ensured that 99% of all materials entering their plants leave as either finished

product or end up being reused, recycled or converted to energy

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has committed to send zero manufacturing waste to landfill by 2020. The company
defines zero waste as zero manufacturing waste disposed directly to landfill or to incineration without energy
recovery by the site, except where local legal requirements specify that regulated wastes must be disposed in a
landfill.
Tactics the company is using to reach this goal include working to eliminate or reduce solid waste from
production processes, designing more material-efficient delivery systems, and using lifecycle thinking to
improve product packaging and design.
Currently, P&G has more than 60 manufacturing sites that send zero manufacturing waste to landfill.
You save money each time you reduce waste going to landfill, says Len Sauers, vice president of global
sustainability for P&G. This has led to significant cost savings in our supply chain, which helps the bottom
line.
Hersheys is another company with a zero waste to landfill program, diverting materials that would typically
end up in landfills to alternate channels, such as recycling, reuse or incineration. By the end of 2013, six
Hershey manufacturing facilities had reached zero waste, the company said.
Nestl has made a pledge that all 150 of its European factories will be zero waste by 2020. The company
achieved its first zero waste facility in 2011. By the end of 2012, Nestl had achieved zero waste status in 39 of
its 468 factories worldwide.
Aircraft engines manufacturer Pratt & Whitney says it will achieve zero waste 100 percent recycled in its
factories by 2025. The company says that, since 2006, it has reduced its total industrial process waste by 30
percent.
General Motors is striving toward achieving zero waste in its facilities, but is also attempting to drive a global
movement toward zero waste (a project which won a 2014 Environmental Leader Top Project of the Year
Award). GM now recycles 90 percent of its global manufacturing waste and has committed to increase its
landfill-free facilities to 125 by 2020. The company uses a range of processes, including data collection and
monitoring systems, employee and external engagement initiatives, and creative reuse and recycling. A large
part of its global movement toward zero waste is sharing these strategies throughout its value chain and the
broader manufacturing industry.
Bridgestone Americas Wilson, NC, passenger and light truck tire manufacturing plant has achieved
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) landfill waste diversion claim validation for zero waste to landfill. Zero waste
to landfill is the highest claim validation UL gives for landfill waste diversion, which is performed and
delivered by UL Environment, a business unit of UL. Bridgestones Wilson tire plant was the first facility of any
kind to receive this designation.
Waste as an Asset
In addition to putting programs into place to reduce waste, smart companies are identifying ways to repurpose
waste into useful raw materials.

In its drive for global zero waste, GM has a philosophy of thinking of waste as a resource out of place and
turning waste streams into revenue streams, the company says.
P&G embraces a similar philosophy with its Waste to Worth program. A Global Asset Recovery Purchases
(GARP) team is charged with finding external partners who can turn waste and non-performing inventory into
something useful. The company says that, over the last five years, Waste to Worth has created over a billion
dollars in value for P&G.
For example:

Waste from P&Gs Charmin plant in Mexico is now used to make roof tiles for the local
community.
Diaper scraps from a US Pampers site are converted into upholstery filling.
Waste from Gillette shaving foam in a UK facility is composted and turned into turf for
commercial use.

P&G evaluates waste reduction pilot opportunities in both developed and developing regions. The Waste to
Worth team conducted a study in the Philippines, with the cooperation of government stakeholders, to
understand the composition of the waste stream, including the percent that is biodegradable, recyclable, and
residual. The data led to the design of a business model that extracts value from the waste stream. The company
is partnering with the Asian Development Bank with the goal of piloting the business model in Antipolo,
Philippines, and hopes to one day expand this model to other parts of the world.
Jones Lang LaSalle finds revenue from waste by selling used IT equipment on MarkITx.
This helps Jones Lang LaSalle and its clients to reduce e-waste and offset the cost of new IT infrastructure by
listing depreciated or obsolete equipment on the exchange and recouping the maximum value.
Other Benefits of a Zero Waste Strategy
Zero waste strategies help companies build their brand, reduce cost, and manage risk, says Tom Carpenter,
director of growth and development for Waste Management Sustainability Services.
Strategies for reducing waste also encourage a focus on innovation, he says. Overall improvements in the
working environment also give rise to more engaged employees. In turn, increased employee engagement can
result in improved worker productivity and lower turnover.
Carpenter offers a concise roadmap to zero waste. Tactics include gaining senior leadership buy-in,
engaging employees, setting a goal, gathering data and developing metrics, and obtaining supplier
commitment.
Smart companies find that revenue opportunities, brand building, and risk management are important parts of
waste strategies. Its one strategy among many that is how you build a

Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/05/07/zero-waste-strategies-create-newrevenue-streams/#ixzz40Mb9Y3jE