To be a sustainable business, it is essential to consider your digital responsibility in regards to your suppliers, technology and storing of documentation. UK businesses create 7 million tonnes of waste paper per year. This is approximately 80% of the UK’s paper use, proving businesses’ paper consumption is still significant.
Over the last couple of years, however, the digital transformation for businesses has accelerated significantly. The requirement for home working meant documents, meetings and processes all had to be available online. Whilst many would assume digital is best – particularly in regards to minimising paper use and reducing waste – it does come with its own challenges that need to be addressed.
Keep reading to discover ways to reduce your digital waste or get in touch to request a quote.
Going paperless
Replacing paper processes with electronic systems, such as storing documents in the Cloud, will significantly reduce your carbon footprint by cutting down on waste. Some paper waste is unavoidable across a number of sectors, but ensuring that unavoidable paper waste is recycled appropriately and reused is another priority when aiming for sustainability.
Download Veolia’s WEEE Compliance Guide to find out more.
Disposing of end-of-life tech
Technology has an expiry date. Hardware will age with time, and will eventually reach its end-of-life and require disposal. E-recycling can prove to be a challenge with difficulties in extracting materials and the lack of knowledge about suitable recycling routes. WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) collection and disposal services aim to divert your electricals away from landfill in an environmentally-friendly and compliant way.
WEEE Compliance
To dispose of WEEE (meaning everything from fridges to IT), you must be aware of your legal obligations as a business. The WEEE Regulations in the UK are in place to increase sustainable management of electrical waste, and obligated businesses include:
- Manufacturers of EEE
- Professional importers of EEE
- Businesses selling EEE manufactured by a third party
- A distributor, retailer or wholesaler of EEE
Our partners, Veolia, offer a WEEE Compliance Scheme that incorporates a range of initiatives designed to increase recycling rates and ensure your business is compliant and sustainable. These include providing a variety of WEEE storage and collection containers, increasing kerbside collection systems, and holding WEEE ‘amnesties’. Though the move to more digital ways of working is largely a positive step for the environment, the compliant and sustainable disposal of electronic waste is crucial.
This article was originally featured on Veolia’s website.
