This metric is intended to capture waste reductions that result from products or services provided by the organization during the reporting period.

For waste reductions as a result of services provided, this metric is calculated as the total number of clients multiplied by the average waste reduction per client during the reporting period. Example: An organization that develops, manufactures, and markets machines used to recycle beverage containers (i.e., reverse vending machines) may report the amount of consumers' waste reduced by recycling containers over the lifetime of the machines sold. Such waste reduction might include efforts to reduce (i.e., using fewer inputs), reuse (e.g., repurposing rather than disposing or recycling excess inputs or unwanted outputs), or recycle (e.g., through established systems or through on-site processing) materials or energy through the services provided by the organization.

For waste reductions as a result of products provided, this metric is calculated as the total number of units sold during the reporting period, multiplied by the average waste reduced per unit over the lifetime of the product. Example: An organization that develops, manufactures, and markets machines used to recycle beverage containers (i.e., reverse vending machines) may report the amount of consumers' waste reduced by recycling containers over the lifetime of the machines sold. Organizations should report the lifetime waste reductions of those products sold during the reporting period; much of the waste reduction may actually occur after the reporting period, throughout the remainder of the products' lifetime.