Through a strong company effort, The Marketing Store Sydney became Sydney’s First Carbon Neutral Agency. We launched our initiative by signing up with Carbon Planet, a company that audits businesses to ensure they are as carbon neutral as possible and provides opportunities for them to offset their carbon emissions that are unable to be negated. With Australians being one of the highest producers of greenhouse gasses per person in the world, we certainly believe this is a terrific accomplishment. However, we also believe that there is much more to be done in regards to our social responsibility.
Lowering carbon emissions involves changing the thinking and habits of individuals. The program is aimed at educating and encouraging our employees, clients and neighbors to make beneficial changes both in and out of the office. We have already implemented several initiatives and over time will continue to implement other components.
We are reducing. Light bulbs throughout the building, where suitable, are energy efficient to assist in cutting down on our power usage. When traveling to visit clients, employees are encouraged to use a number of greener transport options.
For example, they can reserve vehicles from Go Get, a shared car resource, whose cars are more fuel-efficient and create fewer emissions. Instead of regular taxis for the same rate, they use Green Tomato Driver Service, which features Prius Hybrid cars that work on both petrol and electricity to reduce emissions.
We are reusing. Discarded photocopies (that are not printed on our double-sided printers) are sorted and turned into notepads for internal use. These are bound and covered using old plastic covers that The Marketing Store had printed many years ago, saving their destruction as well.
We are cycling. We encourage our employees to use non-carbon emitting transport to work. We have installed bike racks that are a visible reminder to employees that cycling to work is a viable option, not only reducing carbon emissions but also providing great fitness benefits. We are also looking into options to provide additional benefits to employees who take this option.
We are recycling. Our Waste Separation program and education encourages employees to look at what they are throwing out, realizing what is and isn’t recyclable and taking this knowledge home. The Land Fill Draw also makes people think about what and how much they are throwing out.
The program is in its infancy, though the interest we have had from employees wanting to learn about alternatives is very positive. We are encouraging all employees to test their carbon footprint and share this with the agency – rewarding the most efficient households. We will also be looking into ways we can help our employees save money, while they act Green. Some of these initiatives include rebates for bicycle purchase, bulk purchase of green cleaning detergents and more. There are many Green ideas that we can implement within the business environment. Some of these will take time, but we are working towards an even Greener office and Sydney.
