By January 2014, businesses in Scotland will be required to comply with the new Waste (Scotland) Regulations. This means they must take necessary steps to ensure that, by 2013, they will be recycling up to 70% of their waste. The Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue is already taking steps to ensure its targets are met. The zero waste regulations are primarily designed to make Scottish businesses understand their role in the global environmental impact.

Just as enormous financial debt is unsustainable in the long term, so is ecological debt. According to Global Footprint Network estimate, in 2008 the degree to which the global resources were used up was 40 per cent greater than the planet’s annual resources and reabsorptive capacity. Estimates also suggest that if the inhabitants of every country were to have an average UK lifestyle, the resources of 2.5 Earths would be required. And the growth in rubbish is part of the problem. The UK landfill sites cause pollution and, anyway, are reaching capacity.

The Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue is already adopting the zero waste programme by setting clear objectives and engaging the staff in the process to ensure that dry recyclable materials are separated from each other and collected separately for high quality recycling. Another measure the company has already taken is the constant monitoring of the business's footprint. This helps to identify areas where they can take action to divert more of their waste from landfill to recycling. As a result, their business sustainability report shows that, in the last three months, they managed to move from landfill 1,596 kgs CO2.

Understanding the impact of personal behaviour on the environment is essential and is now integrated into the Edinburgh Training Venue's core business model. Commenting on the company’s waste management strategies, the Managing Director Mike Glaire, said: "Good performance must be environmentally sustainable, and this means that we understand that we live in an interdependent world where our attitude to environmental issues matters more than ever".

The zero waste programme is only part of the company’s environmental initiative; Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue also focuses on the way their services can directly impact the footprint of their customers. For example, their introduction of video-conferencing for business meetings means that their customers make huge savings for their businesses, in carbon footprints, time and money.

Contact:
Mike Glaire
Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue
16 St Mary’s Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1SU
0131 538 8333
[email protected]
http://www.edintrain.com/
###