At the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) annual conference in London today (November 4), Mr Benn launched a new Defra campaign which aims to show businesses the financial and environmental benefits of being more resource efficient.
Sustainability is the key, not only to the environment, but to business success
Hilary Benn, secretary of state for the environment
The launch of the 'Saving money – it's your business' campaign was accompanied by WRAP research, carried out by YouGov, claiming that 47% of companies believe they could each save over £100,000 a year through low and no-cost efficiency measures, and 17% believe they could save over £1 million.
Defra also claimed the measures could contribute as much as 10% to the UK's 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, at little or no cost to businesses.
Alongside steps such as turning off office equipment and lights, the campaign says that companies could save 4% of their turnover by using waste management techniques such as working with other companies to recycle waste or selling it for use as a raw material.
Other recommended measures include asking suppliers about take-back schemes for un-used products and refilling ink cartridges.
Waste
Unveiling the initiative, Mr Benn claimed that, as well as saving companies money in the current recession, being sustainable, and in particular treating waste as a resource, would help them to be successful.
“There are opportunities here in the UK too in the low carbon and environmental goods and services, where we currently have just over 3% of the global market. This will grow as consumers become increasingly environmentally aware and companies realise that waste is just a resource in another form,” he said.
“Sustainability is the key, not only to the environment, but to business success. Now is the time to shape our businesses of the future,” he added.
The campaign includes a new booklet, 'Can you afford not to?', which aims to encourage businesses to be successful in a low carbon economy, including best practice examples and reasons for taking action, both to seize the market opportunities and address the risks created by a more resource efficient economy.
Consumption
Today's WRAP event also saw the Defra-funded body publish research outlining how resource efficiency measures could reduce both domestic emissions and those in relation to the consumption of imported goods and services.
The study, which was carried out by the Stockholm Environment Institute, found that resource efficiency could reduce consumer emissions by 8% by 2050, with no negative impact on the UK's gross domestic product (GDP).
Among the strategies suggested for resource efficiency in production are 'lightweighting' products, building sustainably by using recovered materials and using less environmentally-damaging materials.
In terms of consumption, the research suggests that measures such as reducing food waste, refurbishing goods and using products until the end of their life be pursued, claiming that, by using goods to the end of their life, households could save up £47.3 billion a year.
WRAP's chief executive, Dr Liz Goodwin, claimed that the research represented the first time a study had shown the impact that resource efficiency could have on both the environment and economy.
“Until now, making best use of our natural resources has not been high enough on the agenda as one of the contributors to meeting climate change targets,” she said.
“In the run up to Copenhagen, this research has an important message. It shows that resource efficiency could provide a secret weapon as it allows immediate action to meet pressing and challenging targets,” she added.
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