Corporate Brisbane promoting sustainability - a note from the CEO
A fortnight after the Brisbane City Council's Green Heart Fair and the CitySmart office is still buzzing from the positive emails and comments that we are receiving from those who attended and exhibited.
The weather was a challenge but the support from our corporate sponsors Ingenero and AGL Assist and media partners Channel Ten, Nova, Quest and ourBrisbane.com.au made the event a success. Over 50 exhibitors, $60,000 worth of prizes and giveaways, over 10,000 sustainability minded people and a beautiful sunny Queensland day allowed us to showcase green options available to Brisbane residents. Councillor Peter Matic is responsible for the delivery of Council’s Green Events as Chair of Environment, Parks and Sustainability and provided feedback that “the fair was a great success and the exhibitors certainly had the crowd engaged.”
On the project front, thanks to the continuing support of Brisbane City Council, partnering with the Queensland Government and other Corporate Partners, EzyGreen continues to gather support with over 35,000 Brisbane residents now signed up to reducing Brisbane's greenhouse gas emissions. That equates to over 7,000 cars off the road each year, and over a million dollars in savings from Brisbane resident’s electricity bills. We can now build on the EzyGreen awareness to promote an even greater call to action across Brisbane to achieve the Lord Mayor’s target of a carbon neutral Brisbane by 2026.
Future project ideas were discussed at the partners’ workshop that CitySmart hosted on 12th October. Over 30 partners attended and discussed what CitySmart could facilitate to assist Brisbane businesses to become more sustainable. Ideas included waste management, finance solutions, advisory programs for business, energy efficiency, renewable energy and transport solutions. These ideas will be further developed and taken to the Board and Council for consideration between now and the new year.
Finally, I would like to say thank you for all the messages of support and congratulations that I have received over my Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Award. It was great recognition for the company and CitySmart team.
We look forward to seeing you at our Corporate Partner Christmas function, please mark your diaries for the evening of Monday, 13 December, 2010.
Megan Houghton
CEO, CitySmart Pty Ltd
Achieving carbon neutrality - a culture change
CitySmart partner National Australia Bank (NAB) achieves carbon neutrality and saves around 60,000 CO2 per year or 13,500 cars off the road per year.
Sustainability is at the forefront of corporate social responsibility and with a greater number of organisations focusing on internal energy consumption, carbon neutrality is becoming a tangible target.
With a plan in place and all areas of its business involved, CitySmart partner NAB has achieved its goal by becoming one of Australia's largest carbon neutral companies.
In order to achieve carbon neutrality, NAB started its journey by measuring its carbon footprint. Once this was defined, NAB set about reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency and demand management. This involved the dedication of NAB employees, who over three years enthusiastically embraced making NAB a more sustainable company.
Once efficiencies to the business were made, NAB went about purchasing energy from renewable sources where practical and available. The remaining carbon emissions were then offset by purchasing quality accredited carbon offsets. NAB is now focusing on reducing its water, waste and paper usage to becoming a more sustainable and responsible company.
Since 2007, NAB has set about delivering an efficiency program which has resulted in Australian savings around 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions or the equivalent of 13,500 cars off the road per year. NAB recognises that sustainability is not only important for the environment, but for the long-term growth and resilience of their business.
If a company the size of NAB can achieve this result in three years, imagine what CitySmart and its corporate partners can do to help small to medium businesses in Brisbane reduce their carbon footprint over the next three years.
For more information on how NAB achieved this result for the Australian region visit: www.nab.com.au/environment.
Partner insight offers foundation for next CitySmart project
Over 30 CitySmart partners participated in a sustainability workshop to provide insight and expertise into potential projects that would help Brisbane businesses cut their carbon footprint.
With the success of EzyGreen, it is timely to target businesses, so we put the challenge out to the CitySmart partners. Some 30 partners responded to attend a major sustainability brainstorming session at the Novotel in Brisbane.
The goal was simple - help Brisbane businesses reduce Brisbane's greenhouse gas emissions - but the challenge would be in developing a workable project that would be accessible, affordable and achievable to Brisbane businesses.
The target areas included office efficiency, energy, transport, waste and water. The objective was to develop ideas that Citysmart could take and develop into a strategic project model to offer businesses.
The ideas came thick and fast and the discussion turned to commercial feed in tariffs for solar generation, energy efficiency measures, waste management, new technologies, public transport incentives, alternative transport options, and encouraging behaviour change. Patrick Dale from NAB provided excellent insight into how NAB achieved carbon neutrality and Carol Battle from Arup explained how other cities have targeted retrofit office buildings.
The day finished with a wealth of ideas for CitySmart to work through and consider when developing workable sustainability programs for business.
Thanks to all the partners that attended and shared their knowledge.
Sustainable travel choices
Through smart travel and accommodation choices, your business could cut carbon emissions and cut travel costs.
CitySmart partners Airtrain and Novotel Brisbane have teamed up and are on track to deliver tangible carbon reductions for Brisbane’s corporate travelers.
Business related travel, which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, is often overlooked when businesses are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. However, if you know your travel plans in advance, greener options do exist and can also help cut travel costs.
CitySmart partner Airtrain is working with corporate Queensland to provide a cleaner greener option of travel to and from Brisbane's international and domestic airports. CitySmart partner Novotel has embraced this green option and provides clients and guests with access to the Airtrain digital timetable from the comfort of their hotel foyer.
The dedicated Airtrain digital timetable advises when the next Airtrain will be leaving nearby Central Station to Brisbane Airport so your staff and clients can plan ahead, saving time, money and carbon emissions. A one-way trip to the airport by Airtrain will save half a kg of CO2 per person vs a car trip and over $30 per taxi hire from the CBD.
Novotel Brisbane has embraced sustainability and is currently refurbishing all 296 rooms of the 4.5 star hotel to reduce energy consumption, manage waste and recycling and promote staff awareness in its goal to become Brisbane's most environmentally conscious hotel. Novotel is Green Globe Certified, which means it is independently audited and assessed for its sustainability.
To find out how you can align your next business trip with your sustainability goals, contact Novotel Brisbane on 07 3309 3309 or Airtrain on 07 3216 3308
Brisbane Sustainability Hub - aiming for a sustainable World
The ARUP Brisbane Sustainability Hub offers advice and solutions from office efficiency to planning infrastructure to make your business more sustainable and energy efficient.
Brisbane's Green organisations have a central home to combine forces, pool resources and reduce greenhouse emissions thanks to the support of ARUP.
Seventy-nine Adelaide Street is now home to the 'Brisbane Sustainability Hub', that includes likeminded businesses focused on reducing Queensland's carbon footprint.
With Arup's support, the 'Sustainability Hub' houses the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Green Cross, Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC) and CitySmart, and together the not-for-profit organisations have a major impact on carbon reduction in Brisbane and across Australia.
The Green Building Council drives green building programs, technologies, design practices and operations as well as the integration of green building initiatives into mainstream design, construction and operation of buildings to increase the long-term viability of our buildings.
Green Cross' programs help disaster-effected communities to rebuild green and deliver safe drinking water and rivers in developing countries as well as here in Australia. Green Cross assisted in the rebuilding of communities after the devastating Victorian bushfires.
A national sustainability rating scheme is the key to the Australian Green Infrastructure Council's establishment. The AGIC rating scheme is a key part of a governance mechanism that registers and supports rating scheme applicants; trains AGIC assessors; independently verifies applications; recommends projects to the AGIC board for certification and certifies and rewards outstanding sustainability projects.
CitySmart is the largest of the 'Sustainability Hub' members and through the EzyGreen program has helped reduce Brisbane's greenhouse gases by over 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year since the company's establishment last year.
