Resource efficiency audit

The purpose of this audit is to assess the initial key performance indicators of production and environmental activities before the implementation of measures for the efficient use of consumables, raw materials, water resources, as well as to reduce the use of harmful materials/substances and waste in general.

The resource efficiency audit consists of:

analysis of resource flows by systematically assessing the flows of resources / materials / raw materials in production, and assessing the material balance of production and processes
tracking direct and indirect costs associated with the consumption of resources and materials;
identifying weak points in the production chain;
proposals for specific actions to improve weak points;
estimates of savings, benefits and feasibility of proposed actions;
recommendations for further optimization and identification of opportunities;
taking into account the environmental aspects of production and materials.

A resource efficiency audit is a more complex event that may include an energy audit.

The resource efficiency audit includes the following steps:

1. Collection and analysis of accounting data for the base period to evaluate quantitative and qualitative data on incoming raw materials and materials, energy consumption, output volume, volume of waste generated, emissions, discharges, etc.

2. Carrying out instrumental measurements using control and measuring equipment (thermal imaging camera, sound level meter, gas analyzer, ultrasonic flow meter, tachometer, portable photometer, etc.), to obtain actual performance of process equipment, water, energy, raw materials and materials, as well as qualitative and quantitative data on emissions and discharges at the enterprise.

3. Development of measures for energy and resource efficiency by a working group of experts and specialists of enterprises, taking into account the results obtained, based on the best available technologies, best practices and international practices.

The organization and conduct of monitoring audits of enterprises is carried out by specialist consultants. In Kyrgyzstan, a similar audit is conducted by UNISON.

Having also studied simplified methods, the employees of the enterprise can, on their own or with the support of PERETO consultants, analyze resource flows.

An example of one such simplified methodology is offered by ZeroWasteScotland, the Scottish Waste Management Program, which is described here.

A simplified method for estimating and monitoring resource flows from ZeroWasteScotland©

ZeroWasteScotland recommends following a simple five-step process:

Step 1. Find out what drives resource consumption.

At this stage, you need to understand what drives resource consumption in your organization. You must identify the factors that affect how much waste you generate and how much energy and water you use.

With these factors in mind, you can select Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help you understand your organization's performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

There are two main categories of KPI: absolute and specific.

Absolute KPIs measure the consumption of resources without reference to any other factors, for example:

liters of used water,
tons of generated waste,
used kilowatt-hour of electricity.

Specific KPIs provide a more accurate indication of efficiency and performance. Examples of specific KPIs:

liters of water per ton of produced products,
tons of waste per number of employed employees,
percentage of recycled waste per tonne of product produced
kilowatt-hour of electricity per one serviced coating.
Etc

All businesses should consider the factors affecting resource consumption in order to understand.

Step 2: Determine your data requirements.

Once your chosen KPIs are defined and benchmarks are ready for comparison, the next step is to decide what data to collect. It is important to collect the right information at the right time and in the right format. You will already have useful information about resource usage in your organization, the key is to think about where they are stored, who to ask about them, what format they are in, and how often they are collected or received.

Table. Examples of data sources.

Necessary information		Who to ask	available available information	Data to collect
General business	The number of units produced. Opening hours. Number of shifts/cycles. The number of staff in the building. Number of guests.	Financial department, management team.	Production records sales.
Use of raw materials	The number of products produced. Raw materials/materials/products used in production. The amount of paper used. Food ordered monthly.	Finance/accounting department, eco-management department (if any).	Inventory information. Purchase records. Overhead.	Quantity/volume of rejected products and losses. Quantity/volume of waste.
Waste	All generated waste. Waste disposal/removal costs. Waste taken to the landfill. Waste disposal in other ways, including through processing, recycling. All generated food waste. The amount of waste generated by certain activities and/or departments. All packaging waste.	Finance/accounting department , eco- management department (if any).	Payment for waste. Notes/records on the transfer of waste. Forms for packaging waste.	Quantity/volume of waste generated by each activity and/or department. Composition of waste streams (suitable for recycling or not). Types of packaging material used. The amount of packaging waste to be landfilled, recycled and reused.
Energy use	Total electricity consumption. General use of gas / coal / other fuels. Energy use for specific departments and activities (e.g. lighting, manufacturing processes, etc.) d.).	Finance department, management department.	Energy bills. Indications of the main and additional counters. Manual recording of meter readings. Automatic reading of meter data.	Kilowatt-hours of electricity. Cubic meters / kg of fuel / gas.
Water use	total water consumption. Use of water for specific departments and activities (eg toilets, manufacturing processes, irrigation). Discharge of sewage.	Enterprises , maintenance, financial department.	Water bills. Readings of water meters. Permission to discharge wastewater.	Volume of water consumption for specific activities and departments. Waste water volumes.

Step 3. Data collection.

In the fourth step, you collect and quantify all the necessary data that is available in the organization. Ideally, it would be good to collect information over several years, as this will help you build a historical picture and begin to identify performance issues and savings opportunities.

Collecting data on energy consumption.

There are three main methods for collecting information on energy use:

• checking electricity bills,
• taking meter readings,
• evaluation of energy use data.

Collection of data on raw materials and waste.

There are four methods for collecting information on the use of raw materials and waste:
• verification of waste invoices, purchase records and waste transfer documents,
• carrying out direct measurements,
• analysis of the composition of waste,
• evaluation of waste data.

Collection of water data.

There are three methods for collecting information on water use:
• checking water bills,
• carrying out direct measurements,
• calculation of water use.

Drawing up a data collection plan.

It is highly desirable to keep track of all the data you collect, what its purpose is and where it comes from. A data collection plan will help you get this information.

Table. An example of a data collection plan.

Key Performance Indicators	Method for collecting data	Frequency	Data recording	Responsible	Status
Energy Energy consumption (kWh) per ton of product. Energy consumption (kWh) per employee.	Data from managers, utilities and suppliers, invoices.	Weekly	The use of special forms/tables of accounting for energy and finance costs.	Manager / manager / accountant.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Paper Total paper usage (A4 equivalent stacks) per employee.	Report from the stationery supplier through the purchasing manager.	Monthly	A4 shopping list and % recycled content by work unit.	Manager / Manager / Accountant / Purchasing Manager.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Water Water consumption (m3) per ton of product. Water consumption (m3) per employee.	Data from managers, utilities and suppliers, invoices.	Weekly	The use of special forms/tables of cost accounting.	Manager / manager / accountant.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Waste Total amount of waste (in tons) per ton of product.	Waste audit, waste invoices, report from waste disposal contractor.	Monthly	Waste audit template.	Manager / manager / accountant.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Waste (in tons) per ton of product. Waste (in tons) per employee	Waste audit, waste invoices, report from waste disposal contractor.	Monthly	Waste audit template.	Manager / manager / accountant.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Total recycled (%) per ton of product. Total processed (%) per employee.	Waste audit, waste invoices, report from waste disposal contractor.	Monthly	Waste audit template.	Manager / manager / accountant.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Staff	Report from the HR department.	quarterly but	-	Manager / manager / accountant.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.
Number of units produced	Report prepared by the COO.	Monthly	-	Operations director, accountant, manager.	Data collected/ not collected / in progress.

Step 4: Analyze and evaluate the data.

Once the data has been collected, the next step is to analyze and evaluate the data to identify any problems and identify areas for improvement and cost savings. This can be done at the company, facility, department or process level, depending on the data collected.

Simple tracking tables help you compare data and easily plot performance graphs.

Fig. Examples of graphs for measuring consumption of energy, gas, etc.

Zero Waste Scotland© offers tables: for water, for waste and for energy. The spreadsheet packages contain easy-to-use charting tools that allow you to display data.

There are also many different types of graphs in Excel, including line charts, pie charts, histograms, and scatterplots. Choose at your discretion.

With your charts, you can now evaluate your organization's resource usage and determine where you are in terms of your KPIs - key performance indicators. Take a critical look at the graphs and ask the following questions:

• Are there sharp fluctuations? What caused them?
• Has productivity improved, decreased, or remained constant? Where and why?
• Are there periods of inefficiency? If yes, what could be the reasons?
• Have there been periods of high performance? Can adjustments be made to always achieve better performance?
• Could other factors have affected performance (eg leaky pipe, severe weather)?
• What improvements could be made?
• Where were the successes? Can they be replicated in other areas?
• How can similar periods of time be compared (eg the same period last year)?
• Is the KPI moving towards the goal? If not, why not? Do we need to prioritize certain activities in order to achieve the goal?
• Do KPI values differ greatly? If yes, why?
• Is the change in KPI random or systematic? What could be the reasons?
• How do other processes, departments and specific activities compare (eg internal benchmarking)?
• Are there discrepancies in the data (eg incorrect data, unrecorded resource consumption)?

Step 5. Define measures and implement them.

After collecting and analyzing your data, you can prepare a list of actions to eliminate any identified problems.

Development of an action plan

Incorporate resource efficiency improvements into your costed action plan. In this way, your organization can compare the costs and benefits of each action, prioritize it, and decide whether your business will implement it.

Your action plan should include:

proposed priority measures for improvement,
key milestones in the implementation of each measure,
achievable technical, environmental or economic benefits,
team roles and responsibilities
completion dates,
validity periods.

Implementing Your Action Plan

The implementation of the action plan will require detailed teamwork. In some cases, you will need to develop detailed plans for the implementation of specific improvement projects as part of an overall action plan.

It is necessary to involve all employees in the implementation process and keep people informed of progress. This is vital for maintaining interest and motivation.

Regular review of progress

As you start implementing your action plan, it's important to review your data regularly. This will not only allow you to see the progress you have made and the results of the actions taken, but it can also help you secure investment for future programs or contribute to the business case. When reviewing progress, there are some key aspects to consider:

ensure that all relevant stakeholders (e.g. data owners, department heads, senior management) are involved in your review of progress;
review regularly (ideally quarterly);
make sure that the data is presented in a convenient and meaningful format;
set clear criteria by which you measure progress;
determine why the project is working (or not working) as expected.

Positive results achieved should be communicated to senior management and staff to highlight the good work done and positive improvements to date. This “good news” will further reinforce the message of how important resource efficiency improvement is to your organization and help secure additional resources to continue your improvement campaign.