Our table at the 2degrees Summit highlighted two major challenges faced by organizations in waste management:

1. Engagement in sustainable waste management initiatives – Education and involvement of employees, employers, public, customers and suppliers.

2. Waste legislation – Understanding EU directives and national legislation, and realizing the opportunities in adopting voluntary agreements.

Challenge 1 

When examining the engagement challenge, we identified a number of barriers which need to be overcome in moving towards effective waste management: a lack of knowledge and awareness, and a lack of trust and leadership in driving meaningful change. Unclear strategies or perceived complexity may cause confusion for stakeholders. Table participants also identified the time and resource consuming processes in getting waste management programs off the ground. A key issue, which was raised a number of times throughout the day, by speakers and other delegates, was the importance of breaking down the silos in which departments work: there is a definite disconnect between environment and procurement departments. In order to drive behavior change in an organization, sustainability objectives must be disseminated across all departments.

Participants found that there can be inconsistent reporting of waste management practices. There’s a gap between perceptions and reality (waste reduction may not be as high as believed!) and also a barrier between attitude and behavior (although people may say they "always recycle", the reality can be different). 

What does best practice look like? The group believed best practice requires sharing knowledge, effective benchmarking, and continuous improvement. 

What are the potential solutions?  Green champions might be employed to influence and encourage staff to reduce, reuse and recycle. Make sure you measure and manage your waste. Make sure your messages are clear, simple and relevant. Research into effective reporting tools – what are the tried and tested technologies? On the supplier side, scorecards could play a significant role in driving effective waste management practices, and suppliers could be engaged through knowledge exchange platforms. Finally, it’s important to demonstrate the business case, both internally and with suppliers.

Challenge 2

Time and knowledge are significant barriers to staying ahead of the game on waste management legislation. Incentives and tools may be lacking, making facing legal responsibilities a daunting prospect. Organizations want to understand how they can influence legislation. How can legislation lead to innovation? When it comes to voluntary regulation, some agreements are seen as essential for compliance (e.g. ISO 14001, ISO 9001) and others are non-essential (industry guidance).

Best practice involves exceeding mandatory requirements.  When tendering for a contract, it is important to ask clear and accurate questions, demonstrating a full understanding of the industry and legal requirements.  Transparency emerges as an important issue, and foresight can be really beneficial, e.g. SITA UK’s cashless scrap metal payments. Collaboration and sharing best practice is important.

Potential solutions identified by the group include effective lobbying to drive legislation, managing realistic timeframes and goals (e.g. zero waste to landfill), and ideally, the government should provide incentives, guidance and support. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our table participants  for a fascinating discussion at the Summit. Everyone was enthusiastic in rolling their sleeves up to share and learn! The stimulating discussion meant we still came away with questions, but our roadmap provides a place to start in addressing these complex challenges.

Roundtable participants included:

• Trevor Payne (co-chair) - Director of Estates & Facilities, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Sean Turk (co-chair) - Head of Sales - National Business Development, SITA UK
• Fiona Kelday - European Environment Compliance Specialist, Wate and Recycling, Environment & Product Safety, Canon Europe 
• Su Pickerill - Corporate Responsibility Analyst, ISS UK Limited
• Ryan Clark - Clean Cities Awards Scheme and Recycling Officer, Department of the Built Environment, City of London
• Edward O'Shea - Packaging Development Manager, P&G
• Eva Gkenakou - Environmental Advisor, Europe, Brookfield Multiplex Europe
• Anthony Walters - Owner, Mpower
• Dan Goodhind, Environmental Officer – Inner North West London Primary Care Trusts
• Anthony Durston, Customer Communications Manager at SITA UK 
• Naomi Baker - Climate Change & Sustainability Manager - Environment and Leisure Dept, Southwark Council 

If there’s anything I’ve missed, or if you have additional thoughts, please add them below!