On a personal level I've always had a keen interest in environmental issues,  wherever possible these interests have been carried forward into my business life.

Reduce: I believe even the simplest things make a difference; A brick in the toilet cistern to reduce water usage. Turning off lights and machinery when not needed. Combining journeys and planning travel arrangements effectively. Efficient use of materials, both in the workshop and office, do you really need to print that E-mail ? I've found that by looking at the little things the bigger ones fall naturally into place. Whether or not you believe human beings are adversely affecting our environment, wasted resources cost your business money!

Re-use: As a business we throw almost nothing away; Redundant machine parts are saved for future use;  An old, single phase flake conveying fan is now in use as a fume extractor in our welding bay. Two housed bearings and a geared motor from a granulator outlet auger will be put to use to make a motorised spindle for a welding jig.

Our toolroom lathe and universal mill were both saved from being scrapped and are in weekly use.

All but the very smallest material offcuts are saved for making brackets, jigs etc.

Recycle: Everything that can't be re-used but can be recycled is recycled. Over the last two years we have averaged less than one bin-liner of waste per month, with approximately half of this (by volume) being mixed plastic packaging which is currently not recycled in our area.

John R W Morgan.