Case Studies
- Videos
- Energy Efficiency
- Renewables
- Water Efficiency
- Waste Minimisation
- Staff Engagement
- Green Marketing
- Green Procurement
- East Sussex
- West Sussex
- Utilise Plus
- Contact
“Thank you very much for your support throughout this project, the lighting has made a great difference and we will also be saving money on our bills, so its win, win!”
Linda Baker, Westways Vending, Hailsham
RAPP
Led by Office Manager Helen Rimmer, following her attendance at a UTILISE Workshop, global marketing and branding agency RAPP have engaged employees, increased recycling rates and reduced waste to landfill at their East Grinstead office.
Removing paper hand towels from bathrooms saved £4,800 per year (even after accounting for £90 increased electricity spend for hand dryer usage), as well as reduced waste to landfill by 1.5 tonnes. £450 per year was saved by removing disposable plastic cups from water coolers in staff areas and switching to refillable water bottles for meetings.
After a successful trial in Helen’s own team, individual general waste bins were removed from each desk and replaced with one central bin per department, next to the mixed recycling and confidential waste containers. Helen admits, “There was some initial resistance, one employee took his bin home so I couldn’t get my hands on it, but once the reasons behind the measure were explained, including cost, landfill and time savings, employees soon came round.”
Helen says getting employees on board is the key to success, “We prefer carrot over stick. Staff soon got into the habit of recycling when they found a sweet on their desk in the morning as a reward for good practice.”
Annual Savings:
Paper hand towels = £4,806
Bottles and cups = £451
General waste reduction = £3,146
Through their initiatives RAPP have increased their recycling rate and reduced the size of their general waste collections, saving them over £3,100 per year. A total of 62 tonnes of waste is recycled annually, preventing 65 tonnes of CO2e emissions from landfill.
Helen is still keen to tackle the actual quantity of waste produced however, realising greater savings can be achieved through elimination and reduction before recycling. By focusing on reducing printing during their employee environmental week, RAPP saved £174 on paper costs and per-click print charges. They are now working on replicating this success throughout the year. The money saved is being donated to the Woodland Trust to plant trees.
Save money at your business by reducing energy, water and waste. Contact the Sustainable Business Partnership today.