 |
 |
             |
How you can make a difference
Green e-signature To show support for the environment, our company invites you to add green text to the bottom of their email signatures. Options include:
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
Option two P Be green, read from the screen.
Lotus Notes users should follow their help notes to add images and colours. Outlook users just need to click on Tools - Options - Mail - Format - Signature to update their e-signature. The tree image can be found in Webdings.
· Stamp out stand-by power. Did you know Synergy Energy says standby power accounts for over 10% of the electricity used in homes and the Australian Greenhouse Office estimates this costs Australian consumers over $500 million per year and generates more than 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually? Just think how much energy could be saved and CO² emissions prevented if we stamped out stand-by power in the office! · To help combat the greenhouse effect, in addition to turning off PC monitors at the end of the day make sure all meeting room televisions, radios, DVD players and AV equipment are turned off at the wall after each use. Make signage and place them on exit doors or in meeting rooms to serve as a reminder Have you turned off all power points and light switches.(Be creative and make up your own version) · Photocopiers and printers (not multifunctional printing devices) without a built-in power saving mode should be turned off at the end of each day. Multifunctional copiers/printers should not be turned off; however, as network connections may be lost. In most cases multifunctional devices have power saving modes though so the environmental impact is minimised. · Printer cartridges can be recycled to benefit not only the environment but in some cases your favourite charity or community organisation. Collection points are at Dick Smith Electronics, Officeworks and some Post Offices. · Mobile telephones can be recycled through the mobile phone industry’s recycling campaign Call your network provider to see where you can dispose of your old phone.
· Find out where the light switches are in your office and turn off all non-essential lighting at the end of the day. While there are timers in some buildings which turn the lights off at around 7pm, this is still everyone’s responsibility and colleagues should encourage one another to maximise energy savings. · If there’s a grid of switches in your office how about conducting a light audit to produce a poster which indicates the area each switch corresponds to. · Turn off lights if you know an area will be unattended for more than half an hour (bathrooms, offices, meeting rooms etc). · Turn off lights when leaving all meeting rooms and store rooms. · Report faulty or flickering lighting to your maintenance services department. · Turn off PC monitors at the end of the day, and especially for weekends. Leaving just one PC monitor switched on or in stand-by mode all night can waste as much power as printing 800 A4 sheets. Imagine what this adds up to over a year! Remember to make an exit door poster and place it on the back of exit doors to serve as a reminder. · Unplug mobile phone and Blackberry charges when not being used or when devices are fully charged as chargers still use electricity when they are plugged in but not charging. Our Mutual is responsible for heating, air conditioning and related matters. As part of initial fit outs, refurbishments and ongoing maintenance Our Mutual review this type of work with sustainability issues and energy consumption in mind. Our Mutual is also mindful of making sure: · Air conditioning is maintained at the recommended comfort temperature settings of 21 to 23 degrees Celsius. · Thermostats and auto-timers match company work patterns. · Air conditioning thermostats are positioned away from heat sources such as urns and photocopiers. · Air conditioning systems are only set to times when the building is occupied. · Use a glass not a disposable plastic/paper cup when getting a drink. Disposable cups generally end up in the bin whereas glasses are reused. This form of recycling goes a long way to reduce waste and landfill as well as save money in the long term. If your team uses disposable cups, make a use a glass poster and place in a strategic spot to encourage colleagues to change their ways. · According to Synergy Energy, microwaves using stand-by power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week can consume more electricity than when being used. Consider making a team rule which states the microwave and/or kettle must be turned off at the power point after each use. Make a switch off poster to serve as a reminder. And here’s a bright colleague idea: consider setting up a fine system whereby collected monies go to a Foundation of your choice. · For optimum efficiency, check fridges are set to the cooling level recommended by the manufacturer. · Plastic cutlery disposed of after one use adds to landfill. Why not say no to lunch bar staff when they ask if you need it and use cutlery you’ve brought from home, or, wash your plastic cutlery and use it again and again. · Our Mutual are constantly reviewing office recycling, including the provision of separate glass, aluminium, plastic and kitchen waste bins in offices. While there are various recycling processes employed across the organisation, there are significant logistics associated with implementing a group-wide recycling program and as such this may take some time.
Print smart and paper recycling Every tonne of paper recycled saves 13 trees, 2.5 barrels of oil, 4100Kwh of electricity, 4m³ of landfill and 31,370 litres of water. · All Our Mutual offices have dedicated recycling bins for general paper products and confidential documents. We make the effort to put all paper in these bins to reduce our impact on the environment. · Cut contamination of recyclable paper. Paper which has food or drink spilt on it can’t always be recycled. In respect of this, colleagues are reminded they are not to use their desk bins for contaminates (eg food scraps and containers, cans, plastics etc) but rather the blue wet waste bins provided for this purpose. · Think twice before pressing the print button for emails, presentations and attachments. · Most documents can be easily read and edited onscreen. Maximise online technology and share and store documents electronically. · Colleagues needing to print documents can reduce paper use by printing two sides to a page (in Microsoft Word click file → print → select and then in the ‘zoom’ box select ‘2 pages to a sheet’) or if your printer supports it print double-sided. · Some printers can output booklet printing which reduces the amount of paper used by 75%. This is great for reports and lengthy documents. · Sharing is caring. If you know a document will be of interest to several people in your team email them to say you’ll print one copy and share it around. · Here’s a great colleague idea: make message pads from unwanted printed paper. Collect unwanted paper and faxes which have a blank side, bundle them up (blank side facing upward), cut bundles in half (making A5 sized pages) and use bulldog clips to hold the pages together. Voila! · Recycle printer toner cartridges as noted under Tools of the Trade and help fundraise for your favourite charity or community organisation. · Help positively impact colleague printing habits by creating a print smart and recycle poster and placing it near printers and photocopiers to encourage colleagues to ‘print smart’.
· Walk, cycle or catch public transport – even if you drive one less day per week you’ll significantly reduce your impact on the environment. · Carpool with a colleague – it’s a great way to save money, reduce your emissions and get to know your workmates. · If you have to drive to meetings, plan them for the beginning or end of the day to reduce car trips. · Use phone or teleconferencing facilities, wherever possible, to do business with colleagues in other cities. By minimising business flights you help to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. · When driving use air conditioning sparingly as running the air-con continuously while driving increases fuel consumption. · If you’re personally in the market for a car buy a small or hybrid car and then keep it well maintained to increase fuel efficiency.
· Bottled water or tap water that is the question. Bottled water is the more unsustainable of the two. Some people drink bottled water due to water quality in their area, safety and taste. Bottled water however requires plastic bottle production and with some popular brands being imported from overseas, increased transport costs as well. Did you know manufacturers use between three and five litres of water to make a one litre bottle of water? Some estimates are much higher. All of these factors make the cost of bottled water around 1,000 times more expensive than the same amount of tap water. So, bottled water or tap water that is the question.
Much of what is mentioned here can be applied at home and in your everyday life too. To find out about initiatives to adopt around the home visit any one of the many sites on the web: · Log onto Synergy Energy for smart ways and top tips. · If you’re building and renovating visit www.greenhouse.gov.au. · In the market for a new or used energy efficient vehicle visit www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au. · And if you’re dreaming of a ‘green’ wedding visit www.naturalweddings.com.au. · Lastly, if you have items to recycle but don’t know who to take them to, search for local recycling information either by council, shire or product by visiting Recycling Near You. |
|