• Cart
Log in

Log in

home page banner blank


Focus On Series


Reducing the Impact of Business Waste Through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Program

Reducing the Impact of Business Waste Through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste ProgramAudit Summary

Publication Date:
March 2010

Audit Office:
National Audit Office - UK

Link to full report:
http://www.nao.org.uk/report/defra-reducing-the-impact-of-business-waste-through-the-business-resource-efficiency-and-waste-programme/

Audited Entities

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Audit Objective(s)

  • This report examines the impact of the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme in addressing business waste.

Audit Scope

  • The report focused on the impact of the Programme and on the management of the Programme by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Audit Criteria

  • Not available.

Main Audit Findings

  • The Department’s approach to business waste lacks the structure and coordination of its approach to municipal waste.
  • The tonnage of business waste sent to landfill has reduced, but the rate of decline of commercial and industrial waste lags behind the rate of decline for other types of waste.
  • The Department lacked comprehensive and timely data on business waste to target its initiatives effectively.
  • The Department did not establish sufficiently robust arrangements to oversee the performance of those organisations delivering the Programme’s initiatives.
  • In the absence of sufficient data it is not possible to determine the impact of the Programme on reducing commercial and industrial waste.
  • Where businesses have utilised the services available from the Programme they have benefited from the advice and support.
  • Some of the initiatives funded through the Programme should generate longer term impacts.
  • Awareness of the Programme’s services was concentrated in a minority of businesses.

Audit Recommendations

The Department should:

  • use the data from its proposed survey of commercial and industrial waste to improve the targeting of future initiatives and direct resources to where they are most needed; and
  • identify whether in future it could monitor change more cost-effectively by, for example, identifying a cohort of key organisations to measure change in business waste over time.
  • put targets and performance measures in place from the outset in any future funding arrangements;
  • set up and validate data collection and collation arrangements, so that useful data are produced on a timely basis;
  • use performance data to challenge the funded bodies effectively
  • remind its senior officials of the need to balance demands for urgent action adequately against the risk that expenditure may not be managed effectively in these circumstances.
  • set clear objectives and targets for reducing the tonnage of waste produced and the tonnage sent to landfill;
  • identify opportunities for integration between its business and municipal programmes, including encouraging:
    • shared recycling and treatment infrastructure where this will result in economies of scale; and joint collection and disposal of commercial and industrial waste.