Don’t Waste It Roundtable Series – Managing Demand and Expectations

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23 January 2020 | Updated 04 March 2020

This week sees us dive into the coverage of our Don’t Waste It Roundtable, sponsored by Reconomy. In the first in a four-part series of informative videos, we begin with the subject of meeting customer demands and expectations for managing waste.

The Panel

Joined by nine peers from the Facilities Management sector, the breakfast Roundtable was led by Steve Malkin, CEO of Planet First, sustainability consultancy and creator and custodian of The Planet Mark. Malkin introduced the session by describing the beginning of ‘A Decade Of Action’ in terms of climate change. The panel agreed early on that their ultimate goal as FM providers and supply chain members must be focussed on a “zero-carbon trajectory”.

Discussions on how we as an industry can best create a zero-carbon roadmap were led by Nathan Gray, Head of Sustainability at Reconomy, placing great importance on helping companies deliver workable strategies that match up to this ambition. Keith Gould, Head of Estates & Facilities at Barnet & Southgate College, agreed that whilst the ambition to meet those targets is there, “what’s lacking is a joined-up understanding of how it’s going to happen.”

“Zero waste is the absolute way to minimise the impacts on climate and save money”

– Nathan Gray

Head of Sustainability, Reconomy

The Debate

Martyn Freeman, CEO of Q3 services, questioned the definition of customers’ changing environmental demands and the rationale behind it. David Wheeler, Solutions Manager at AMEY UK, likened the change to the health and safety landscape, where legislative changes were a driving force. Other factors such as obligatory reporting, pressure from climate change activism (the Greta Thunberg effect), desire to appeal to a millennial employee bracket and generating positive brand awareness were also debated. “Those people that use and want to come and join your organisation know what they need to do, it’s about involving them in it.” commented Jacqui Thornton, Strategic Relationship Director at CTS.

The debate moved on to the differences between larger businesses and SMEs in carbon reduction. It was considered whether SMEs must also keep up with legislative requirements of their much larger counterparts in order to win business, attract the right workforce and help improve the supply chain as a whole.

Looking Ahead

We then discover how these discussions develop over the second session of the Roundtable, entitled “Changing the way waste is managed to improve efficiency”. Session two is included in the playlist below, or you can read more about it here.

Watch the Videos

To catch up on everything that was discussed, please enjoy the videos of the entire sessions below:

Thank you for watching – we hope it stimulated some interesting ideas around sustainability and managing waste. Session three, which explores different measures, is coming soon.

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 23 January 2020

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