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TRUE Zero Waste Certification

GBCI’s TRUE Zero Waste certification program is used by facilities to define, pursue and achieve their Zero Waste goals, cutting their carbon footprint, supporting public health and reducing operational costs.


The certification goes beyond diversion numbers and focuses on the upstream policies and practices that make Zero Waste successful in any organization and beyond. TRUE certified spaces are environmentally responsible, more resource-efficient and help turn waste into savings and additional income streams.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SJMC'S TRUE TRKR Program

Benefits?
TRUE certified facilities:
  • Save money - Waste is a sign of inefficiency and the reduction of waste reduces costs.
  • Progress faster - A zero waste strategy improves upon production processes and environmental prevention strategies, which can lead to larger, more innovative steps.
  • Support sustainability - A zero waste strategy supports the three P’s – people, planet and profit.
  • Improve material flows - A zero waste strategy uses fewer new raw materials and sends no waste materials to landfills, incineration (waste-to-energy) and the environment.
  • TRUE lines up with LEED accreditation too, learn more here.

Now What?
Right now SJMConsults is working with companies to turn their space into a TRUE Zero Waste certified facility. As a TRUE Advisor (previously Zero Waste Business Associate), Scott J Morrison works with companies to evaluate their best way forward towards certification.


A TRUE Advisor earns certification themselves. As a member and an Advisor, SJMConsults must meet educational and work experience requirements, achieve training credits and pass a final exam.

The TRUE Zero Waste Certification program consists of 80 credits, plus an additional 7 mandatory requirements, that serve as criteria for various levels of certification. Through working with companies on their efforts I've learned that the biggest hurdles to certification are not so much performance, instead, it's the organization and documentation of relevant data.

The TRUE TRKR is designed to help companies get started and manage most of the certification in-house. The program includes TRUE TRKR and 2 hours of remote guidance.


The TRUE TRKR is an Excel-based workbook that provides users with record-keeping and performance recording options for all of the certification criteria.
The workbook breaks down all of the criteria, provides recordkeeping options that clearly state the certification criteria and produces the metrics required by TRUE during the audit stages.

In brief, the TRUE TRKR guides users to track ALL ELEMENTS of certification and predicts your score based on inputs. These inputs are organized in a manner that is intuitive and allows for facility-wide participation. Each page has a different focus, such as:
  • The Dash summarizes all major performance metrics in charts, graphs, and numeric displays to make performance assessments and sharing easy.
  • The TRKR page lists where inputs can be found and provide a space for users to post links and craft a narrative to explain your company's efforts. Auditors can review this central page to determine if users are meeting the certification criteria.
  • Generation Point pages (Warehouse, Offices, Offices, Food Services, Grounds, Construction, Manufacturing, Vehicles, Retail, Hospitality) provides users with the ability to record purchases and their attributes that contribute to 15 possible credits!
  • The Training work page guides users to construct, conduct and record trainings in a manner that helps them to achieve 22 credits!
  • The Bin Calibration page helps users "Right-Size" their bin sizes and pick-up frequencies by evaluating current performance, calculates an Optimized scenario and enables an Override option for further efficiency gains.
  • Audit Forms help users record audits of all streams (not just "waste" or Recycling) and understand their diversion performance at the deepest level.
  • The Vendor and Hauler Forms assist users in recording 11 Credits and provide a clear picture of your communication efforts with upstream and downstream partners.
The little t program includes the TRUE TRKR workbook and 2 hours of set-up assistance for $750 USD. After the 2 hour meeting, all you have to do is fill in the blanks and start earning credits!!

Contact me here to learn if this package is right for you - letsdothis@sjmconsults.com