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Locally sourced food suppliers can benefit the local economy and cut down on food miles.
Monitor your water and energy use – check the meters over the course of a week at the same time in the morning and evening. If you run a 9-5 site, your consumption should be negligible out of working hours.
Construct a water balance estimating the water usage for each process and piece of equipment.
Review your cleaning processes particularly the flow rate through hoses – reducing the hose width could still clean effectively, or install trigger-action guns on hoses. You could also install screens over drains to catch solids.
Consider water saving devices such as sensor taps, sensor hand towel dispensers, urinal controls, waterless urinals, low flush and dual flush toilets and air intake showers.
Introduce sensors to lights in rooms that are used infrequently. Ensure that lights are switched off at the end of the day except for emergency lighting.
Monitor your process to ensure that you are not switching from high content products to low content products which might require high cleaning.
Reduce your trade effluent bills by installing effluent metering so that bills are based on effluent flow rather than incoming metered water.
Involve your staff. They are your eyes and ears around the business and can identify areas where losses may be occurring. Provide a suggestions box for staff to suggest ways to be more efficient.
Contact the Carbon Trust for information on energy efficiency (
www.carbon-trust.co.uk
).
One man’s waste is another man’s treasure. Contact NISP about your waste – they may be able to put you in touch with someone who can use it (
www.nisp.org.uk
).
Businesses can apply for water-efficient devices through the Water Technology list. Through the Enhanced Capital Allowances, businesses can write off 100% of the investment against their taxable profits (
http://www.eca-water.gov.uk
).
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