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Lisa Whited
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How to rethink waste and build smarter business systems
By Lisa Whited, guest columnist
Most businesses want to be more sustainable. But efforts often focus on marginal improvements: use less energy or reduce emissions. These are worthy goals, but they’re not enough. What if, instead of doing less harm, we redesigned the system to avoid harm in the first place?
That shift starts with how we think. When you build systems that plan for reuse, recovery, and long-term value, you reduce environmental impact and open the door to cost savings, innovation, and resilience.
Here’s how Maine companies of all sizes can rethink waste and build smarter systems with no sustainability degree or big budget required.
Design for reuse
Think about your products, services or spaces. Are they designed to last? Can they be adapted or reused? Or are they built to be thrown out and replaced?
One of my favorite examples of rethinking waste is a Dutch company that took a new approach to appliances. Instead of selling washers and dryers, Bundles offers laundry as a service. Machines are placed in customers’ homes; people pay per use, and when no longer needed, the appliances are taken back and redeployed.
Philips Lighting pioneered a similar model at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport with “light as a service.” Philips owns and maintains the fixtures, then takes them back at end-of-life, creating long-term value and keeping debris out of landfills.
Whether you run a law firm or a restaurant, designing systems that prioritize reuse and adaptability can reduce costs and set you apart.
Make materials and equipment work harder
In office environments, one of the most overlooked sources of waste is furniture. U.S. businesses send about 17 billion pounds of it to landfills each year because most of it is not designed or managed for reuse.
Locally, a Portland company used demountable walls in their office so that the space can evolve with changing needs. The walls were built for disassembly and reuse, and the kit-of-parts (heights and sizes) were intentionally limited.
Whether it’s lighting, furniture or flooring, ask vendors what happens at end-of-life. If the answer is “the landfill,” push further. Could it be reused, resold or repurposed?
Engage your employees
Redesigning how your business uses materials or delivers services isn’t just a top-down effort. Some of the most innovative ideas come from the people closest to the work.
In small group conversations, ask: “What process could be redesigned to avoid waste?” or “What’s the story we tell ourselves about what’s considered ‘disposable’?” These prompts spark insights and new ideas.
Tools like Systematic Inventive Thinking help teams generate creative solutions within constraints. This isn’t blue-sky brainstorming; it’s a structured way to reimagine what’s already there.
Involving employees also builds a culture of ownership. When people understand the “why” behind a change, they’re more likely to support it.
Measure what matters and tell the story
If you want behavior to change, measure what you want to encourage: pounds of waste diverted, hours of equipment used, items refurbished.
But data alone won’t spark action. Storytelling matters. Share how one redesign or employee idea led to smarter resource use. As systems theorist Arturo Escobar reminds us, change happens when we design from within the systems we live in, not above them.
Start small and build from there
You don’t need to overhaul your entire operation. Start with one piece of equipment, one vendor relationship or one part of your space.
Ask the following questions:
• Can this be rented instead of purchased?
• What happens to this product at end-of-life, and could we change that?
• Is there a way to share, recover or resell this material?
The goal is progress, not perfection.
Every step toward reuse, longevity and recovery makes your business more resilient and future-ready.
Final thought
Don’t wait for the perfect sustainability solution. Start where you are, challenge assumptions and redesign for a smarter future. It’s good for business, your people and the planet.
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