Rethinking Waste, a new series.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, RETHINK.

When I come into a company to consult on sustainability one of the biggest opportunities for serving the triple bottom line is to look at the waste.

Waste can be physical as in traditional garbage.  Waste can be systematic as in workflow, design, and layout. Waste can be resources such as energy and water.  Waste can be material as in supply chain deficiencies or abundance.  Waste can be scrap byproducts or cast off material. Waste can be in methodologies like equipment maintenance and replacement.

All waste can be opportunity.  Each of the wastes described above can be harnessed to serve the triple bottom line.   If you reduce the amount of material that you have to pay to be hauled away from your operations you save money.  If you rethink a traditional cast off into a new product you reduce your material cost and create a new revenue stream.  Reducing the environment impact of your waste stream by reducing or eliminating or cleaning your water, emissions, etc. you serves the environmental bottom and social bottom line and reduce your risks thereby reducing your financial bottom line.

This series of posts will be looking at how companies are rethinking waste to find the opportunities in being sustainable.

Copyright © 2009 Matthew Rochte, Opportunity Sustainability share with attribution