SmartSteps -Your Guide to Improving Efficiency,
Profits and Competitiveness

SmartSteps is Metro Vancouver’s program of information, tools and resources to help your business improve its eco-efficiency and become more competitive. Our goal is to help you find cost-effective strategies and actions you can take to reduce your resource and material use.

Eco-efficiency is doing more with less. According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (www.wbcsd.org) eco-efficiency means: “creating more goods and services with ever less use of resources, waste and pollution”. Some of the ways a business can improve eco-efficiency is through:

• maximizing resource efficiency 
• minimizing material use 
• eliminating toxic compounds 
• maximizing the use of renewables, and 
• designing for durability, reuse and recycling.

How do you get started?
New users should start with “10 Strategies”. You can find this on the Business Tools page. This Guide offers you a framework to help you through some of the more likely places you can start improving your business eco-efficiency. Each strategy identifies what you could do if you were to do just ONE thing.

If you are unsure about what you must do, check out our Legislation & Regulations page. This page provides a summary description and links to most of the environmental legislation and regulations that apply to business within Metro Vancouver. Don’t forget to check with your local municipality as well. They may very well have local ordinances and/or bylaws that could apply to your business. 

More experienced users could go directly to Business Tools and the Sector Guides or the Case Study reports. The Sector Guides offer more focused information, targeted to specific business sectors. The case study reports identify some of the benefits other businesses have found in adopting more eco-efficient/sustainable practices.

If you are interested in sourcing sustainable products and services, check out our Product/Service/Info Directory. The Directory maintains a listing of products with environmental merits identified and companies offering services that can help you on the road to more sustainable business practices.

Advanced users might be interested in our how-to guides - Sustainable Purchasing and Sustainable Supply Chain Logistics which can be found on the Business Tools page. Advanced users may also be interested in the Business Case Total Cost Assessment page.

Along the way, check out the Library and the calendar of Events page for some of the latest articles published on eco-efficient/sustainable business practices and some of the events available locally.

And finally, if you have problems or would simply like to talk to someone, SmartSteps business advisors are available to help (at no cost). We offer tips and on-site business assistance. For example, we can review your existing recycling program or help you start one from scratch. 

Contact us at 604-451-6575 or email:business_services@metrovancouver.org.