The Millennium Stadium and Compass Group launched their commitment to the Envirowise Supply Chain programme at the home of Welsh rugby on Monday – an initiative to help the stadium’s suppliers improve environmental performance by reducing costs and managing resources more efficiently.

The Envirowise programme has identified potential savings in excess of £12.45 million for participating UK businesses since its launch in 2002 and now the stadium are running the initiative with their suppliers. Head of Group Operations Tim Burton has thrown his weight behind the project, saying: "We are very aware as a business that we have a responsibility to become more energy efficient and improve our waste management.

"As a high profile venue, we need to demonstrate good practice and encourage others to do the same whether they are spectators, employees, or in this case, our suppliers.

"With the current tough business conditions it is vital that organisations including ourselves look for every possible opportunity to cut costs. This is a straight forward way to achieve this and has the added benefit of helping to reduce our environmental impact on the planet. I sincerely hope that our suppliers also understand the importance of this initiative and actively participate in the project."

Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales, the forum provides suppliers with three free workshops on topics such as green procurement and packaging, carbon footprinting, resource efficiency and transport. Envirowise are also offering free site visits and environmental assessments to eligible participating suppliers.