www.empreinte.sita.fr: More environmentally friendly waste collection
Presented by SITA France
CONTEXT
Local authorities sometimes hesitate to choose more environmentally friendly waste collection solutions. The problem: the high cost of these technologies and the lack of tools allowing the environmental impact of one solution to be easily measured and compared with another. In response to these issues, SITA France has developed an easily accessible calculator, based on the 'environmental footprint' principle. This method expresses the environmental impact of an activity by calculating its consumption of ecosystem resources.
INNOVATION
An environmental footprint calculator for waste was developed with the help of three partners: the Global Footprint Network (GFN), which originated the concept of the environmental footprint; the Angenius Institute, a member of GFN; and M&E, a specialist engineering consultancy. A dedicated website (www.empreinte.sita.fr) was created to distribute the calculator. The site has much to offer: it ensures that the calculator will be used unchanged, it fulfils GFN’s wish to make it widely available, and it helps to develop a positive image for SITA France.
RESULTS
Launched in June 2006, www.empreinte.sita.fr has already seen the creation of more than 850 user accounts. This portal positions SITA France as the leading French sustainable development specialist in the waste sector. Today, during tendering procedures, sales staff can use the 'waste environmental footprint' to highlight the added value of services offered by SITA France. This leads to more chances of being chosen on criteria other than price, which can in turn mean more favourable margins.
