Now a Bronze Partner in government environmental program
Pyrmont, New South Wales, Australia
Bronze Partners: Minister for the Environment Robyn Parker presents Avondale College of Higher Education’s award to public relations officer Brenton Stacey. Credit: Oneill Photographics.
A renewed commitment to sustainability has earned Avondale College of Higher Education the status of Bronze Partner in a New South Wales Government environmental program.
Avondale received recognition of its status from Minister for the Environment Robyn Parker during a breakfast at Doltone House in Pyrmont this past month (June 3). Public relations officer Brenton Stacey and representatives of 62 other entities that have joined the government’s Sustainability Advantage Program received awards from Ms Parker.
She described the entities as “leaders in each of their sectors, successfully bringing sustainability into their operations, engaging customers and staff members in improving environmental performance and achieving solid cost, energy, waste and water savings.”
The savings of $23.8 million for all Gold, Silver and Bronze Partners include 42,509 megawatt hours of electricity, 98,729 megajoules of gas, 45,000 tonnes of waste and 2.2 billion litres of water.
Reducing costs by engaging in sustainable practices—“it’s a no-brainer,” said Mr Parker during her speech.
Avondale earned its status as a Bronze Partner for demonstrating commitment to business sustainability over the past year by: launching an Environmental Sustainability Policy; signing a print service contract that reduced the number of devices on campus; and decommissioning its boiler and replacing it with a gas heating system.
“I’m glad Avondale joined the program,” says Brenton, “and I’m proud of our achievements, but we need to continue demonstrating our commitment to sustainability. Our goal should be to demonstrate significant environmental practices, which will require more long-term strategies.”
The Sustainability Advantage Program has grown from 420 to 530 members over the past year. More than half of the members are from regional areas.
Visit www.avondale.edu.au/greenavondale for more information about Avondale’s green initiatives.
A green and clean event
The New South Wales Government’s Office of Environment and Heritage minimised the environmental impact of the breakfast it organised to recognise Sustainable Advantage Program members by:
- Hiring a six-star green energy-rated venue
- Using a video link to present the international keynote speech
- Sourcing food from within a 100-kilometre radius or from the market
- Minimising solid waste by ensuring food portions were not individually wrapped
- Donating surplus food to charity
- Providing food waste for use in producing green electricity and a nutrient-rich-by-product fertiliser
- Using sustainable material wherever possible, such as wheatgrass displays for table settings and recycled paper for printed material
- Using off cuts from timber signs for Sustainability Advantage Partner awards, material that would otherwise have gone to landfill
- Encouraging the use of public transport