The three most important things any business can do to make a big improvement to waste costs and environmental impact is to reduce energy and water consumption as well as reducing overall resource use.

The great news is that water, energy and resource use are usually closely connected to each other so by improving one of these you will often get extra waste-reduction benefits.

For example, it is estimated that more than 70% of energy consumption in commercial buildings is related to water use.

Recycle @ Work suggests you tackle waste-proofing in these six easy steps:

1. Find out where waste occurs – ask for input from others. Try our free waste advice service.

2. Decide what the highest priorities are – be realistic and don’t try to do everything at once.

3. Plan your ‘waste attack’ and find a ‘champion’ – a person or team that can drive this forward.

4. Communicate with everyone – especially about the ‘how’ and ‘why’. Stick with this part – it can take a while to have an effect.

5. Consider ways to give feedback and celebrate progress. Incentives don’t have to be expensive, it’s the gesture that tells people you are serious about waste reduction.

6.  Monitor and keep an eye out for new ideas. Go back to Step 1.

Here’s more advice on reducing waste:

• Do it with water
• Do it with energy
• Do it with resources
• Why it’s worth doing it at work