Last updated: 22 April 2026
Short answer: before a business says it is going zero waste, it should define the boundary, measure its waste baseline, understand each waste stream, prioritize reduction and reuse before recycling, check vendor evidence, and decide what claims it can honestly support. “Zero waste” can be a useful ambition, but it becomes risky when the company cannot explain what is included, what is excluded, and how diversion or reduction is measured.
Zero waste is attractive because it is simple to communicate. It also carries risk because most businesses operate in complex supply chains with packaging, suppliers, customers, facilities, logistics, maintenance, events, and end-of-life issues outside their full control.
A better starting point is not a slogan. It is a waste management and circularity plan that reduces waste at the source, documents the evidence, and communicates progress carefully.
Define what zero waste means for your business
Different organizations, certification schemes, customers, and internal teams may use “zero waste” in different ways. Before setting a target, define the scope clearly.
Key boundary questions include:
- Does the target cover one site, all sites, one product line, events, offices, factories, warehouses, or the whole company?
- Does it include hazardous waste, construction waste, packaging, food waste, e-waste, returns, or supplier waste?
- Does it refer to waste generated, waste reduced, waste diverted from landfill, or waste eliminated at source?
- Which vendors, records, invoices, or weighbridge tickets will support the data?
- How will contamination, rejected recycling, or energy recovery be treated?
If the boundary is unclear, the claim will be unclear.
Build a waste baseline
A waste baseline shows what the business currently generates and how it is handled. Without a baseline, it is difficult to prioritize action or prove improvement.
A practical baseline can include:
- Waste streams by site, department, process, or product
- Waste quantities, units, and measurement method
- Waste vendor reports and disposal routes
- Costs for collection, disposal, treatment, and contamination
- Materials that could be reduced, reused, repaired, returned, recycled, or replaced
- Data gaps and assumptions
Finance, operations, facilities, procurement, and waste vendors often all hold part of the answer. The baseline should be simple enough to update regularly.
Follow the waste hierarchy
Zero-waste work should prioritize prevention before disposal. Recycling is useful, but it is not the first or strongest lever.
A practical hierarchy is:
- Refuse unnecessary materials, packaging, or purchases
- Reduce material use and waste generation
- Reuse items, packaging, and equipment where practical
- Repair or refurbish before replacing
- Recycle materials with credible vendor evidence
- Recover value only where better options are not realistic
- Dispose as a last resort
This approach connects closely to circular business models, where products and materials are kept useful for longer.
Look upstream at procurement and product design
Waste is often created before a product or material reaches the site. Procurement choices, supplier packaging, product design, minimum order quantities, maintenance practices, and contract terms can all create avoidable waste.
Useful procurement actions include:
- Asking suppliers for packaging reduction or take-back options
- Choosing reusable transport packaging where logistics allow
- Specifying durable, repairable, or refillable products
- Reducing single-use items in offices, events, and operations
- Adding waste and material evidence to supplier onboarding
- Reviewing purchasing habits that create expired, obsolete, or unused stock
Keslio's supplier request support can help companies build focused evidence requests for suppliers and customers.
Check vendor evidence carefully
Waste claims are only as strong as the evidence behind them. A waste vendor may provide monthly reports, invoices, disposal route descriptions, recycling certificates, or diversion summaries. The company should understand what those records actually prove.
Questions to ask include:
- How are weights measured or estimated?
- Where does each waste stream go after collection?
- How is contamination handled?
- Does the report distinguish recycling, reuse, recovery, landfill, and other disposal routes?
- Can the vendor provide consistent data across sites?
- Are any claims based on assumptions rather than measured data?
This evidence can support sustainability reports, customer questionnaires, and internal performance tracking.
Be careful with public claims
“Zero waste” is a strong phrase. Use it carefully. If the company is still working toward the goal, say that. If the target applies only to certain sites or waste streams, say that too.
More precise language is often stronger:
- “We reduced office landfill waste by improving segregation and vendor reporting.”
- “We are piloting reusable packaging for one product line.”
- “We are building a waste baseline across our operating sites.”
- “We diverted specific waste streams from landfill, based on vendor reports.”
Keslio's reporting and communications support can help companies describe waste progress clearly without overstating results.
Connect waste to emissions and customer requests
Waste may also affect emissions calculations and customer sustainability responses. Depending on the business, waste generated in operations, treatment methods, materials, packaging, and supplier practices may be relevant to broader Scope 3 work.
Keslio's GHG emissions calculations can help companies decide how waste data fits into their emissions footprint and what documentation is needed.
Zero-waste planning checklist
- Define the boundary and target language
- Collect baseline data by waste stream and site
- Review vendor evidence and data quality
- Identify reduction, reuse, repair, and recycling opportunities
- Engage procurement and suppliers before focusing only on disposal
- Assign owners for waste data and action tracking
- Document assumptions, exclusions, and limitations
- Use cautious, evidence-based claims
- Refresh the baseline and plan regularly
How Keslio can help
Keslio helps businesses turn zero-waste ambition into a practical waste and circularity workstream. Support can include:
- Reviewing waste data and vendor documentation
- Building waste baselines and evidence checklists
- Identifying practical reduction and circularity opportunities
- Connecting waste work to sustainability strategy
- Preparing customer-ready waste and supplier responses
- Writing credible sustainability report or website language
Bottom line
Going zero waste is not just about diverting waste from landfill. It is about reducing waste at the source, designing better processes, working with suppliers, checking evidence, and communicating carefully. Start with the baseline and boundary, then build actions that your business can measure and defend.
