Original Air Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2026 1:00pm EST
Making meaningful progress toward zero waste in corporate and other institutional settings requires a holistic understanding of how waste is generated and managed. Where traditional waste audits analyze discarded waste for insights, zero waste audits look at the steps that products and packaging (materials) follow leading up to that point. Using a systems approach, they evaluate procurement policies and how items are used, as well as end-of-life collection practices and infrastructure, looking for opportunities at each stage to use and manage materials more efficiently.
This program featured a primer describing the elements of a zero waste audit and how to conduct them, followed by a case study showing how Colgate-Palmolive has applied them in a corporate setting. The program also included an introduction to the TRUE zero waste certification system, a zero waste program.
Moderated by:
Alec Cooley, Senior Advisor @ Busch Systems
