EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / In one short paragraph please describe this project and what it has achieved.
We will use this in any future publicity material.
Falkirk Council and Grangemouth Enterprises Ltd (GEL) are partners in WorkBack, a single point resource for the sale, refurbishment and recycling of office furniture targeting customers in the public and private sectors and the local community, tapping quality reuse furniture from the corporate sector. Since its inception in November 2008 the pilot project has generated over £17,700 (ex VAT) in reuse office furniture sales, and nearly 80 tonnes of materials recycled since March 09. 100% of the trainees involved in WorkBack have completed Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) Levels 1 or 2 in Waste Management, and 100% of trainees are expected to be on work placement, have jobs or enrolled on college courses starting in September 09. This exciting and innovative project continues to see Falkirk Council at the forefront in waste reduction in Scotland. In addition it shows the on-going commitment of the authority not only to lead the way in environmental good practice but also in the creation of new ‘green jobs’.
PLANNING / · a clear rationale, defined processes and focus on stakeholder needs
· contributes to organisation’s goals, community plan and SOA, and national policy context
The Council commissioned a feasibility study to research anecdotal evidence that potentially significant quantities of Council office furniture were being wasted, and to highlight solutions. The findings of the January 08 study, ‘Options for the Reuse & Recycling of Surplus/Waste Office and School Furniture’, reflected the findings of a similar report on surplus furniture by Perth & Kinross Council (‘Perth & Kinross Furniture Strategy’, September 06). The feasibility study substantiated the development of a furniture reuse, refurbishment and recycling pilot, based on the following evidence and stakeholder benefits:
· The Scottish Government’s Zero Waste policy emphasising waste prevention, and need to reduce depletion of natural resources used in furniture production;
· Compliance with national landfill diversion targets particularly for biodegradable waste (of which a high proportion of office furniture is comprised), and the need to reduce incurring Landfill Tax and risk of financial penalties for non-compliance with recycling targets;
· Delivery of Falkirk Council’s Environmental Policy, Sustainable Falkirk Strategy and Best Value (savings of c. 50% by buying reuse furniture rather than brand new furniture);
· A conservative estimate of Council office furniture spend of £116,323 pa suggesting that potentially substantial quantities of furniture become waste i.e. when new furniture purchased, old/surplus furniture is discarded;
· Weak coordination of Council office furniture procurement, management and disposal characterised by a lack of furniture budgets and data;
· Creation of new, skilled ‘green’ employment opportunities through a social enterprise partner offering a full sales, repair and disposal service to meet stakeholder needs.
Since the study, global recession has impacted businesses and, with job losses, significant quantities of office furniture are being displaced in the UK making the financial, social and environmental case for the pilot greater than ever.
WorkBack is based on a model which won sustainable furniture consultants, Ogilvie Ross, the Scottish Waste Industry Environmental Innovation Award 2005. The model uses surplus product donated by the corporate sector. As distinct from other versions of the model (e.g. Dundee Cirenians servicing Dundee City Council), WorkBack offers a combined sales, refurbishment and recycling service unique in the UK, demonstrating a ‘closed loop’ approach to the product life cycle. GEL is a long-standing Falkirk Council partner in the on-going commitment to reduce landfill waste and carbon emissions, a relationship which won the Council the Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS) Award for the ‘Local Authority Partnership’ in March 09. GEL operates a programme for NEET (Not in Employment Education or Training) trainees with the Council’s Employment & Training Unit (ETU). Part of the programme now includes training on furniture repair and recycling through WorkBack which is providing accredited training for 60 trainees attaining SVQ Levels 1 or 2 in Waste Management over the 3 year pilot in addition to work-based skills.
The partners agreed SMART actions linked to the WorkBack brand introduction/growth phases of the project life cycle to ensure optimal customer early awareness/sales including: a 12-month programme of market promotion; Ogilvie Ross to coordinate furniture sales until WorkBack operational (November 08-March 09); setting up of premises and staff training; development of GEL and Council Joint Working Agreement (JWA); and performance monitoring. Critical success factors included confirmation of Council senior management ‘buy-in’, pilot funding, recruitment of suitability qualified and experienced project staff, and building incremental sales to Council departments. Given the Council’s urgent need to make financial savings and the impact of recession, it is anticipated that conditions to launch the business are relatively favourable but that sustained levels of active marketing would be required to encourage early adoption of the WorkBack brand.
DELIVERING / · implemented in all relevant areas and across all the required stakeholders
· carried out in a structured and logical way , using robust and sustainable methods
The following critical success factors have been met:
· the Council’s Corporate Management Team endorsed the pilot in October 08. Thereafter the contract will be tendered and a sustainable corporate furniture strategy developed;
· GEL was awarded Scottish Government INCREASE III funding in February 09 enabling premises to be leased, a workshop, showroom, and office space to be built by WorkBack staff, and capital equipment purchased. WorkBack has 3 new full-time staff to operate the project and instruct trainees;
· The Council funded technical consultancy from Ogilvie Ross to train staff in inspecting, refurbishing, warehousing and selling (warranted) reuse product delivered between February-July 09, and develop an auditable warehousing and quality control management system;
· Sales to Council customers started in November 08 after the successful launch events and totalled nearly £3,500 (ex VAT), before WorkBack operations commenced.
The following activities in the 12-month programme of market promotion have been implemented:
· Council presentation to Forth Valley Community Planning Partners (CPPs), March 08 (identified that CPPs unable to find outlets for unwanted furniture and the need to quantify CPP’s spend on office furniture);
· Council funding of 4 showroom events in November/December 08 hosting 50 key public and social sector customers (involving the Council’s Convenor of Environment & Heritage Committee, partner presentations, DVD with testimonials from Perth & Kinross and Dundee City Councils, and tours of furniture exhibits in a suite of offices);
· GEL launched the WorkBack website (www.workback.org.uk) in June 09 with links on the Council website and internet, and an entry on the Business Waste Aware website. Requests for web links on Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Business Gateway websites have been made.
Additional promotional action scheduled includes:
· WorkBack promotional flyers emailed in September to attendees of the showroom events to refresh Council and CPP awareness of services provided;
· follow-up customer events showcasing merchandise and project successes in September 09 to consolidate the customer base;
· Additional promotional activity proposed includes presentations to CPPs and Forth Valley Resource Efficiency Forum to expand the customer base;
· Recruitment of an experienced, qualified individual to develop WorkBack sales and marketing.
GEL/WorkBack received ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 reaccreditation in Aug 09. A JWA between Falkirk Council and WorkBack is being prepared and will include a monitoring regime to the ISO standard to evaluate progress against performance indicators, and ensure continuous improvement.
Examples of opportunities exploited were making contact with other resellers of reuse office furniture to explore areas of synergy, and liaison with the Council’s Education Service to remove reusable but surplus items of school furniture from high schools relocating to new premises in 2008-09. Examples of barriers overcome were: a period of disjunction in early 2009 when GEL lost its Chief Executive and the Chief Operations Manager stepped in to successfully project manage the early stages of the pilot; and the conversion of the basic stock warehouse leased in Grangemouth for the pilot to incorporate Health and Safety compliant office space, showroom, workshop areas and equipment storage.
Examples of the application of Best Value, efficiency and economy include:
· scheduling deliveries/uplifts to Fife-based customers using vehicles from GEL’s sister organisation in Fife (FEAT Enterprises which operates a mattress recycling project) to enable best use of the vehicle fleet;
· where possible, deliver/uplift using the same vehicle to minimise carbon emissions
· shared resource use between GEL and its various community projects including WorkBack e.g. forklift trucks, vehicle fleet and administrative staff
IMPROVING + EVALUATING / · evidence of leading practice and innovation being achieved
· appropriate measurement and learning, and how this has led to continuous improvement
WorkBack is unique in the UK in innovatively combining the environmental good practice inherent in office furniture reuse/refurbishment/recycling, with the societal benefits of new, skilled, local employment creation, and the associated spin-off to the local economy. WorkBack enables the Council to lead by example in making responsible, ethical purchasing choices by specifying, wherever practicable, the purchase of locally sourced, least environmentally damaging office furniture.
Key performance indicators in the Waste Strategy’s JWA with GEL will comprise the framework for measuring effectiveness. These are: monthly waste data returns indicating the tonnage of material generated by the Council diverted from landfill; annual reporting of cost per tonne to recycle office furniture to indicate the efficiency of the recycling process; annual financial savings to the Council to indicate the cost benefit of purchasing reused office furniture or brand new product; annual reporting of response times for uplift requests and repairs/refurbishments to indicate the efficiency of the service & need for training. The ETU & GEL undertake joint formal assessments of trainees to monitor individual trainee’s progress.
Examples of learning processes linked to improving performance include: collaboration with other furniture organisations to supplement WorkBack’s stock to give customers a wider choice of reuse and new furniture; customer complaints register and satisfaction survey to record and action customer feedback; GEL liaison with CRNS and other social enterprises on joint working and best practice elements of the pilot (e.g. refurbishment) to be replicated across Scotland to maximise the reuse/recycling of unwanted office furniture to increase landfill diversion.
RESULTS + IMPACT / · a convincing mix of customer perception and internal performance measures
· clear line of sight to the delivery of the Single Outcome Agreement
· a full range of relevant results showing improvement over time
Evidence of a convincing mix of customer satisfaction/perception was recorded in exit surveys at the 2008 showroom events (demand for WorkBack services was unanimous), and from WorkBack’s customer satisfaction survey e.g. commercial company ESI Ltd who state: “I have found GEL/WorkBack a very useful & helpful company. All staff have been more than willing to help and pleasant to deal with”. Bonnybridge Library similarly report: “I just wanted to write you…to say thanks for the Workback furniture. I bought a table and four chairs and they are looking mighty fab in our kitchen”. Customer perception is also reflected in the high number of conversion of enquiries to completed sales (from 56 enquiries, 48 sales resulted i.e. 86%), bearing in mind the limited active marketing undertaken. Of these 56 enquiries, 13 were from Falkirk Council, with the remainder from a mix of private, public and social sector customers. This highlights the broad interest WorkBack has engendered in the local community.
WorkBack aims to achieve sales income of £20k in financial year 2009-10 and £53,400 in 2010-11. From November 08 to April 09 (under Ogilvie Ross), total product sales were over £10,100 (ex VAT). From March to September 09 (under WorkBack), sales totalled £15,700 (ex VAT, where applicable) comprised of: £7,600 in product sales, £5,500 in uplifts, and £2,600 in scrap metal sales. Total sales of £16,699 were generated from April to September 09 comprised of £950 product sales (Ogilvie Ross) plus total WorkBack sales of £15,700 (as above) i.e. 80% of the current financial year target.
Since March 09 when recycling operations commenced, nearly 80 tonnes of office furniture have been dismantled for material recycling by WorkBack trainees. Of the 80 tonnes diverted from landfill, approximately 40 tonnes was scrap metal, 7 tonnes was wood, 5 tonnes was plastic, and 1.3 tonnes was upholstery foam.
The Council’s feasibility study estimated the cost of recycling waste furniture using internal staff & Council recycling centres was £339/tonne, and £376.50/tonne using internal staff & private sector recycling facility. The initial estimate for WorkBack to provide an ethical disposal service is £222/tonne, a result which offers a more sustainable and Best Value solution to the Council. This cost is expected to reduce over time.
Since May 06 when WorkBack joined GEL’s training programme, 100% trainee retention has been recorded to date, 100% of the trainees have completed Scottish Vocational Qualification Levels 1/2 in Waste Management, and 100% of trainees are expected to be on work placement, have jobs or enrolled on college courses starting in September 09. One trainee from the pilot group achieving the SVQ Level 2 qualification is currently on placement to WorkBack and is about to take up a Modern Apprenticeship in joinery. A second trainee is following a similar route with a view to becoming a qualified plumber.
Action to remedy weaker results include active marketing inside and outside the Council as described under the ‘Delivering’ criteria, to improve awareness of the WorkBack brand in the introduction/growth phase. The extent to which positive results from WorkBack have the potential to be replicated is mentioned under the ‘Improving & Evaluating’ criteria, with reference to on-going discussions between CRNS and GEL.
These early successes are testament to GEL /WorkBack commitment to this fledgling initiative. The team’s abundant expertise has been consistently applied to rise to challenge of meeting customer satisfaction. In doing so, the team is singularly contributing to financial savings accrued by Falkirk Council by purchasing reuse furniture rather than new product, and facilitating landfill of office furniture in the district to be relegated to history.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 Page | 3