Waste and recycling

Waste is one of the most visible environmental impacts of in-house operations, and recycling initiatives help to encourage staff engagement in the ISO 14001 program. In addition to our longstanding recycling programs in Switzerland, new or enhanced office programs have been introduced in all major office locations internationally (New York, Stamford, New Jersey, Chicago, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo and Melbourne).

Case studies

2007 – Innovation in waste and recycling
Continuously adapting our recycling programs around the world to maximize recycling rates and take advantage of changes to local facilities continues to be a high priority in order to achieve our aggressive targets on waste reduction. Some examples of the numerous innovative techniques used are outlined below:

In Chicago, Illinois, at the UBS Tower and the newest LEED certified property in the portfolio we have implemented a battery collection program. Working with our Universal Waste Recycling partner we have strategically located battery collection and recycling bins around the facility. In just the 3rd and 4th quarter alone, we were able to collect over 350 pounds of used dry cell batteries.
The relaunched recycling scheme in the London offices significantly contributed to the gold medal in the 'Clean City Awards' scheme in recognition of a continued contribution and commitment to the reduction of waste and recycling within the firm.
Across our main US offices we have implemented a bulk distribution to single napkin dispensing units. The annual use of napkins is expected to decrease by over 5%.
A new process in the London campus that aims to tackle unwanted, unsolicited mail with the aim to reduce waste coming to UBS. The ‘Junk Mail Campaign’ encourages employees to return unwanted mail to the mail room who then get in touch with companies and ask them not to send unwanted correspondence.
In our 101 Park Avenue New York building we have installed automatic soap and touch free eco-friendly roll towel cabinets in all restrooms and pantries within the UBS occupied space. The new product averages one and a half towel or 16.5” of paper per hand dry, where as a standard folded towel cabinet averages three towels per hand dry or about 30”. These measures resulted in the use of 100% recycled towels and a reduction in paper usage by approximately 25%.

2006 – Waste reduction, recycling and recovery
Enhanced office recycling programs continue to develop in all major office locations internationally. In Tokyo for example, our building was recently recognized by the Chiyoda ward for its recycling performance delivering an average of 66% recycled or recovered content of 19 separate waste streams from batteries to chop sticks. Some other examples of the less obvious items recycled or recovered around the world are provided below:

Metal Recycling
In London offices a new process was developed for recycling all metal office furniture. The metals collected, were previously sent to landfill and are now systematically being reclaimed. UBS receives funds for all metals recycled and these in turn, are used for ongoing environmental projects. To date over 150 tons of metal have been recycled. In another example, it is now an annual tradition in Honk Kong for the Moon Cake tins to be collected up and recycled.
IT Waste
We continue to look for responsible and sustainable ways of disposing of waste electronic equipment. For example, in London over 20 tons of components from electronic waste were recycled or recovered in 2006.
Seasons Greetings cards
In 2006, over 200 kilograms of seasonal cards were collected and recycled through the Children's Scrap Project. The SCRAP project offers recycled commercial waste for schools in Hackney to use as materials in art and craft sessions.

2005/2006 - Greening Food services in the US
In the US we have initiated a series of programs in partnership with its food service vendor, which encourages employees to reduce their environmental impact. Below is a brief description of three illustrative cafeteria programs which were implemented in 2005 and 2006.

Eco Mug
A personal mug program (instead of Styrofoam cups) has been implemented in all major US cafeterias. This program encourages UBS employees to use their own ceramic/plastic mug (any size) at the fountain soda or coffee urns, and they are charged price of a small size beverage.
Green Serviettes
Napkin dispensers were added in all major US cafeterias which only allow a customer to pull one napkin at a time. The usage in our New Jersey offices alone went from 30 cases a week down to 18 cases a week. That’s an annual reduction of 624 cases of napkins per year for one location.

2005 – London: Replacement of metal filing cabinets
In London office upgrades resulted in the replacement of metal filing cabinets in our main office buildings. UBS worked with a local metal merchant to recycle hundreds of metal filing cabinets. Over 10 tonnes of metal waste were recycled in 2005.

2005 – Used toner recycling program
Used printer, fax machine, and copy machine cartridges comprise a bulky portion of the office waste stream. The plastic used in each toner cartridge contains approximately one half quart of oil. In London, UBS has implemented a program to recycle toner cartridges and now only purchases re-manufactured cartridges. Toner cartridges are collected by staff and recycled through a 3rd Party contractor. Where possible toners are refilled (off site by the contractor) and reused onsite. Last year we reused over 4500 toner cartridges.

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