Useful Links

Business Support

Business Environment Partnership (The) - www.thebep.org.uk
The Business Environment Partnership (BEP) provides free and subsidised assistance with environmental management to small and medium sized businesses throughout Scotland.

Business Environment Partnership (The) - North East - www.thebep.org.uk
The Business Environment Partnership-North East (BEP-NE) is a not-for-profit organisation promoting cost-savings through environmental improvement amongst businesses in the North East of Scotland.

Centre for Sustainability (The) - www.c4s.info
The Centre for Sustainability (C4S) is part of a non-profit distributing research foundation, and works with customers from both the public and private sector to help them to develop more sustainable futures. It offers research and consultancy services such as waste audits, mass balance studies, ecological footprinting, waste strategies, training and guidance. C4S can also conduct assessments of recycled, secondary and alternative materials and their associated impact upon carbon dioxide emissions.

Energy Saving Secrets - www.energysavingsecrets.co.uk
Energy Saving Secrets provides advice and helpful tips on how to save energy and cut down the amount of energy you use. There is a section on how to save energy at work and another about ISO14001 accreditation.

Energy Saving Trust (EST) - www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation funded by the Government and private sector. They have two main goals; to achieve the sustainable use of energy, and to cut carbon dioxide emissions, one of the key contributors to climate change.

Envirowise - www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland
Envirowise delivers a valuable programme of confidential advice to UK businesses. This advice enables businesses to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact. Independent, practical and proven guidance is available through a helpline, information resources and on site visits delivered by a national team of expert advisors. Each solution is driven by the specific needs of individual firms, to genuinely improve their business practices, profitability and competitiveness. The Envirowise programme is available to any UK business, completely free of charge.

Envirowise Small Business Support Programme - www.thebep.org.uk
The Envirowise Small Business Support Programme will provide flexible, client-led, practical support to small businesses, aimed at the implementation of cost saving environmental improvements.

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - www.fsb.org.uk/scotland
The FSB in Scotland is the largest campaigning pressure group promoting and protecting the needs of the self-employed and owners of small firms. It offers assistance and support to members, in addition to applying pressure on, and lobbying, MSPs and Government.

GreenShoots - www.greenshoots.info
Green Shoots is a business incubation service which provides help and support for new recycling businesses in the social enterprise sector, starting up in the Tayside and Forth Valley regions.

Hazred - www.hazred.org.uk
Hazred is a three-year European project co-funded by the EU Life Environment programme, which aims to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) prevent and reduce their production of hazardous wastes, saving them money in the process.

NISP Scotland - www.nisp.org.uk
The National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) Scotland facilitates long term collaboration between organisations to enable the sharing or trading of unused resources for business and environmental benefits.

Rabbit Recycling (UK) Limited - www.rabbittrecycling.co.uk
Rabbitt Recycling is a facility management and waste broker. They work with many of the leading recyclers in the UK and can deal with many different waste streams.

Recycle Plastic - www.recycleplastic.org.uk
This website, maintained by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), is aimed at businesses either looking to recycle their unwanted plastics, or looking to buy recycled plastic to include in their processes.

Scottish Business in the Community - www.sbcscot.com
SBC is a not-for-profit organisation promoting responsible business practice in Scotland. It supports, brokers and challenges organisations to have a positive impact on society through the workplace, marketplace, community and environment. SBC is the logical route through which the Scottish business community responds to challenge of improving its impact on society, by accessing a range of programmes addressing the issues of economy, environment, education, employability and workplace health.

SEPA Waste Minimisation Programme - www.sepa.org.uk
The SEPA waste minimisation programme promotes the benefits of waste minimisation to all businesses.

Tayside Environmental Network (TEN) - www.tayside-environmental-network.org.uk
Tayside Environmental Network is a One-Stop-Shop providing environmental information to Tayside businesses and organisations.

The Carbon Trust - www.thecarbontrust.co.uk
The Carbon Trust is an independent company funded by Government. Their role is to help the UK business and public sector reduce carbon emissions and capture the commercial opportunities of low carbon technologies.

The Green Office - www.green-office.org.uk
Friends of the Earth Scotland developed the Green Office online audit. It is designed to allow businesses to find out how green their office is. It includes basic information on identifying environmental impacts and finding solutions.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme - www.green-business.co.uk
The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) is a Visit Scotland accredited scheme that promotes sustainable tourism and provides environmental advice to businesses. The Green Tourism Award is divided into three levels; gold, silver and bronze, and is awarded on the basis of the level of environmental practice demonstrated by the business.

The National Packaging Waste Database - npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk
The National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) is a web-based database supported by the Environment Agency, Defra, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service (NIEHS), the Advisory Committee on Packaging, companies obligated by the packaging regulations, reprocessors, exporters and compliance schemes.

The Small Business Journey - www.smallbusinessjourney.com
The Small Business Journey website was created by the Small Business Consortium, as a source of information on responsible business practice from small businesses. The site contains 20 downloadable factsheets on various topics, each illustrated by case studies from small and medium sized businesses who have taken action and gained benefits in that area. The aims of the Journey are to increase the number of businesses actively following responsible business practice, to increase the quality of their actions, and thereby increase their profitability.

Trade Bodies and Associations

CBI Scotland - www.cbi.org.uk
The CBI's mission in Scotland is to help create and sustain the conditions in which businesses in Scotland can compete and prosper for the benefit of all.

Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS) - www.crns.org.uk
The CRNS is a membership organisation set up to provide support and information for community led groups involved in recycling, reuse, composting, reduction and waste education activities.

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - www.fsb.org.uk/scotland
The FSB in Scotland is the largest campaigning pressure group promoting and protecting the needs of the self-employed and owners of small firms. It offers assistance and support to members, in addition to applying pressure on, and lobbying, MSPs and Government.

Recoup - www.recoup.org
Recoup is the UK's leading authority on plastics waste management, providing expertise and guidance to a wide range of clients across the plastics supply, use and disposal chain.

Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) - www.brc.org.uk
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) was launched in April 1999 as a retail trade association for the full range of retailers in Scotland, from the major high street retailers and supermarkets to a number of trade associations representing smaller retailers.

Rules and Regulations

Netregs - www.netregs.gov.uk
The NetRegs website is free to use and is regularly updated. Its aim is to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to understand the complex environmental regulations that can affect them. The site provides guidance on how to comply with environmental law as well as advice on good environmental practice.

SEPA - www.sepa.org.uk
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) produces a series of policy and guidance publications on waste to help businesses comply with the rules.

SEPA Register of Waste Carriers - www.sepa.org.uk
Businesses can use this searchable register to confirm that their waste management service provider is licensed to carry their waste materials.