From a pledge to everyday practice.

Begin with a clear commitment.

The Pledge asks organisations to minimise the waste they send to landfill. The application process includes submission to the Secretariat for review, followed by the participant process and the Pledge Commitment Document.

Making the commitment is the beginning of the journey. It gives an organisation a direction for its waste practices and a reason to keep measuring and improving them over time.

Understand your starting point.

Before planning improvements, establish a baseline. The participant brief describes this as understanding your current waste streams and performance. It is the starting point for seeing what your organisation generates and how that waste is managed.

The programme provides a waste-reporting template and practical implementation guidance. These resources support the work of tracking waste data and turning the commitment into action.

Make the plan practical.

The next step is to create and implement a plan to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover waste. ZWTL encourages organisations to look beyond disposal at the end of a process and consider how waste can be prevented throughout their operations.

The approach starts with prevention and reduction, then reuse or repurposing. Recycling, composting and other appropriate recovery methods help recover valuable materials. Energy recovery may be appropriate for suitable residual waste, while unavoidable residual waste still needs responsible management.

Track, report and review.

Participants track waste-diversion progress through the Digital Platform and report quarterly to the Secretariat. Keeping records makes progress something the organisation can follow through the 12-month period.

The Pledge is a continuous journey. At the end of the period, participants review their progress and continue improving their practices. The 12-month milestone is a point for review, rather than the end of the commitment.

Understand the next pathway.

Organisations meeting the applicable requirements can explore independent ZWTL Verification. This is a separate assessment of waste-diversion performance against the applicable ZWTL Standard.

At least 75% diversion over 12 months is required to be considered for verification engagement, subject to applicable requirements. Reaching a percentage, signing the Pledge or using the platform does not automatically lead to a Verification Opinion.