Preventing pollution: changing inventory and purchasing practices

Having strategies in place to both: reduce the amount of stock you have to throw out because it is expired, damaged or no longer needed; and ensure you take the environment into account when buying goods.

Questions to ask yourself for your inventory management techniques

• Do you inspect your goods upon arrival so that damaged goods can be returned to the supplier?
  • damaged goods can lead to poor product quality and/or performance, loss of material through leaks and potential risk to worker health and safety
• Have you identified your storage requirements to minimize losses?
  • different materials have different storage requirements for parameters like temperature, light, moisture and length of storage
• Have you implemented good stock rotation procedures to use material on a first-in, first-out basis
• Have you considered minimizing inventory and implementing just-in-time delivery to minimize losses?

Questions to ask yourself for your purchasing techniques

• Do you have a list of approved products/suppliers that you know are environmentally friendly?
• Do you prohibit or limit certain toxic/harmful substances in materials you purchase?
• Do you tailor purchases to your specific needs?
  • Do you order appropriate sizes of materials to avoid off-cut waste?
  • Have you considered purchasing in bulk?

Canadian companies preventing pollution

The following examples come from Canadian companies that have reported to the National Pollutant Release Inventory:

• a scientific research and development service site practiced first-in, first-out to improve quality assurance and reduce waste
• a fabricated metal manufacturer improved the ordering process of all substances, now ordering in smaller quantities as needed in order to reduce waste
• a primary metal manufacturer prohibited the purchase of materials containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ozone depleting substances, dioxins and furans, and 30 other substances of concern
• a chemical manufacturer in Ontario started buying products with longer shelf lives
• A non-metallic mineral product manufacturer started purchasing only Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliant inks

Related links

• Create and implement your pollution prevention plan
• About the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)
• Incorporating pollution prevention into environmental management systems