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SmartSteps - Business Tools for Sustainability
SmartSteps is a program of tools, technical assistance and information to help your business become more eco-efficient and more competitive. Our goal is to help you find specific, cost-effective actions you can take to reduce the amount of materials and energy your business uses. |
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New Recycling Signs Available to Download
Metro Vancouver has released a new suite of colour-coded recycling signs for the community to use. Signs are available in Chinese, English and Punjabi and cover everything from cardboard to refundable containers. Clear, descriptive signage is essential for any waste management plan whether you are implementing a recycling program at your office or a community event. | Community Event Toolkit Metro Vancouver is developing a Special Event Toolkit for event planners and community groups. The Toolkit will have resources for diverse events big and small – from large parades to local neighbourhood parties – providing a systematic look at what goes into event production and opportunities to make your event as close to Zero Waste as possible. Metro Vancouver is testing elements of the Toolkit on a range of community events in the 2009 season, some of which include: the Vaisakhi Parade, EPIC, Run for the Cure, and others. | 2009 Country Celebration Festival Pilot
Every September, in the township of Langley, Metro Vancouver hosts an old-fashioned country fair at Campbell Valley Regional Park. With Country Celebration, Metro Vancouver is piloting a waste reduction initiative at the 30th annual Country Celebration and striving to move toward a Zero Waste event. Metro Vancouver continues to work with vendors and concessionaires to divert waste going to the landfill by taking steps to minimize waste before it gets to the garbage, and to use recyclable and compostable food ware as well as food waste collection. | Sustainable Supply Chain Logistics Guide 2009
This Guide is about sustainable supply chain logistics (SCL) - that is, the planning, storage, transportation and reverse logistics processes involved in getting goods and services to the right place, at the right time and in the right condition, while minimizing the impacts on our natural and social environments.
The information in this Guide will help businesses to implment SCL strategies that lead to financial and environmental and social benefits. | Recycling Stations Get a Colourful Update
Metro Vancouver is developing standardized colours for event recycling stations in the region in order to reinforce positive recycling behaviours. The goal is to assist the public and business operators separate recyclables from garbage. Colours parallel municipal curb side recycling systems and include:
Black or Grey = garbage;
Blue = blue box recyclables (i.e. glass, metal and plastic [Types 1, 2, 4 & 5] containers);
Yellow = mixed paper and newspaper;
Orange = refundable containers;
Green = organics;
Red = hazardous materials;
Yellow or Brown = corrugated cardboard.
Matching recycling stations with a garbage bin, and matching containers to event traffic flow will also greatly increase recycling efforts at event sites. The District of West Vancouver is already on-board with this Metro Vancouver initiative and recently made a colourful splash with their standardized recycling station on Earth Day.
Please see the photo link.
Photo Credit: Amanda Gee | New Game Plan: Recycle Everything! - Whitecaps Partner with Metro Vancouver to Green Stadium Operations
Sporting facilities can generate huge amounts of waste in a short amount of time, often with little or no recycling options. But businesses will soon have a tested set of guidelines for stadiums and sporting events wanting to green their own operations. In partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps and the City of Burnaby, Metro Vancouver launched the Green Zone Sustainability Kick, a pilot project at Swangard stadium that kicked off on June 12th and will run through the 2009 soccer season.
Bob Lenarduzzi, President of the Vancouver Whitecaps featured in one of the many creative signs at Swangard reminding fans to recycle.
The pilot project goals are to:
- Reduce solid waste by 10%;
- Increase diversion of all remaining solid waste to 85%; and
- Minimize contamination of separated waste streams.
Colourful signage set up at concessions to prompt fans to recycle what they buy. Preliminary results show a 50% reduction in waste going to the garbage.
To achieve these goals, the pilot project team is working with concessionaires, management, and other vendors to create more sustainable purchasing (such as reducing single serving packaging for condiments), to finding alternatives to take-out polystyrene containers, and investigating the feasibility of reusable food ware. With 15 new recycling collection bins, the project is removing refundables, recyclables, and organic waste from the garbage (destined for the landfill) and redirecting materials to bottle depots, bulk recycling, and composting facilities. A key component of the pilot project is an education and information campaign targeted to Whitecap fans, vendors and tenants.
One of 15 new Zero Waste Stations at home games to collect recyclables, organics and refundables.
Data and examples generated from this pilot project will be incorporated into the draft guidelines to support the region-wide use of the proven best practices. The program could be expanded to more than 200 arenas and other community sports facilities in the Metro Vancouver region. The final guidelines will also be adapted to other types of entertainment venues. | 2009 Waste Assessments The SmartSteps waste reduction assessments continues to be a popular program to assist business improve their waste diversion performance. A wide range of businesses have successfully completed the no-cost waste assessment including:
• a charitable health organization wanting to reduce their environmental footprint;
• an aerospace manufacturer looking for ways to reduce waste and save money;
• a window and door products manufacturer wanting to “green” their operations;
• a major electronics retailer; reviewing their current recycling program; and
• a municipal hall and works yard standardizing their recycling collection and improving their waste diversion performance.
SmartSteps Business Advisors have identified a range of opportunities during the site assessments, including:
• reducing office paper consumption;
• improving the collection of mixed paper and blue box recyclables;
• identifying materials banned from regional waste facilities; and
• finding opportunities to recycle additional items at end-of life.
For information on registering your business for a waste reduction assessment see the resources section of our Business Tools.
| Waste Reduction Pilot Project with Park Royal Mall Metro Vancouver and Park Royal Shopping Centre officially launched a waste reduction pilot with an event called The Great Trash Tip where two garbage compactors were tipped into the parking lot at Park Royal and examined by Metro Vancouver staff. The event also coincided with Canada’s Waste Reduction Week.
The waste reduction pilot began in September when a waste composition study of the shopping centre’s garbage was first conducted at the North Shore Transfer Station. Once completed Metro Vancouver will provide Park Royal with an inventory of the contents of the centre’s garbage containers.
Metro Vancouver Director Marvin Hunt, chair of the region’s Waste Management Committee said “The best way to reduce garbage is to not have garbage in the first place We are very pleased that Park Royal is demonstrating the necessary leadership in the business community to help us achieve our goal of Zero Waste.”
The current inventory of Park Royal’s garbage will serve as a benchmark that can be used to design a more comprehensive waste reduction and recycling program at the mall. Both the Region and the Shopping Centre hope the project will lead to significant reductions the amount of waste sent to landfill when it is inspected again several months down the road.
Metro Vancouver hopes to take the lessons learned at Park Royal and apply that learning as a model that can be applied at shopping centres right across the region.
Park Royal has expressed a commitment to integrating green practices into its operations and is working towards becoming the first sustainable regional shopping centre in Canada. To achieve this, the shopping centre has adopted a framework of sustainability principles that it uses to inform everyday decisions. More information on Park Royal’s commitment to sustainability can be found at www.sustainableparkroyal.com |
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January 2010 GreenPeace's releases the 14th edition of their Guide to Green Electronics Nokia stays in 1st place with a slightly reduced score of 7.3, losing a point for failing to do proactive lobbying for the revised RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances in electronics) Directive to adopt a methodology for further restrictions of hazardous substances, and immediately ban chlorinated and brominated substances. As of this version of the Guide, Criterion C1 has been sharpened to require companies not only to have a chemicals policy underpinned by the precautionary principle, but also to support a revision of the RoHS Directive that bans further harmful substances, specifically brominated flame retardants (BFRs), chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs) and PVC vinyl plastic. | Sustainable Industries' Green Office Guide 2009 is now available Sustainable Industries' Green Office Guide provides information on how to create a more efficient workplace, buy better office products and measure your success. | Vancouver Whitecaps Fans are Recycling Champs
Vancouver Whitecaps FC fans scored a major victory for the environment by improving the amount of solid waste that was recycled or composted at home matches from just 10 per cent up to 70 per cent. | New Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits now in force
New Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations, pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999), were published in the September 30, 2009, edition of Canada Gazette Part II and are now in force.
Regulatory requirements: The new regulations set mandatory VOC concentration limits for 53 categories of architectural coatings. Prohibitions applicable to the manufacture and import of these products will take effect over a period of five years, beginning one year after the regulations were registered (September 9, 2009) with a subsequent two-year sell-through period for each coating category.
Impacts on industry: For manufacturers, the incremental cost of meeting the requirements of the regulations are expected to include:
• a one-time cost to reformulate coatings to meet the VOC concentration requirements of the regulations;
• a one-time new substance notification cost for new substances in low-VOC coating formulations;
• a one-time cost to meet labelling requirements;
• other one-time costs including capital expenditures for new/upgraded storage facilities necessary for low-VOC coatings; and
• annual, recurring administration and raw materials costs.
Note: The regulations include provisions for temporary permits to provide flexibility for manufacturers facing economic, or other, barriers to reformulation.
The Canadian architectural coatings sector produces coatings for three main segments: general architectural; industrial maintenance; and traffic marking. It is estimated that approximately 289 million litres of architectural coatings were sold in Canada in 2002. Of these, 80 per cent were manufactured in Canada by an estimated 120-160 domestic and multinational manufacturers.
For more information contact: Environment Canada, Martin Jeanson, Senior Program Engineer (819) 997-7935; fax: (819) 953-3132; email: martin.jeanson@ec.gc.ca | Green Seal's New Company Certification Program
Consumer product manufacturers will now be able to prove their sustainability claims to customers and stockholders with a new certification program that rewards the highest levels of environmental performance and leadership.
Green Seal, the 20-year old non-profit certifier of green products and services, is launching a pilot Company Certification Program that provides the first and only holistic assessment of a company’s product line and its business operations. The new program builds on Green Seal’s
development of 30 environmental standards and certification of over 3,500 “green” products and services.
This pilot program will certify companies as a whole based on their commitment to environmentally-sound business practices and sustainable products. Recognition of environmental leadership – at Gold, Silver and Bronze levels – will be based on corporate-wide practices and environmental impacts, third-party environmental certification of the company’s products, and life-cycle assessment of the company’s key product lines. | Industry Canada posts sustainability roadmap for SMEs
Industry Canada has posted online the SME Sustainability Roadmap - a modular resource, presented in sections, that provides a guide to sustainable practices for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Each section is part of a larger area of management, operations, or leadership.
Modules include, in part:
- business planning and budgeting;
- resource use; and
- waste management.
The roadmap also includes links to numerous resources.
| Changes to EPR Programs announced by MoE
The Ministry of the Environment (MoE) has posted some changes to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs on their website.
Notable changes are:
- Small appliance program launch date has been deferred by 8 months to April 2011
- Lighting equipment and toys programs launch dates have been deferred by 2 years until July 1, 2012
- Lead-acid batteries and antifreeze programs have been added with launch dates of July 1, 2011
| Paperless Express - A Paper Use Reduction Guide for Your Business from StopWaste.org The myth of the paperless office may just be that. But there are many ways you can reduce paper use that benefit you, your business bottom line, and the environment. This guide provides tips and tools for office workers and managers in business, government and other organizations. You will find steps to reduce paper at your desk, in the mail room, by using new technologies, and in many other ways. See how smarter paper-buying choices can reduce cost and waste. | 2010 RCBC (MOBI) Environmental Award Nominations
The Recycling Council of BC recognizes the valuable contribution that individuals and organizations have made toward the preservation and protection of British Columbia's environment.
The 2010 RCBC Environmental Awards were presented at the 36th Annual RCBC Zero Waste Conference on May 26, 2010 at the Westin Resort and Spa, Whistler, BC.
Nominations were accepted in the following categories: Individual, Youth, Educator, Private Sector, Public Sector, Non-Profit and Journalists and Media. |
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Resources
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How do you get started?
For more information or on-site technical assistance, please contact a SmartSteps Business Advisor at: |
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 e-mail |  604-451-6575 |  604-436-6811
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