Shropshire companies are saving millions of pounds in business costs by introducing green business strategies aimed at reducing waste and their impact on the environment, new reports revealed today.Bosses of Business Environmental Support Scheme Telford, which gives advice and help to companies wanting to make green improvements, say they have assisted nearly 70 companies in the past two years to implement new environmental practices.
And Envirowise, a Government-funded programme dedicated to putting the sustainable use of resources at the heart of UK business practice, says companies which have taken their advice are saving around £5,000 a year.
Telford firms alone have saved £1.2 million thanks to the BESST group which arranges environmental meetings and networking events, helping businesses to share best practice.
The report, released to co-incide with National Environment Day on Thursday, said 14 businesses had reaped financial benefits by reducing and reusing packaging, implementing energy-efficient products, and reducing waste to landfill.
The BESST Group is a partnership between local private sector businesses including Maxell, Ricoh, Denso, Epson and Telford Extrusions and supported by Transforming Telford, offering free advice to companies focusing on resource efficiency and waste minimisation.
Andy Whyle, environment officer for Telford-based Ricoh and chair of BESST said: “We can really be proud of BESST.  A huge diversity of businesses have joined – we’re a true business-led initiative, which means we grew out of a real need to look at environmental impact and spiralling energy and environmental costs.
“We are now driving home the message to Telford that environmental improvements to your company are synonymous with measurable benefits to your bottom line. And people are really starting to take on board our message.”
Since inception, BESST has run a number of successful events, pooling knowledge and best practice to target issues currently high on the business agenda. Recent events have focused on the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programmes and the new Waste and Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
Sarah Raper, chief executive of Transforming Telford said: ”The work BESST does is crucial to taking Telford forward and building a sustainable environment. By working in partnership, Telford businesses can benefit from gaining valuable advice from experts and draw upon best practice.”
Envirowise chiefs say more companies than ever are seeking advice on green policies and are saving substantial amounts of money as a result.
85,000 tonnes
In addition, in just 12 months, the programme helped firms save 17 million litres of water through efficiency measures – enough to fill almost five Olympic-sized swimming pools – as well as a total of almost 85,000 tonnes of raw materials.
John Barraclough, Envirowise regional manager for the West Midlands, said: “There is a strong appetite for taking environmental action within the business world – and the Envirowise programme is well placed to satisfy this with firms in the region, both large and small. I firmly believe we are breaking down the common misperception that taking action on environmental issues is a necessarily costly and time consuming thing to do.”
Since 1994 Envirowise has helped UK businesses save over £1 billion by enabling them to significantly reduce their environmental footprints.
*The Business Environmental Support Scheme Telford will be hosting an environmental legislation seminar at Denso Manufacturing on June 4 at 8.30am. BESST has joined forces with the Environment Agency to provide members with a practical overview of environmental legislation covering topics such as the WEEE Directive, Hazardous Waste and the new Environmental Permitting Regulations.