Resource efficiency

Make the most of your resources
A typical company throws away around 4% of turnover in waste related costs.

Minimising waste can go a long way to saving companies money and mk:50 environmental aims to put this into practice in Milton Keynes and the surrounding area. It is not just about reducing waste. Many savings can be gained from using our resources more efficiently. The mk:50 club aims to help improve the efficiency of local businesses through mk:50 environmental.

Get more for your resources
The hidden costs of waste
Resource Efficiency Clubs
Helping businesses to reduce costs
Promotion of environmental improvements

Get more for your resources
Resource efficiency is about making the most of available resources. It should lead to producing more products or services using less materials and resources. No organisation sets out to waste its resources but many do so unwittingly. There are many no-cost or low-cost ways in which an organisation can get more for its resources.

The hidden costs of waste
Waste can appear in many forms and it not always obvious at first glance. Waste does not just refer to the items that turn up in a company’s waste skip. In reality, waste can also take less visible forms. For example, a batch of poorly formed products may end up in the skip as a visible sign of waste but there will be hidden waste associated with it:

effort from downtime whilst the cause is identified;
labour;
raw materials; and
energy.

On average, hidden costs have been estimated by Envirowise to be more than ten times greater than the direct costs of waste disposal.

Resource Efficiency Clubs
A Resource Efficiency Club is a very effective way of helping companies tackle waste minimisation. The club comprises of a number of companies that are taking action together to reduce their waste and save money. Waste minimisation not only reduces the amount of waste generated but also reduces consumption of raw materials, energy and water making it important for sustainable development.

Helping businesses to reduce costs
By 2000, reported cost savings from UK resource efficiency clubs were over £46 million per year, averaging £40,000 per company. Waste minimisation helps companies to improve their competitiveness by reducing direct charges for waste disposal and effluent treatment, improving process efficiency and reducing utility and raw material bills.

Promotion of environmental improvements
Figures from Envirowise estimate that an average company can save as much as 1% of its annual turnover by being part of a waste minimisation process. And waste minimisation benefits the environment by reducing emissions to land, air and water. Involvement in mk:50 environmental will help local authorities and environmental regulators to work with industry to develop approaches that accommodate environmental requirements without imposing disproportionate costs on industry or society as a whole.