A tough climate can equal new opportunities to save

The effects of the economic downturn on the retail sector have been well documented in the media, with the Construction Products Association predicting a 19 percent fall in retail new build in 2009, and a further 15 percent fall in 2010. However, the outlook is not wholly bleak – some of the UK’s top retailers are pressing on with expansion programmes. Sainsbury’s, for example has recently announced plans to open six more stores, and Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, Asda and Waitrose are all reported to be growing their property portfolios. For these businesses and for the sector as a whole using resources efficiently and reducing waste, when developing existing properties or building new stores, not only helps to improve CSR credentials but also offers an opportunity to reduce costs.

Over recent years, much of the retail sector has embraced the sustainability agenda, with environmental credentials featuring prominently in advertising campaigns and corporate policies. Many retail businesses have incorporated sustainability requirements into contracts with their supply chains, and some of the biggest players in the grocery business have led the way by signing up to the Courtauld Commitment. This is a voluntary agreement launched by WRAP in 2005 that supports less packaging and food waste ending up in household bins. Now this approach is being extended to the creation of the stores themselves. The construction and development of retail property offers an opportunity to be more sustainable, as many major retailers such as ASDA, Marks and Spencer’s and Sainsbury’s have been quick to recognise. As budgets become tighter, and retailers and consumers alike demand that quality goes hand in hand with cost efficiency, the cost savings that can be made by building in a more efficient way are more important than ever.

The expansion plans of retail businesses present an opportunity for contractors and developers to deliver against sustainability and cost targets. With Hippowaste estimating that construction waste can cost anything from 0.5 to 2.5 percent of the total cost of a retail project, the potential for cost savings on multi-million pound expansion programmes is very clear – the question now is how to achieve them?

WRAP has developed a voluntary agreement called The Construction Commitments: Halving Waste to Landfill to support the industry in reducing the waste that goes to landfill and to meet Government targets. Major retailers ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer have already signed up to the agreement which facilitates action across the supply chain, from clients through designers and contractors to waste management companies. In signing up to the agreement, entire supply chains can unite and demonstrate commitment to waste reduction targets, thereby supporting the Government-industry target set out in the Strategy for Sustainable Construction (June 2008) of halving waste to landfill by 2012.

Organisations which sign up to the voluntary agreement commit to measuring and reporting annual corporate totals for the amount of waste they send to landfill, in order to demonstrate progress towards reducing this year on year. WRAP is developing a simple reporting portal for this purpose, which will be available on the WRAP website in the coming weeks. The Waste to Landfill Reporting portal will ultimately help clients to benchmark their own performance and measure against their peers – a valuable tool in a market increasingly driven by the double-edged sword of consumer conscience and cost efficiencies.

Committing to waste reduction targets in this way should deliver clients with cost reductions that substantially outweigh the investment in terms of both time and effort. A particular focus should be on asking design teams and the principal contractor to focus on designing out waste during the planning stages and to ensure waste is minimised or reused on site. For example, the Environment Agency has estimated the full cost of waste – including the value of materials being wasted – can be around four percent of construction value for an office building at baseline practice. Halving waste arisings and landfill disposal could save around £500,000 on a £25m development.

ASDA, the first retail business to sign up to WRAP’s Halving Waste to Landfill voluntary commitment, is already reaping the benefits of this approach. By auditing exactly what materials are needed for each building project and segregating any waste produced, so that it can be reused or recycled, ASDA are expecting to divert 12,000 tonnes from landfill annually and save more than £1m a year.

But the advantages do not stop there; there are significant legislative, social and business benefits. Sainsbury’s, for instance, is working to achieve best practice in waste management by developing a ‘Centre of Excellence Forum’ to enable closer working with their construction supply chain. Sainsbury’s has also created a ‘Consolidation Centre’ to ensure best practice in waste management and sustainable construction. During the building of their flagship environmental store in Dartmouth, 98.9 percent of the waste generated on site was recycled and recovered or re-used locally – this shows just what can be achieved.

Using resources efficiently in construction and property redevelopment projects, and sending less waste to landfill, offers retailers an opportunity to lower their environmental impact whilst making considerable cost savings. The support is in place, it is now up to the clients and their supply chains to take action.


Support the halving waste to landfill target
Learn more about the tools and resources that WRAP has developed, halvewastetolandfill@wrap.org.uk, call the WRAP helpline 0808 100 2040 or visit wrap.org.uk/construction