Environmental purchasing success stories
The department has compiled the following list of "Success Stories"to encourage the uptake of environmental purchasing by Australian Government agencies. Wherever possible, these examples include a quantification of the benefits flowing from particular environmental purchasing initiatives. Sometimes these benefits can be in dollar terms, others in terms of tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided, or litres of water consumed, or similar measures of environmental outcomes.
Examples have come from purchasing by Australian Government agencies, State agencies, and the private sector, as well as some international sources.
Please email paul.starr@environment.gov.au with any further Success Stories we can add to the list.
The department would like to acknowledge the support of Resource NSW in compiling these case studies.
Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed in these case studies do not necessarily reflect those of Resource NSW, the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment and Heritage.
General
Polystyrene cups replaced at BP
In 2002, BP launched its Green Office Program in the Guildford Office, Sydney. One of the first initiatives was to replace the disposable polystyrene cups with ceramic mugs.
Achievements:
- 156,000 polystyrene cups per year avoided from landfill
- Direct financial savings of $4,680 annually (one off purchase of ceramic mugs cost $1,580)
- Reduced waste by approx 10% (cups plus all the cardboard and plastic packaging)
- Improved staff satisfaction and morale, motivation towards program
- Improved customer image
"it's cheaper to buy everyone a brand new mug year on year than disposable cups!!" Business Unit Leader, BP Lubricants 2002
Checklist Success Stories
- Building Management Services
- Cleaning Services
- Dishwashers
- Fax Machines
- Miscellaneous Office Equipment (scanners, plotters, servers)
- Office Equipment Consumables
- Packaging
- Paper and Cardboard
- Personal Computers and Monitors
- Printers, Photocopiers and Multi-Function Devices
- Printing Services
- Recycled Products
- Refrigerators
- Task lighting/desk Lamps
- Waste management services
Building Management Services
The new 60L building in Melbourne is an example of a commercially viable office building where energy and environmental performance improvements are both built into the design of the retrofit and also driven by the provider of building management services. Through a "Green Lease" the building manager can set consistent environmental goals throughout the tenancy and optimise the performance of natural ventilation and lighting systems. The building manager provides tenancy fit-out guidelines, a fit-out schedule, sourcing advice, an environmental management plan and a staff orientation kit. There are also computer-based systems to provide data on energy and water use to tenants, as well as integrated management of residual materials and solid office waste. For more information, see www.60Lgreenbuilding.com
The Hydraulics Unit of the former NSW Department of Public Works and Services (DPWS, now Department of Commerce) has conducted water audits on a range of public sector tenancies. It has identified significant water saving opportunities, as well as the chance to save money on incorrect billing. For more information, see the NSW Water Conservation Strategy at: http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/care/water/conserv_strategy/
Cleaning Services
As part of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts contract for cleaning services in the Canberra offices, a mandatory requirement is that the successful tenderer is required to use environmentally friendly products compatible with the Department's grey water reuse system. A list of all products to be used in the course of performing the services has to be provided by the contractor to the Department for approval along with material safety data sheets (MSDS).
A 1998 US Department of Interior (DOI) RFP for environmentally preferable custodial services addressed OH&S issues and recycled content products. DOI required cleaning products to be low toxicity, noncarcinogenic and biodegradable; to reduce skin, eye, and respiratory irritability; and to be without unnecessary fragrances, or dyes. The winning bid was the most environmentally preferable, the least expensive of the bids submitted, and was less than the price of the current contract.
Yellowstone National Park piloted environmentally preferable cleaning products across facilities in several national parks areas. Reduced toxicity and improved biodegradability were two key benefits from the pilot project. The number of cleaning products used was reduced from 130 to 15, plus a few additional specialised products. Less sick leave, heightened productivity, increased morale among cleaning staff and a simplified procurement process have resulted from the pilot.
Dishwashers
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra: The Communications Centre adjacent to the John Gorton Building in Canberra is being refurbished by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts in order to provide a high quality working environment for the Australian Greenhouse Office. The dishwashers chosen for the fit out are a single dish drawer, with a 3 star energy rating that uses approximately 9 litres per wash and as little as 7.5 litres in economy mode.
Fax Machines
Email faxes can produce considerable paper savings, allowing networked users to send faxes from their desktops directly to the machine. For some examples of business paper use reduction through the introduction of new technology, see http://www.forestethics.org/pdf/reduce.pdf This includes case studies from Bank of America, Californian county government, Nike and AT&T.
Miscellaneous Office Equipment (scanners, plotters, servers)
NSW Superannuation Administration Authority (SAA) employs a "workflow imaging system" to process its superannuation scheme-related correspondence, which covers approximately 85% of all correspondence that is received. Documents are scanned and electronically transmitted to the business areas for processing, thereby eliminating the use of paper in the correspondence process until a letter or statement is generated at the end.
Office Equipment Consumables
DEH returns 100% of toner cartridges used in the Department back to the manufacturers. Of this, approximately 80% are remanufactured into new toners. DEH has had no difficulties with quality or performance when purchasing remanufactured cartridges.
Packaging
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts returns all toners for recycling in the original packaging, therefore reducing the amount of waste for DEH, and providing an opportunity for manufacturers to reuse the packaging.
After an extensive waste audit was conducted at an Australian Rules football match, the Sydney Cricket Ground determined that approximately 5% of the waste generated was food packaging. The remaining waste was observed to be food waste, cardboard and glass leakage into the waste stream. Additional cardboard and recycling facilities were introduced. The Trust is presently investigating the use of biodegradable packaging and awaiting the results of a composting study at the University of New South Wales to address food waste.
Paper and Cardboard
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts has an extensive waste management program that includes the separation of organic waste, recyclables and non-recyclable materials. The Department has been actively recycling since 1996, and last year consigned 118 tonnes of paper and cardboard to be recycled.
Resource NSW uses 100% recycled card for their staff business cards.
Brisbane City Council, one of the largest local governments in the world, recently switched to the purchase of Australian made recycled content paper. The unit cost was slightly higher than their previous paper, but the switch was part of a co ordinated paper use reduction campaign. The savings from these initiatives offset the costs of switching papers.
NSW State Electoral Office - Cardboard ballot boxes, screens and signage used at polling places for elections, together with cardboard furniture provided to Returning Officer offices are manufactured from recycled Australian-made materials. When elections are finished they can be recycled or reused for school, community service or local council activities. Apart from the positive environmental and corporate image, the initiative has resulted in considerable savings in storage, transport, cartage and hiring costs.
Personal Computers and Monitors
ICLEI's Relief project has estimated the environmental benefits of greening computer purchasing in Europe as a reduction of 832,320 tCO2-equiv, or removing the greenhouse emissions of 101,503 people (global).
Printers, Photocopiers and Multi-Function Devices
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) operates around 2000 copy machines over 14 facilities. Through a "cost per copy" contract (leasing copy services rather than copiers) NASA saved $4.5 million over a 5-year contract.
Printing Services
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) endeavours to work with printing services providers to maximise the use of recycled papers and organic inks in their publications. This has included a 15,000 copy print run of a 16 page self-covered brochure printed on 115 gsm recycled paper in full colour using soy inks. They have found their printers to be highly cooperative in meeting Environmental specifications.
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts uses its letterhead to display membership in the Greenhouse Challenge programme and its ISO14001 certified environmental management system (EMS).
The US Army at Fort Bragg purchased new digital printing equipment. As a result, they have eliminated 1,500 gallons of hazardous waste, cut the costs of chemicals purchasing and disposal by more than US$100,000 per year.
Recycled Products
As part of the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts contract for cleaning services, a specification was included that all consumables such as toilet paper and hand towel would need to be 100% recycled.
Frankston City Council in Victoria uses recycled plastic signage. This is lower maintenance, easier to install, and poses less of an OH&S risk to employees.
Ernst and Young (London) recycle plastic cups used in their offices. These are turned into 100% recycled pencils and are sold back to the office..
Refrigerators
The Communications Centre adjacent to the John Gorton Building in Canberra is being refurbished by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts in order to provide a high quality working environment for the Australian Greenhouse Office. The Communications Centre fit out will include a 440 litre fridge in the kitchen with an energy rating of 3½ stars which has been awarded the Galaxy Energy Award in 2000 and 2001 (Galaxy Energy Awards are presented to appliances that have the highest star rating in their class). The tea points will have 120 litre fridges, with an energy rating of 2½ stars.
Task lighting/desk Lamps
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts has committed to the ongoing recycling of fluorescent tubes from its operations. This ensures that the mercury contained in the tubes is diverted from landfill. This commitment includes compact fluorescent tubes from task lighting.
Waste management services
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts has an extensive waste management program that includes the separation of organic waste, recyclables and non-recyclable materials. The Department has been actively recycling since 1996, and last year consigned 16 tonnes of organic material for composting. This amounted to approximately 17 tonnes of CO2 abatement.
As part of its office waste strategy, Sydney Water measured the amount of office waste generated at its Head Office building. It was determined that while it costs approximately 21c per kg to send general mixed waste to landfill, materials like paper, glass and aluminium can be recycled at a cost of only 2c per kg, or less.
An aggressive waste reduction program implemented by the Campbelltown Institute of TAFE has resulted in an 86% reduction in the total amount of waste being sent to landfill. Before the program commenced, approximately 14 skips of waste were being generated per week; this has now dropped to 2 per week. Most notable are the efforts of the Tourism and Hospitality section that, with assistance from the Macarthur Waste Board, has built worm farms to handle food waste generated by cooking courses. What the worms can't handle is sent to special composting bays. Garden waste is added to the food waste and the resulting high quality waste is used in landscaping and on the Institute's gardens.
ESD operations guide
The ESD operations guide for owners, managers and tenants - A guide to help building owners, managers and tenants to operate buildings more sustainably
ESD design guide
The ESD design guide for office and public buildings provides an accessible introduction to ESD in buildings, suitable for all public sector staff involved in construction or refurbishment projects.
