Australian businesses can deliver one-third of the Federal Government’s proposed emissions reduction target, simply by participating in a new business-run sustainability program, analysis shows.
According to Victorian Employers’ Chambers of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) analysis of businesses participating in a sustainability program – Grow Me The Money – each participant is, on average, reducing their carbon footprint by 15.4 percent or 28 tonnes. If more Australian businesses participated in this program, Australia’s carbon emissions would be reduced by around 46 million tones of CO2 a year, says VECCI CEO Wayne Kayler-Thomson.
“By undertaking a range of straight-forward sustainability measures, businesses have made large savings of carbon and money. There is a great incentive for all other Australian businesses to do the same,” he said. “Together, the Australian business community can cut targeted emissions by one-third by picking sustainability’s low-hanging fruit.”
According to Kayler-Thomson, businesses participating in the program have managed to reduce their carbon footprint substantially by taking simple sustainability measures like installing low-energy compact fluorescent lights, resetting thermostat temperatures and installing light motion sensors, not to mention simple staff actions that reduce emissions and save precious resources.
The analysis also found that, on average, participants have saved $6,600 per year and will continue to make ongoing savings in a future with higher energy and water costs.
For more information on the Grow Me The Money program, please visit www.growmethemoney.com.au
