plans, and may in any case want to help make the business more sustainable. It's worth considering training and incentives to encourage employees to support your strategy.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Labour Relations Agency
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Inform and consult your employees
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ecodesign in product and service development
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/involve-stakeholders-your-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Assess your environmental and social impacts

    How to identify the full impact of your business, products and services as part of your sustainability strategy.

    A strategic approach to sustainability should look at the full impact your business has on the environment and society. This includes:

    • your use of raw materials, water and other resources
    • your energy use and its impact on climate change
    • the waste and pollution your business produces
    • the impact your business has on your employees and the local, wider and international community

    There are a number of techniques that you could use to assess your impacts - eg by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

    You should take into account the impact your business has throughout the full life cycle of your goods or services, and across the whole supply chain. For example:

    • Do you source sustainable materials from suppliers who are committed to sustainable development?
    • Do your suppliers treat their employees fairly and ethically?
    • How much energy is used producing and delivering materials to you - and delivering products to your customers?
    • How are your products used and disposed of? Can your products and packaging be easily recycled or reused?

    Think about life cycle opportunities offered by good ecodesign for goods and services.

    You should look forward to anticipate how changing legislation and stakeholder requirements will affect you. Your suppliers and advisers can also help you keep up to date by identifying new, more sustainable technologies you can use. You may find that there are business growth opportunities by considering sustainable innovation.

    Assessing the impact of your business in this way helps you identify the best opportunities to make improvements. For example, the best option for a manufacturer might be through making more energy-efficient products - see how to develop and implement sustainability plans.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Carry out an environmental review of your business
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/assess-your-environmental-and-social-impacts

    Links

  • How to develop and implement sustainability plans

    Ways to identify opportunities for your business to be more sustainable and how to use objectives to drive improvement.

    Once you've assessed the environmental and social impacts of your business, you should develop a sustainability action plan that describes the changes you will make and how you are going to implement them.

    Your plan should focus on the highest priority changes for your business which you can achieve with the least effort. Your priorities may depend on a number of factors such as the cost and availability of resources used by your business, the likelihood of future regulatory requirements and opportunities to grow your business through sustainable innovation.

    You should set long-term objectives and shorter-term targets and use your action plan to detail how you will work towards them.

    A management system can help you do this in a systematic way, building a process of continual improvement.

    You can also refer to a standard that has been produced to provide guidance on managing sustainable development in a business, the BS8900 standard on sustainable development.

    Monitoring and reporting sustainability performance

    Monitoring is a key element of the feedback loop you need to control your sustainability performance. Checking progress towards objectives lets you know whether your action plans are working. It also lets you know when you have achieved your targets and objectives and need to set new ones.

    You should carry out monitoring and auditing on a regular basis to take account of how your business has changed. Auditing is a key ingredient of an effective management system, ensuring that the system itself is working and helping you identify ways to improve it.

    You can help to ensure that sustainability remains a priority for your business by reporting regularly on progress. You can use your reports to keep employees and other stakeholders informed.

    Public reporting helps to maximise the benefits of sustainable development for your business. For example, investors and regulators can see that your business has a sound approach, helping to reduce risks. Employees can see that you are committed, helping to motivate them to play their part in making your business more sustainable - see how to produce environmental reports for your business.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ethical trading
    Basics of environmental management systems
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-develop-and-implement-sustainability-plans

    Links

  • Improve the social impact of your business

    How becoming a more sustainable business can improve your reputation as an employer, neighbour, supplier and customer.

    As part of your efforts to become more sustainable, you should look to improve the social impacts of your business. Locally, your business can have a significant social impact, both as an employer and as a neighbour.

    Employing local people can be a substantial benefit for the community as well as your business. A fair approach to recruiting and developing staff can help integrate your business into the community and improve your reputation. Purchasing from local suppliers can have similar benefits.

    Many businesses also get involved in community initiatives - for example, by supporting a local charity or giving staff time off to work on local initiatives. Adopting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy can deliver business benefits as well as helping the community.

    As a neighbour, the emissions and traffic your business generates need to be managed carefully to ensure that their impact on the local environment is acceptable. For example, a noisy bar or restaurant might face growing local opposition.

    To become more sustainable you should also consider the impact of the goods and services you offer. These may face growing customer resistance or regulation if they have an adverse social impact.

    You also need to consider the effects you have through your supply chain. The suppliers you use, and the deals you negotiate with them, have a knock-on effect on their communities both in the UK and overseas. For example, you might choose to import only from suppliers who can demonstrate that they treat their employees fairly.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Noise pollution, odour and other nuisances
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/improve-social-impact-your-business

    Links

Assess your environmental and social impacts

In this guide:

  • Advantages of sustainable business practices

    How taking a sustainable approach for your business can help to reduce costs and risks while improving your reputation.

    Taking a sustainable approach to business means that your business has no negative impact on the environment or society, while remaining financially sound. It encourages you to focus on long-term goals and strategy, and offers a wide range of benefits.

    A sustainable approach will help your business comply with regulations and avoid any non-compliance costs. It can also help you qualify for reductions in environmental taxes such as the climate change levy.

    There are significant savings to be made by using resources such as raw materials, energy and water more efficiently.

    You should aim to take responsibility for your business as a whole, not just what happens under your roof. This means looking at the behaviour of your suppliers and your customers. Your supply chain could be a source of major inefficiencies, especially if you source materials from overseas. Do you know how your supplies reached you and how they were manufactured? Equally, are your products simple to recycle?

    Improved reputation through sustainability

    A sustainable approach can improve the reputation of your business and the products and services you offer. Many individual consumers prefer to buy from responsible businesses, while business customers may choose sustainable suppliers as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    A good reputation can help you attract and retain employees, and improves your standing with the local community. By reducing the risks in your business and showing that it is well managed, a sustainable approach can also make it easier to attract investors and to work with regulators.

    How to manage your environmental impacts

    To help you manage, measure, monitor and report on your sustainability performance and to gain from the benefits, you could use an environmental management systems (EMS).

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Improve your environmental performance
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/advantages-sustainable-business-practices

    Links

  • How to make a commitment to being a sustainable business

    A credible strategy for sustainable development reflects your business values and can attract top-level support.

    To be effective, your sustainable development strategy requires top-level commitment, as well as support throughout your business.

    Understanding how the strategy benefits your business makes this easier. Management need to recognise that sustainable development shouldn't be a cost, or just a way of complying with legislation, but a method of improving your business, boosting profits and reducing your environmental and social impacts.

    A credible strategy should reflect the requirements of stakeholders in your business - such as employees, customers, investors, regulators and the local community.

    A genuine commitment also needs to tie in with the values of your business and your overall business mission. A strategy that does not do this is unlikely to achieve its desired outcomes. You should incorporate your commitment in your policies and business strategy.

    Once this commitment has been established, you need to ensure finance and other resources are available to make things happen. You also need to ensure that sustainability is taken into account in your decision-making processes at every level. For example, decisions made during the design of new products can have a major effect on your overall impact on the environment and society.

    You may find it useful to appoint one or more sustainability champions - this can help to maintain your commitment to sustainable development and continuous improvement.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    Lead and motivate your staff
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-make-commitment-being-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Involve stakeholders in your sustainable business

    How you can work with employees, customers and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable business.

    Taking into account the requirements of key stakeholders will help you develop a sustainability strategy that delivers the greatest business benefits.

    For example, individual consumers may prefer to purchase 'green' products from 'green' suppliers. Business customers may also prefer to source from more sustainable suppliers, as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    Other key stakeholders include suppliers, employees, investors and regulators. In each case, understanding and reflecting their concerns can help you develop a more effective business strategy.

    You should ensure that stakeholders understand your commitment to sustainable development, and what you are doing about it. For example, you might publicise your policy and specific objectives through developing and implementing sustainability plans.

    Environmental regulators and other organisations are also good sources of ideas and advice.

    Engaging employees in sustainability

    Your employees can be a very useful source of ideas. They often have a good understanding of the impact of different activities, and how customers and other stakeholders feel about your business as they are more likely to interact with them on a daily basis.

    Employees can also be an important part of executing your plans, and may in any case want to help make the business more sustainable. It's worth considering training and incentives to encourage employees to support your strategy.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Labour Relations Agency
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Inform and consult your employees
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ecodesign in product and service development
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/involve-stakeholders-your-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Assess your environmental and social impacts

    How to identify the full impact of your business, products and services as part of your sustainability strategy.

    A strategic approach to sustainability should look at the full impact your business has on the environment and society. This includes:

    • your use of raw materials, water and other resources
    • your energy use and its impact on climate change
    • the waste and pollution your business produces
    • the impact your business has on your employees and the local, wider and international community

    There are a number of techniques that you could use to assess your impacts - eg by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

    You should take into account the impact your business has throughout the full life cycle of your goods or services, and across the whole supply chain. For example:

    • Do you source sustainable materials from suppliers who are committed to sustainable development?
    • Do your suppliers treat their employees fairly and ethically?
    • How much energy is used producing and delivering materials to you - and delivering products to your customers?
    • How are your products used and disposed of? Can your products and packaging be easily recycled or reused?

    Think about life cycle opportunities offered by good ecodesign for goods and services.

    You should look forward to anticipate how changing legislation and stakeholder requirements will affect you. Your suppliers and advisers can also help you keep up to date by identifying new, more sustainable technologies you can use. You may find that there are business growth opportunities by considering sustainable innovation.

    Assessing the impact of your business in this way helps you identify the best opportunities to make improvements. For example, the best option for a manufacturer might be through making more energy-efficient products - see how to develop and implement sustainability plans.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Carry out an environmental review of your business
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/assess-your-environmental-and-social-impacts

    Links

  • How to develop and implement sustainability plans

    Ways to identify opportunities for your business to be more sustainable and how to use objectives to drive improvement.

    Once you've assessed the environmental and social impacts of your business, you should develop a sustainability action plan that describes the changes you will make and how you are going to implement them.

    Your plan should focus on the highest priority changes for your business which you can achieve with the least effort. Your priorities may depend on a number of factors such as the cost and availability of resources used by your business, the likelihood of future regulatory requirements and opportunities to grow your business through sustainable innovation.

    You should set long-term objectives and shorter-term targets and use your action plan to detail how you will work towards them.

    A management system can help you do this in a systematic way, building a process of continual improvement.

    You can also refer to a standard that has been produced to provide guidance on managing sustainable development in a business, the BS8900 standard on sustainable development.

    Monitoring and reporting sustainability performance

    Monitoring is a key element of the feedback loop you need to control your sustainability performance. Checking progress towards objectives lets you know whether your action plans are working. It also lets you know when you have achieved your targets and objectives and need to set new ones.

    You should carry out monitoring and auditing on a regular basis to take account of how your business has changed. Auditing is a key ingredient of an effective management system, ensuring that the system itself is working and helping you identify ways to improve it.

    You can help to ensure that sustainability remains a priority for your business by reporting regularly on progress. You can use your reports to keep employees and other stakeholders informed.

    Public reporting helps to maximise the benefits of sustainable development for your business. For example, investors and regulators can see that your business has a sound approach, helping to reduce risks. Employees can see that you are committed, helping to motivate them to play their part in making your business more sustainable - see how to produce environmental reports for your business.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ethical trading
    Basics of environmental management systems
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-develop-and-implement-sustainability-plans

    Links

  • Improve the social impact of your business

    How becoming a more sustainable business can improve your reputation as an employer, neighbour, supplier and customer.

    As part of your efforts to become more sustainable, you should look to improve the social impacts of your business. Locally, your business can have a significant social impact, both as an employer and as a neighbour.

    Employing local people can be a substantial benefit for the community as well as your business. A fair approach to recruiting and developing staff can help integrate your business into the community and improve your reputation. Purchasing from local suppliers can have similar benefits.

    Many businesses also get involved in community initiatives - for example, by supporting a local charity or giving staff time off to work on local initiatives. Adopting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy can deliver business benefits as well as helping the community.

    As a neighbour, the emissions and traffic your business generates need to be managed carefully to ensure that their impact on the local environment is acceptable. For example, a noisy bar or restaurant might face growing local opposition.

    To become more sustainable you should also consider the impact of the goods and services you offer. These may face growing customer resistance or regulation if they have an adverse social impact.

    You also need to consider the effects you have through your supply chain. The suppliers you use, and the deals you negotiate with them, have a knock-on effect on their communities both in the UK and overseas. For example, you might choose to import only from suppliers who can demonstrate that they treat their employees fairly.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Noise pollution, odour and other nuisances
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/improve-social-impact-your-business

    Links

Involve stakeholders in your sustainable business

In this guide:

  • Advantages of sustainable business practices

    How taking a sustainable approach for your business can help to reduce costs and risks while improving your reputation.

    Taking a sustainable approach to business means that your business has no negative impact on the environment or society, while remaining financially sound. It encourages you to focus on long-term goals and strategy, and offers a wide range of benefits.

    A sustainable approach will help your business comply with regulations and avoid any non-compliance costs. It can also help you qualify for reductions in environmental taxes such as the climate change levy.

    There are significant savings to be made by using resources such as raw materials, energy and water more efficiently.

    You should aim to take responsibility for your business as a whole, not just what happens under your roof. This means looking at the behaviour of your suppliers and your customers. Your supply chain could be a source of major inefficiencies, especially if you source materials from overseas. Do you know how your supplies reached you and how they were manufactured? Equally, are your products simple to recycle?

    Improved reputation through sustainability

    A sustainable approach can improve the reputation of your business and the products and services you offer. Many individual consumers prefer to buy from responsible businesses, while business customers may choose sustainable suppliers as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    A good reputation can help you attract and retain employees, and improves your standing with the local community. By reducing the risks in your business and showing that it is well managed, a sustainable approach can also make it easier to attract investors and to work with regulators.

    How to manage your environmental impacts

    To help you manage, measure, monitor and report on your sustainability performance and to gain from the benefits, you could use an environmental management systems (EMS).

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Improve your environmental performance
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/advantages-sustainable-business-practices

    Links

  • How to make a commitment to being a sustainable business

    A credible strategy for sustainable development reflects your business values and can attract top-level support.

    To be effective, your sustainable development strategy requires top-level commitment, as well as support throughout your business.

    Understanding how the strategy benefits your business makes this easier. Management need to recognise that sustainable development shouldn't be a cost, or just a way of complying with legislation, but a method of improving your business, boosting profits and reducing your environmental and social impacts.

    A credible strategy should reflect the requirements of stakeholders in your business - such as employees, customers, investors, regulators and the local community.

    A genuine commitment also needs to tie in with the values of your business and your overall business mission. A strategy that does not do this is unlikely to achieve its desired outcomes. You should incorporate your commitment in your policies and business strategy.

    Once this commitment has been established, you need to ensure finance and other resources are available to make things happen. You also need to ensure that sustainability is taken into account in your decision-making processes at every level. For example, decisions made during the design of new products can have a major effect on your overall impact on the environment and society.

    You may find it useful to appoint one or more sustainability champions - this can help to maintain your commitment to sustainable development and continuous improvement.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    Lead and motivate your staff
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-make-commitment-being-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Involve stakeholders in your sustainable business

    How you can work with employees, customers and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable business.

    Taking into account the requirements of key stakeholders will help you develop a sustainability strategy that delivers the greatest business benefits.

    For example, individual consumers may prefer to purchase 'green' products from 'green' suppliers. Business customers may also prefer to source from more sustainable suppliers, as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    Other key stakeholders include suppliers, employees, investors and regulators. In each case, understanding and reflecting their concerns can help you develop a more effective business strategy.

    You should ensure that stakeholders understand your commitment to sustainable development, and what you are doing about it. For example, you might publicise your policy and specific objectives through developing and implementing sustainability plans.

    Environmental regulators and other organisations are also good sources of ideas and advice.

    Engaging employees in sustainability

    Your employees can be a very useful source of ideas. They often have a good understanding of the impact of different activities, and how customers and other stakeholders feel about your business as they are more likely to interact with them on a daily basis.

    Employees can also be an important part of executing your plans, and may in any case want to help make the business more sustainable. It's worth considering training and incentives to encourage employees to support your strategy.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Labour Relations Agency
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Inform and consult your employees
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ecodesign in product and service development
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/involve-stakeholders-your-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Assess your environmental and social impacts

    How to identify the full impact of your business, products and services as part of your sustainability strategy.

    A strategic approach to sustainability should look at the full impact your business has on the environment and society. This includes:

    • your use of raw materials, water and other resources
    • your energy use and its impact on climate change
    • the waste and pollution your business produces
    • the impact your business has on your employees and the local, wider and international community

    There are a number of techniques that you could use to assess your impacts - eg by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

    You should take into account the impact your business has throughout the full life cycle of your goods or services, and across the whole supply chain. For example:

    • Do you source sustainable materials from suppliers who are committed to sustainable development?
    • Do your suppliers treat their employees fairly and ethically?
    • How much energy is used producing and delivering materials to you - and delivering products to your customers?
    • How are your products used and disposed of? Can your products and packaging be easily recycled or reused?

    Think about life cycle opportunities offered by good ecodesign for goods and services.

    You should look forward to anticipate how changing legislation and stakeholder requirements will affect you. Your suppliers and advisers can also help you keep up to date by identifying new, more sustainable technologies you can use. You may find that there are business growth opportunities by considering sustainable innovation.

    Assessing the impact of your business in this way helps you identify the best opportunities to make improvements. For example, the best option for a manufacturer might be through making more energy-efficient products - see how to develop and implement sustainability plans.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Carry out an environmental review of your business
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/assess-your-environmental-and-social-impacts

    Links

  • How to develop and implement sustainability plans

    Ways to identify opportunities for your business to be more sustainable and how to use objectives to drive improvement.

    Once you've assessed the environmental and social impacts of your business, you should develop a sustainability action plan that describes the changes you will make and how you are going to implement them.

    Your plan should focus on the highest priority changes for your business which you can achieve with the least effort. Your priorities may depend on a number of factors such as the cost and availability of resources used by your business, the likelihood of future regulatory requirements and opportunities to grow your business through sustainable innovation.

    You should set long-term objectives and shorter-term targets and use your action plan to detail how you will work towards them.

    A management system can help you do this in a systematic way, building a process of continual improvement.

    You can also refer to a standard that has been produced to provide guidance on managing sustainable development in a business, the BS8900 standard on sustainable development.

    Monitoring and reporting sustainability performance

    Monitoring is a key element of the feedback loop you need to control your sustainability performance. Checking progress towards objectives lets you know whether your action plans are working. It also lets you know when you have achieved your targets and objectives and need to set new ones.

    You should carry out monitoring and auditing on a regular basis to take account of how your business has changed. Auditing is a key ingredient of an effective management system, ensuring that the system itself is working and helping you identify ways to improve it.

    You can help to ensure that sustainability remains a priority for your business by reporting regularly on progress. You can use your reports to keep employees and other stakeholders informed.

    Public reporting helps to maximise the benefits of sustainable development for your business. For example, investors and regulators can see that your business has a sound approach, helping to reduce risks. Employees can see that you are committed, helping to motivate them to play their part in making your business more sustainable - see how to produce environmental reports for your business.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ethical trading
    Basics of environmental management systems
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-develop-and-implement-sustainability-plans

    Links

  • Improve the social impact of your business

    How becoming a more sustainable business can improve your reputation as an employer, neighbour, supplier and customer.

    As part of your efforts to become more sustainable, you should look to improve the social impacts of your business. Locally, your business can have a significant social impact, both as an employer and as a neighbour.

    Employing local people can be a substantial benefit for the community as well as your business. A fair approach to recruiting and developing staff can help integrate your business into the community and improve your reputation. Purchasing from local suppliers can have similar benefits.

    Many businesses also get involved in community initiatives - for example, by supporting a local charity or giving staff time off to work on local initiatives. Adopting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy can deliver business benefits as well as helping the community.

    As a neighbour, the emissions and traffic your business generates need to be managed carefully to ensure that their impact on the local environment is acceptable. For example, a noisy bar or restaurant might face growing local opposition.

    To become more sustainable you should also consider the impact of the goods and services you offer. These may face growing customer resistance or regulation if they have an adverse social impact.

    You also need to consider the effects you have through your supply chain. The suppliers you use, and the deals you negotiate with them, have a knock-on effect on their communities both in the UK and overseas. For example, you might choose to import only from suppliers who can demonstrate that they treat their employees fairly.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Noise pollution, odour and other nuisances
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/improve-social-impact-your-business

    Links

Advantages of sustainable business practices

In this guide:

  • Advantages of sustainable business practices

    How taking a sustainable approach for your business can help to reduce costs and risks while improving your reputation.

    Taking a sustainable approach to business means that your business has no negative impact on the environment or society, while remaining financially sound. It encourages you to focus on long-term goals and strategy, and offers a wide range of benefits.

    A sustainable approach will help your business comply with regulations and avoid any non-compliance costs. It can also help you qualify for reductions in environmental taxes such as the climate change levy.

    There are significant savings to be made by using resources such as raw materials, energy and water more efficiently.

    You should aim to take responsibility for your business as a whole, not just what happens under your roof. This means looking at the behaviour of your suppliers and your customers. Your supply chain could be a source of major inefficiencies, especially if you source materials from overseas. Do you know how your supplies reached you and how they were manufactured? Equally, are your products simple to recycle?

    Improved reputation through sustainability

    A sustainable approach can improve the reputation of your business and the products and services you offer. Many individual consumers prefer to buy from responsible businesses, while business customers may choose sustainable suppliers as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    A good reputation can help you attract and retain employees, and improves your standing with the local community. By reducing the risks in your business and showing that it is well managed, a sustainable approach can also make it easier to attract investors and to work with regulators.

    How to manage your environmental impacts

    To help you manage, measure, monitor and report on your sustainability performance and to gain from the benefits, you could use an environmental management systems (EMS).

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Improve your environmental performance
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/advantages-sustainable-business-practices

    Links

  • How to make a commitment to being a sustainable business

    A credible strategy for sustainable development reflects your business values and can attract top-level support.

    To be effective, your sustainable development strategy requires top-level commitment, as well as support throughout your business.

    Understanding how the strategy benefits your business makes this easier. Management need to recognise that sustainable development shouldn't be a cost, or just a way of complying with legislation, but a method of improving your business, boosting profits and reducing your environmental and social impacts.

    A credible strategy should reflect the requirements of stakeholders in your business - such as employees, customers, investors, regulators and the local community.

    A genuine commitment also needs to tie in with the values of your business and your overall business mission. A strategy that does not do this is unlikely to achieve its desired outcomes. You should incorporate your commitment in your policies and business strategy.

    Once this commitment has been established, you need to ensure finance and other resources are available to make things happen. You also need to ensure that sustainability is taken into account in your decision-making processes at every level. For example, decisions made during the design of new products can have a major effect on your overall impact on the environment and society.

    You may find it useful to appoint one or more sustainability champions - this can help to maintain your commitment to sustainable development and continuous improvement.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    Lead and motivate your staff
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-make-commitment-being-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Involve stakeholders in your sustainable business

    How you can work with employees, customers and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable business.

    Taking into account the requirements of key stakeholders will help you develop a sustainability strategy that delivers the greatest business benefits.

    For example, individual consumers may prefer to purchase 'green' products from 'green' suppliers. Business customers may also prefer to source from more sustainable suppliers, as part of their own commitment to sustainable development.

    Other key stakeholders include suppliers, employees, investors and regulators. In each case, understanding and reflecting their concerns can help you develop a more effective business strategy.

    You should ensure that stakeholders understand your commitment to sustainable development, and what you are doing about it. For example, you might publicise your policy and specific objectives through developing and implementing sustainability plans.

    Environmental regulators and other organisations are also good sources of ideas and advice.

    Engaging employees in sustainability

    Your employees can be a very useful source of ideas. They often have a good understanding of the impact of different activities, and how customers and other stakeholders feel about your business as they are more likely to interact with them on a daily basis.

    Employees can also be an important part of executing your plans, and may in any case want to help make the business more sustainable. It's worth considering training and incentives to encourage employees to support your strategy.

    Actions
    Invest NI support for reducing waste and saving energy
    Labour Relations Agency
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Inform and consult your employees
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ecodesign in product and service development
    Making the case for environmental improvements
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/involve-stakeholders-your-sustainable-business

    Links

  • Assess your environmental and social impacts

    How to identify the full impact of your business, products and services as part of your sustainability strategy.

    A strategic approach to sustainability should look at the full impact your business has on the environment and society. This includes:

    • your use of raw materials, water and other resources
    • your energy use and its impact on climate change
    • the waste and pollution your business produces
    • the impact your business has on your employees and the local, wider and international community

    There are a number of techniques that you could use to assess your impacts - eg by carrying out an environmental review of your business.

    You should take into account the impact your business has throughout the full life cycle of your goods or services, and across the whole supply chain. For example:

    • Do you source sustainable materials from suppliers who are committed to sustainable development?
    • Do your suppliers treat their employees fairly and ethically?
    • How much energy is used producing and delivering materials to you - and delivering products to your customers?
    • How are your products used and disposed of? Can your products and packaging be easily recycled or reused?

    Think about life cycle opportunities offered by good ecodesign for goods and services.

    You should look forward to anticipate how changing legislation and stakeholder requirements will affect you. Your suppliers and advisers can also help you keep up to date by identifying new, more sustainable technologies you can use. You may find that there are business growth opportunities by considering sustainable innovation.

    Assessing the impact of your business in this way helps you identify the best opportunities to make improvements. For example, the best option for a manufacturer might be through making more energy-efficient products - see how to develop and implement sustainability plans.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Carry out an environmental review of your business
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/assess-your-environmental-and-social-impacts

    Links

  • How to develop and implement sustainability plans

    Ways to identify opportunities for your business to be more sustainable and how to use objectives to drive improvement.

    Once you've assessed the environmental and social impacts of your business, you should develop a sustainability action plan that describes the changes you will make and how you are going to implement them.

    Your plan should focus on the highest priority changes for your business which you can achieve with the least effort. Your priorities may depend on a number of factors such as the cost and availability of resources used by your business, the likelihood of future regulatory requirements and opportunities to grow your business through sustainable innovation.

    You should set long-term objectives and shorter-term targets and use your action plan to detail how you will work towards them.

    A management system can help you do this in a systematic way, building a process of continual improvement.

    You can also refer to a standard that has been produced to provide guidance on managing sustainable development in a business, the BS8900 standard on sustainable development.

    Monitoring and reporting sustainability performance

    Monitoring is a key element of the feedback loop you need to control your sustainability performance. Checking progress towards objectives lets you know whether your action plans are working. It also lets you know when you have achieved your targets and objectives and need to set new ones.

    You should carry out monitoring and auditing on a regular basis to take account of how your business has changed. Auditing is a key ingredient of an effective management system, ensuring that the system itself is working and helping you identify ways to improve it.

    You can help to ensure that sustainability remains a priority for your business by reporting regularly on progress. You can use your reports to keep employees and other stakeholders informed.

    Public reporting helps to maximise the benefits of sustainable development for your business. For example, investors and regulators can see that your business has a sound approach, helping to reduce risks. Employees can see that you are committed, helping to motivate them to play their part in making your business more sustainable - see how to produce environmental reports for your business.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    How to produce an environmental report
    Ethical trading
    Basics of environmental management systems
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/how-develop-and-implement-sustainability-plans

    Links

  • Improve the social impact of your business

    How becoming a more sustainable business can improve your reputation as an employer, neighbour, supplier and customer.

    As part of your efforts to become more sustainable, you should look to improve the social impacts of your business. Locally, your business can have a significant social impact, both as an employer and as a neighbour.

    Employing local people can be a substantial benefit for the community as well as your business. A fair approach to recruiting and developing staff can help integrate your business into the community and improve your reputation. Purchasing from local suppliers can have similar benefits.

    Many businesses also get involved in community initiatives - for example, by supporting a local charity or giving staff time off to work on local initiatives. Adopting a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy can deliver business benefits as well as helping the community.

    As a neighbour, the emissions and traffic your business generates need to be managed carefully to ensure that their impact on the local environment is acceptable. For example, a noisy bar or restaurant might face growing local opposition.

    To become more sustainable you should also consider the impact of the goods and services you offer. These may face growing customer resistance or regulation if they have an adverse social impact.

    You also need to consider the effects you have through your supply chain. The suppliers you use, and the deals you negotiate with them, have a knock-on effect on their communities both in the UK and overseas. For example, you might choose to import only from suppliers who can demonstrate that they treat their employees fairly.

    Actions
    Invest NI support to reduce waste and save energy
    Business in the Community NI
    Also on this site
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
    Noise pollution, odour and other nuisances
    Ethical trading
    How to become a net zero business
    Content category
    Efficiency and environment

    Source URL

    /content/improve-social-impact-your-business

    Links

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