The corporate world can contribute a lot to the reduction of waste. Although it is difficult to put a number on the amount of waste that corporations produce, it is still very important that they do their part. Waste reduction can start with recycling products like paper and plastic containers. If you run a company, here’s what you can do to reduce waste:

  • Get your waste recycled: Recycling must be included as a regular part of the business operations if there is ever going to be any real reduction in the total amount of waste produced by corporate companies. It begins with simple decisions such as choosing office furniture made from recycled wood or metal. This not only saves trees but also reduces pollution and energy expended for production purposes.

 

  • Use Reusable dishes: Another simple way to reduce waste in corporate offices and workplaces is to provide reusable dishes, glasses and flatware instead of disposable items whenever possible. As long as people are using them once then throwing them away to never be used again, there is no real environmental and energy savings.

 

  • Go paperless: More and more businesses are going paperless or at least they are providing incentives to their employees who reduce the amount of paper used in regular daily office operations. Paperless strategies can range from simply using electronic signature pads for contracts and letters rather than printing them out. And you can easily implement it at your workplace.

 

  • Use energy efficient light bulbs: Switching from traditional fluorescent lights to the latest technology LED lighting not only reduces waste but it also offers a chance for significant savings in terms of energy consumption. With a lifespan that is much longer than traditional lighting, fewer bulbs will need to be recycled or thrown away.

 

  • Prevent food wastage: Corporations can also take part in reducing overall waste by finding ways to prevent food being wasted. It is estimated that around 25% of food in the United States goes to waste. This amounts to about 143 billion pounds of wasted food each year. By finding ways to better use leftovers or encouraging employees to take home any food they don’t eat, it will make a difference for everyone involved.

 

  • Get rid of bottled water: Finally, one of the best ways to reduce overall waste is to simply stop buying and providing bottled water whenever possible. Many communities now offer free or low-cost filtered tap water instead. This not only reduces the money spent on items like disposable bottles and packaging but it also helps save energy by reducing transportation costs and pollution from using vehicles for distribution purposes.

 

  • Create awareness among employees: All of these suggestions can be made a part of regular company operations only if the ideas are properly communicated to key stakeholders. Employees must understand why they are being asked to contribute their small efforts towards waste reduction so that they remain enthusiastic about finding new ways to reduce trash and other unnecessary items taking up space in the office or workplace.

 

  • Run take-back programs: You can run a take-back program in which you collect outdated equipment like computers, printers, scanners and cameras. The company will pay for the removal of these items when they are recycled responsibly. From this perspective, it makes sense to run periodic audits in order to make sure that old equipment is removed in a responsible manner in order to reduce overall waste in corporate companies.

These and other similar initiatives by corporate companies will help them achieve a smaller impact on the environment. For this reason they should work to reduce waste in their operations as much as possible.