In the world of Corporate Social Responsibility, there are three Ps; People, Planet and Profit. They work in the same order, people come first.
Staff
In our domestic lives, recycling is a common day-to-day activity; we separate our plastics, cardboard and glass without really thinking about it. So when staff go to work, they expect the same practice to go on. Even if many people don’t consider the ins-and-outs of recycling, they know for sure that it is beneficial. To the staff who work in your business, seeing that research and development is ongoing will add job security and pride in their workplace.
Customers
Customers want more transparency than ever before with the companies they buy from; they want to know who recycles, who pollutes, who is ethical, who is responsible and who is sustainable? Including recycling in your Corporate Social Responsibility reports will show customers that you consider ethical waste management methods and a belief in being a socially progressive company. To get started, you will need some reliable and advanced recycling equipment. Recent research has proven that when prices are on a similar level, the competition is no longer financial, but ethical. Companies and brands should shout about the Corporate Social Responsibility work they are doing, so that if a consumer dilemma arises, they will come out victorious.
Environment
This may be a little obvious, but it’s worth pointing out the facts. When waste goes to landfill, something called acidic leachate seeps out of the plastic matrix and it’s toxic nature leads to groundwater pollution. The other alternative, incineration, is far worse, as it emits things like chlorine and toxic ash into the the air for a tiny amount of calorific energy. It has been demonstrated that recycling plastics, like PET (most commonly plastic bottles) can save 26 times as much energy as the energy gained from being incinerated. You might as well burn money. There is a lot of transport involved in recycling, but the carbon footprint remains smaller than incineration, and less environmentally damaging than landfills.
Circular Economy
It’s a phrase that seems to crop up more and more often nowadays, and for good reason too. A circular economy is many things, but in a general sense of the term, it is a flow of materials. Recycling is key to that flow as it takes outgoing materials, cleans them, performs several processes on them, and then enters them back into the economy as new materials. This is great for CSR, mentioning that you are keen to support a circular economy. The benefits of this support will be movement towards more cost effective and efficient packaging. Currently there are several studies going on to determine how the circular economy can be improve with changes in materials and recycling methods.
After people and planet, comes profit. Recycling as a business will make you money, but not just from an increase in customers and a potentially happier and more efficient workforce. Did you know that your waste has a value? If sorted properly, and stored in mass for collection, money can be made by selling the resources on. This additional income could be enough to take on another member of staff, whose job role has been created through CSR, which is good CSR. You see how this works well?
Good Business Practice
If it’s good for your staff, your customers, your carbon footprint, your coffers and your sustainable future, then surely it makes good business sense to recycle. Showing that your CSR includes recycling is just one of many ways that you can highlight to stakeholders and business partners that the business is progressive and sustainable. Why pay for disposal when you can sell for collection? It’s an indication that the business is being run efficiently in all departments.
Image
It’s a major reason that CSR exists in the first place, but maintaining a good public image is absolutely vital. If you look friendly, attractive and caring, you will have more support than looking aggressive, unattractive and ignorant. The same rules apply for people, so your business should act in a humane way, and recycling is just one way that this can be done. Working with a recycling partner, who will even help to promote your great CSR for investing in their recycling equipment can help. Image is the front door to your business, and it’s up to a business’ code of ethics to ensure that they exist in an appealing way.