On 16th September Kyocera attended an Envirowise seminar entitled Reduce costs, maximise profit. We feel that Ecosys print technology and our company philosophy aligns well with this concept and were interested to see the latest hints and tips that the ever-helpful Envirowise had to offer.
The event was introduced by hosts Business link Berkshire whose CEO Ronnie Epstein opened with a summary of the current business climate and a reminder to all that business flexibility is paramount in times of recession. He noted that commercial and sustainability goals are becoming more and more synergistic as organisations are required to prove their green credentials in order to compete for valuable supplier contracts.
Mr Epstein concluded his introduction by noting that drivers for enhanced corporate sustainability come in the form of both “carrots” such as cost reduction, environmental grants and loans, and the “sticks” of taxes, legislation, and stakeholder pressure. He then introduced Simon Drury of Envirowise.
Simon caught our attention with the sobering fact that with business waste costing companies up to 4% of annual revenue, businesses are working for two whole weeks a year just to cover the cost of their waste. He used this statistic to highlight the fact that there are many low, or no cost ways of reducing environmental impact while also making a significant operational cost saving.
Simon went on to offer practical tips for assessing a company’s environmental performance, such as establishing utility meter readings, working out paper consumption and identifying waste costs. His overall message was “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Simon also highlighted the importance of changing an organisation’s culture to support environmental goals, and of integrating potential environmental cost savings into future business strategy. Both of these recommendations rely on engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the activity is successful in financial and environmental terms, and that the maximum benefit through positive PR and employee morale is achieved.
In order to demonstrate the commercial success that adopting environmental measures can deliver, we next heard from Andrew Robinson, the Managing Director of Rigby Taylor. Rigby Taylor is the UK’s largest supplier of grass and supporting products for sports grounds. Clients range from Premiership football clubs to local authorities located throughout the country. Rigby Taylor operates a transport and distribution network for its products and has warehouses in three locations.
Rigby Taylor was first introduced to Envirowise six years ago by major client Manchester United football club. The Club was keen to encourage its suppliers to become more environmentally responsible and held an Envirowise event at the ground, which Andrew Robinson attended.
After the event Andrew followed up with Envirowise who helped him identify areas where both environmental and cost savings could be made. These included:
- Delivering supplies direct from the manufacturer to the customer rather than warehousing them in the interim.
- Using smart management to maximise the number of deliveries per truckload, saving 66,000 miles and £205,000 per year.
- Developing a new concentrated product to line football pitches. One 10l container can now line three football pitches and one pallet of the new liquid replaces sixteen pallets of the previous product. This means there is less storage required, less transportation cost and because the new product is a liquid rather than a powder that needs to be mixed, large quantities of water are saved and the pitch lining process is far quicker.
- Developing a new fungicide that is more concentrated, with one litre of the new product replacing 30 litres of the old. The new product also puts less active ingredient into the environment. Rigby Taylor has also identified a recycling partner that makes park benches out of the used fungicide containers.
Rigby Taylor’s environmental activities have contributed to its continued business success, even in a difficult climate. 2008 was the company’s most profitable year, an achievement which Andrew Robinson lays squarely at the door of their environmental efforts. With advice from Envirowise, and the ability to engage suppliers to develop more efficient and responsible products, Rigby Taylor is reaping major business advantages.
To find out more about Rigby Taylor’s success, watch this video
The Rigby Taylor case study was followed by a series of workshops looking at resource management, which attendees found useful.
As ever, the Envirowise event was well-targeted and informative. To find out more about Envirowise events in your area, please visit www.envirowise.gov.uk
