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Confidential & Proprietary | 2023 CBRE Inc.
A successful Upstream Waste Management Strategy will aim to address the problem at source, such as designing out waste in manufacture, preventing its generation and reusing products. It will have the potential for much greater carbon savings, as these displace greenhouse gas emissions across a wide range of sectors which would otherwise be incurred. Similarly, recycling replaces virgin materials at a much lower carbon cost and thus reduces emissions across the economy.
A focus on waste and resource management has the potential to achieve substantial, short-term mitigation of climate change, amounting to perhaps 15-20%, across a
number of sectors.
1. What Does Upstream Mean?
Page 2: Upstream Resource Mgt & CBRE
Reduce Consumption
One of the most effective UPSTREAM strategies is to REDUCE consumption. Consumption is increasing due to:
- Population growth and urbanisation
- Increasingly prosperous middle class in (particularly in the Asian continent)
- The promotion of consumerism through media, especially electronic goods (mobile / tablet upgrades etc)
Redesign
REDESIGN requires innovation, risk appetite and supply chain collaboration, this can't be achieved easily:
- Companies need to find ways to reduce material and energy intensity and increase recycled content in their products
- Products need to be redesigned to reduce / eliminate hazardous substances, increase recyclability (and improve safety during recycling) and make remanufacturing possible with most of the components getting reused
Source: United Nations Environment Programme, 2015 - Global Waste Management Outlook
Some key aspects of Upstream Resource Mgt should be the consideration of overall consumption and how products are designed. Can we choose products for our clients which have a higher quality threshold and will last longer? The initial cost might be higher but savings could be made on labour and maintenance charges for more frequently replaced items.
2. Upstream Resource Mgt - Interventions
In our Circular Economy Section we take into consideration the wider issues of waste and resource management across the product life-cycle and what upstream services are available to CBRE to clients.
Positive Impact On Environment
Maturity Of Waste Disposal
Uncontrolled Waste
Controlled Waste
Landfill
Other Recovery Including Energy
Recycling
LINEAR WASTE SERVICES
CIRCULAR ECONOMY SERVICES
Closed Loop Recycling
Reuse
Reduce
CBRE is positively influencing traditional waste services and the cycle of events. We are actively working with preferred supplier partners who can implement Closed-Loop Recycling and Product Reuse.
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Useful Information
Waste Services & Circular Economy
Upstream Resource Mgt
Useful Information
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3. Upstream Resource Mgt & CBRE
The following are examples of how CBRE is mitigating the impacts of linear waste and implements upstream resource mgt solutions through its preferred supplier partnerships.
Upstream Methods
Solutions
Closed-Loop Recycling
- Recycling Carpet Tiles - 1700 sqm or 11.24 tons of carpet were prevented from going into a landfill by means of closed-looped recycling. About 35% of the old carpet was turned into “fluffy yarn” and sent to engineering plastics and materials, while the remaining 65% was made into 'crumbs' which were converted into Glasbac RE sheets, a material used to create brand-new carpet tiles
Supplier / CBRE Links
CBRE Case Study
Reuse
- Furniture Reuse - diversion of unwanted furniture from landfill which generated £40,000 in resale fees and £12,000 worth of donations. Providing a second life and reduced carbon emissions to approximately 10,800 sq.m of cleared fixtures and fittings
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CBRE Case Studies
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Circular Economy Initiative
- One Maritime Plaza - San Francisco - One Maritime Plaza was built on 1967. The property has 3 buildings, 23 tenants and 557,373 sq feet of office space. They have been certified Zero Waste Silver from GBCI, with 90.90% diversion rate upon certification
- Janitorial
- Redesign – trash bin configurations
- Closed Loop – janitorial paper products
- Office Services
- Reduce – paperless invoicing and rent statements
- Zero Waste Purchasing – reusable plates / cups in office areas
- Food Services
- Reuse – tenants’ use of reusable plates and silverwares, coffee mugs, k-cup filters and pod recycling programs for coffee machines
- Waste Mgt
- Compost – segregation of compostable and recyclable wastes
- Hazardous Waste Prevention – all employees trained on handling and removal, plus access to a full Haz Mat protection and disposal kit
- Construction
- Recycle – meets San Francisco’s minimum diversion rate of 65% on construction debris taken off site
- Asbestos Removal – certified removal and abatement crews for removal and abatement of contaminated building materials