The opportunities available the general theory of

The opportunities available
The general theory of sustainability asserts alignment to
environmental issues brings with it accompanying
benefits in terms of cost savings, reduced impact on the
environment, enhanced image of the business and the
potential to attract environmentally sensitive customers.
Earlier notes have, in part, addressed these points to an
extent but more needs to be said.
Purchasing
Buying materials, resources etc regarded as
environmentally friendly is a good starting point for the
planning of sustainable activities.
It can be difficult to determine exactly what items are
‘green’ and what are not.
Certainly some suppliers (of equipment using water and
energy) provide information about appliances and use a
rating system to assist in making an appropriate purchase
in terms of energy consumption. For information go to
and
click on ‘Products’ and ‘Resources’. Another useful
website to consider energy ratings of appliances is
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.
eCO-Buy
ECO-Buy is a not-for-profit organisation endorsed by the
Government ‘… as a leading green purchasing
organisation in Australia’.
It is available at . Take the
time to watch the ‘ECO-Buy video’.
The site advises becoming a member of ECO-Buy will:
• Help you reduce your environmental impacts
• Deliver organisational efficiencies and increased cost
savings
• Give you the tools and know=how to successfully
embed green purchasing in your organisation
• Help you source green products
• Demonstrate to stakeholders your commitment to
sustainability
Product categories available through this organisation
include:
• Cleaning and maintenance
• Electrical equipment
• Furniture and fixtures
• Gas energy rated
• Green Power
• IT and office equipment
• Lighting
• Office products
• Packaging and containers
• Paper
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• Waste management
• Water saving
Green purchasing
ResourceSmart at
minimisation_2342.html urges businesses to consider all
their purchases from a different perspective:
“Key considerations when green purchasing include
whether the product you’re buying contains recycled
content, whether there are energy and water savings, as
well as how efficiently the materials were used to make
the product. You can also find out whether the
manufacturers have product stewardship or waste
reduction programs.
The first step in green purchasing is to ask, ‘Do we need
to purchase this item or is there an alternative?’ which is
the crux of reducing how much waste you produce.
Buying a product made from recycled content is a key
consideration for a number of reasons. For recycling to
truly be effective, there needs to be strong markets for
collected recyclable materials. That is, the collectors need
to be able to sell recyclables to manufacturers otherwise
recycling is not a viable business.