Internal Operations relate to the overall environmental performance of any organisation and include how you manage and control energy, water, waste, resources along with health and safety.

Resource Use

Resource use equals doing more with less. Good resource use maximises value while minimizing resource use and adverse environmental impacts.

Good resource use looks at both 'what' and 'how' things are made. Good resource use provides better quality goods using less of the environment. This tends to emphasise natural infinite resources. Examples of good resource use include:

* Minimising the amount of material in goods and services
* Enhancing material recyclables,
* Maximising the use of renewable resources and products.

Energy use

One particular aspect of good resource use is Energy Efficiency. Every year, £12 billion worth of energy is wasted in the UK. That's 30% of the country's energy consumption!

Energy Efficiency is driven by cost savings and ever more pressures to control emissions that contribute to climate change.

Energy Efficiency tends to concentrate on how much energy is used, rather than whether it is a green source of energy. Energy efficiency looks at how the energy is being used, rather than where it comes from finite or renewable supplies.

Water conservation:

It may sound strange that with more flooding we need to better conserve water. All water used in the UK, whether for washing up, for the toilet, washing cars or any number of industrial processes uses water that is drinking water quality.

Compare that with many parts of the world, where millions of people are suffering because they do not get access to fresh potable drinking water.

We need to control quality, use and flow of water. This involves:

• Preventing pollution, safe-guarding supplies.
• Choice of water - whether to use potable or grey water.
• Conserving water, by reducing leaks and wastage.
• Managing flow, to develop equity in supplies.

Environmental Conservation measures such as more trees and better use of plants help to prevent flash flooding.

Waste minimisation:

Waste strategies see waste as the source of many problems, and look to ways to control this waste.

When you calculate the real costs of waste, it is many times more than a lot of people think is the cost. Add up the costs of the raw materials that end up in the bin, the labour costs to clean them up, and transport to get it to the bin, and you soon see there are a lot more costs than just disposal.

The Waste Hierarchy says that the best way to deal with waste is to reduce the amount produced. After that, find out if the waste can be re-used (e.g. computers), and if not -are there ways to recover some of the waste? This could include recycling parts, composting or use to make energy. Only as a last resort should the waste be disposed, either to landfill or to air.

Health & Safety:

Health and safety in food sector main hazards are..cuts, trips and falls.