Program Requirements

One person has to be champion of the program, someone with authority to get things done. The champion has to be a management person high enough in organization to get commitment from upper management. Waste prevention activities should be part of the champion's performance evaluation.

It will take more than one person to successfully implement a waste prevention program, however keep the team as small as possible. A large group promotes more discussion and less action. The group must be creative, never take no for an answer, and embrace the philosophy that the program will reduce costs. The team should include the following people:
* the champion
* a purchasing agent (to purchase materials that generate a minimal amount of waste)
* an individual with expertise
* a person to "keep score" (to check on progress of the program)

Waste Prevention Plan

The waste prevention plan must show the following items:
* a mission statement
* the overall objective of the program
* specific areas that will be targeted to accomplish the objective
* the parameters that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program

The plan must develop milestones (areas to be worked on), however do not exceed five during the first year. Expand each milestone with an objective; for each objective, quantify what the goals are. Develop specific goals for each area. Constantly review and update the milestones if necessary. This process is not stagnant; if a particular operation changes, the milestone objective should change with it.

It is advantageous to the program if a success is demonstrated early on, because the team will get more support from the company. It is therefore advisable that one of the milestones be a waste stream that can easily be reduced.

Information adapted from the Portage County Go Green Seminar, 1994