So far, this series has looked at the service available for local authorities to help businesses improve their efficiency and reduce waste. Envirowise has carried out a wide range of practical initiatives to help industry and commercial sectors get to grips with environmental issues linked to their business activities. All of this expert and technical advice is available free to EHOs through a variety of media, including the following publications:

• Easy money: a self-help guide for small retailers [GG365]
  In conjunction with the British Retail Consortium, Envirowise has produced a guide to waste reduction. It is an excellent tool for local authority and private sector EHOs to help small business get a grip and motivate themselves to “do their bit”.

• Profiting from waste reduction in retail stores [GG325]
  The retail sector produces an estimated 12 million tonnes of waste every year at a cost to businesses of over £630m. The cost of waste is not just that of disposal. The true cost of waste is five to 20 times the disposal cost and includes the value of returns and damaged stock, discarded packaging, inefficient use of water, and energy and the time and effort spent handling and managing waste.

The guide describes how to implement a systematic approach to waste minimisation and provides practical advice to help retail stores, and highlights a number of best practice examples from leading retail companies, including Comet plc, Marks & Spencer plc, Tesco plc, Sainsbury’s, Safeway, Debenhams plc, Halford’s and the Boots Company. For example, Boots has developed a system for re-using up to three times the plastic trays for the delivery and display of its sandwiches, without the need for any alteration or redesign. Broken trays are returned to the supplier for recycling. Benefits have included:
estimated savings of over £125,000 a year; savings of approximately 200 tonnes per year of plastic; savings of approximately 270 tonnes per year of cardboard; and reduction in the packaging obligation costs for the company and its suppliers.

• Increasing profits by reducing waste in managed shopping centres [GG324]
  Reducing operating costs and overheads is paramount for companies operating within tight margins and in a competitive marketplace. The cost of waste is typically 4 per cent of turnover – in some companies as high as 10 per cent. Implementing waste minimisation measures can reduce these costs by 25 per cent – often with little or no investment cost. Across the retail sector as a whole, this could result in cost savings of £2.25bn every year. The guide has examples of cost and other benefits from taking action to reduce waste from major shopping centre operators.

• Retail therapy: supply chain benefits from partnership approach [EN338]
  This is an overview of supply chain partnerships where significant savings have been made in reducing waste and improving environmental performance, and is to be published shortly.

In addition to the publications mentioned above, Envirowise has an extensive catalogue of free guides and case studies and the following publications are also available for the retail sector:

• Easy money: a self-help guide for small retailers [GG365]
• Increasing profits by reducing waste in managed shopping centres [GG324]
• Profiting from waste reduction in retail stores [GG325]
• Reducing waste and utility use in managed shopping centres [EN336]
• Retail supply chain distributes cost savings from improved packaging [CS332]
• Packaging design for the environment: reducing costs and quantities [GG360]
• Practical tools to help retailers manage a supply chain partnership [GG362]

In order to help local authority EHOs and other intermediaries communicate and get the essential messages through to small businesses, Envirowise has also developed:

• Engaging SMEs in environmental improvement: a best practice guide for business support organisations [GG346]
• Cost Savings through resource efficiency: how you as a business advisor can help [GG347]
• Support for EHOs [ET191]
• Attitudes 2000: attitudes and barriers to improved environmental performance [EN305]
• Profiting from reducing packaging costs: a workshop guide [GG218]
• Help in cutting costs (video for seminars) [V158]
• Waste minimisation clubs: partnerships prove key to success [ET221]
• Waste minimisation clubs: setting them up for success [GG122]
• Reducing waste: what can we do to help? [ET192]

If you think businesses in your area can benefit from Envirowise best practice advice we can help you help them. Call our helpline free on 0800 585 794 or visit www.envirowise.gov.uk You can also order all publications listed via the telephone number or web site.