Key Melbourne-specific climate change opportunities

News: Members shown how to develop green procurement strategies

Every purchase impacts on the environment in some way, but participants at the Committee for Melbourne’s procurement workshop in March 2009 learnt about how to minimise this impact by developing a green procurement strategy for their organisation.

Green purchasing is choosing to buy products that are less damaging to our environment and human health than competing products that serve the same purpose. It is often thought this will add to purchasing costs but speakers at the workshop, hosted by KPMG, proved this is not always the case.

EcoBuy’s CEO, Hugh Wareham, said EcoBuy supported organisations to 'green' their purchasing and provided practical assistance to integrate green purchasing practices into organisations, such as offering a register of “green product suppliers".

Case Study: Toyota Motor Corporation Australia

One company that has linked with EcoBuy is Toyota Motor Corporation Australia. Toyota’s Corporate Manager in Strategy and Environment Mr Roger Petrucci, explained that not only has Toyota purchased green for its administration – for example, it has introduced 65 office stationery items with greener footprints – but it has also introduced green purchasing to its car production lines.

The company is dedicated to eliminating substances of concern from vehicle parts and accessories including lead, cadmium and mercury, he said.

Toyota had also introduced recycling initiatives to its logistics supply chain and uses recycled materials in the manufacture of Toyota engines. All parts of their cars are suitable for end-of-life recycling.

The company is also addressing lifecycle on-road CO2 emissions with global sales of hybrid cars increasing, Mr Petrucci said.

Case Study: KPMG

KPMG’s Manager of Procurement and Contracts Ms Melinda Tippett, explained how KPMG had been among the first companies in Australia to achieve certification under the Department of Climate Change’s Greenhouse Friendly Program.

KPMG achieved this in June 2008 by instigating a comprehensive lifestyle assessment to accurately measure the company’s greenhouse gas emissions.

From this a partnership developed between KPMG’s citizenship and procurement groups to benchmark the company’s environmental impact and reduce consumption.

KPMG developed its Step Lightly staff program based on 'reduced consumption equals reduced environmental impact' and increased profitability through less spending. By benchmarking items such as paper use or air travel, they were able to target reductions in consumption in individual office locations around Australia.

CIPS Australia’s Managing Director Mr Jonathan Dutton, provided some tips on cost savings through procurement. CIPS Australia is based in Melbourne and is an international network of procurement professionals with 2,500 members in Australasia. CIPS promotes best-practice, continuous improvement in professional standards and raises awareness of the contribution that procurement and supply management can make to organisations, Mr Dutton said.

This workshop was an outcome of our Climate Change Taskforce as it addresses one of the Taskforce’s opportunities in procurement. For more information, please contact our Policy Director Ms Susan Vale on (03) 9650 8800 or at svale@melbourne.org.au

News: Staff travel made easier

Moving people quickly and efficiently around Melbourne is vital for any employer. At our recent Staff Travel Workshop, participants learnt how to help employees get to and from work more easily, and to move around the city during the day more efficiently.

UrbanTrans’ Senior Consultant Mr David Meiklejohn, explained strategies to promote sustainable transport leading to reductions in absenteeism, increased staff retention and substantial cost savings.

Australia’s first Transport Management Association, Access Melbourne, is being set up by Urban Trans, which has been contracted by the Victorian Government. The Committee has been involved in a working group for this new organisation.

Free assistance to member organisations

Access Melbourne will offer free assistance to member organisations, including surveys to gather base data on staff travel patterns, providing support and linking organisations to share knowledge on improving travel options.

Mr Meiklejohn said options might include promotional days such as ride or walk to work days, increasing building facilities for green travel options such as additional bike racks, and introducing car pooling plans for travel to and from work or to common destinations during the day, such as the airport.

Case Study: Lend Lease

Lend Lease’s Project Director of Victoria Harbour Ms Ellie Schwab, said that Lend Lease began travel surveying in October 2008 with 60 per cent of employees responding. Their survey found 60 per cent of staff drove to work alone, 25 per cent used public transport, 7 per cent car pooled, 6 per cent cycled and 2 per cent walked.

Since then, the company has introduced season public transport tickets by payroll deduction, measured employee demand for car pooling, provided a defensive cycling course and participated in the Green Travel Expo and Ride to Work Day. Lend Lease has also become a member of Access Melbourne.

Reducing the need for daily travel

Telstra Corporation’s Group Manager in Environment Dr Turlough Guerin, challenged participants to consider “work is something you do, not somewhere you go” and outlined how technology is assisting people to work more efficiently from remote locations, including from home - reducing the need for daily travel to the CBD.

The workshop concluded with a tour of Telstra’s state of the art video conferencing facilities which create a virtual boardroom thereby reducing the need for interstate travel. The technology has been purchased by a number of leading Australian businesses and the Federal Government.

This workshop was an outcome of our Climate Change Taskforce as it addresses one of the Taskforce’s opportunities in transport. For more information, please contact our Policy Director Ms Susan Vale on (03) 9650 8800 or at svale@melbourne.org.au

News: Young business leaders launch green roofs competition

Growing Up, another initiative of the Committee’s business leadership program, Future Focus Group, held a successful launch of its initiative on the green roof garden of the National Gallery of Victoria on Wednesday 25 March, 2009. Guest speakers included City of Melbourne's Director of Design and Culture Professor Rob Adams AM, Green Roofs Australia's President Ms Sidone Carpenter and Melbourne Water's General Manager Waterways Mr Chris Chesterfield.

The group was highly praised for its initiative on running a competition for architects and landscape designers to install a green roof on a selected Melbourne building. In doing so, Growing Up will raise the profile of green roofs in helping to combat the effects of climate change.

Sponsorship and in-kind support goes a long way

Sponsorship has been raised from contributing companies such as; Melbourne Water, Sustainability Victoria, VicUrban, City of Melbourne, Australia Post. In-kind support from Clemenger BBDO, Brookfield Multiplex, Blake Dawson and Elmich is helping Growing Up immensely.

Who will receive the green roof from the competition winner?

The winning building will be announced at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects national conference, to be held in Melbourne on 7 May, 2009. Three finalists have been selected, of which one will receive the green roof:

• Manchester House, 234-236 Flinders Lane - would like to install a gentle, open air allotment to be used by residents and guests
• Monash University Corporate Centre, 30 Collins Street - to be used by conference and meeting guests from government at all levels, significant authorities and leading business groups
• 131 Queen Street, Melbourne - where owners and tenants foresee the creation of a vibrant, innovative and contemporary urban green space for the use by the vertical community.

Growing Up aims to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change by promoting the environmental benefits of green roofs. Green roofs are vegetated spaces which offer a myriad of environmental, social and economic benefits. For more information, visit http://www.growingup.org.au/

Climate Change Taskforce Action Groups

In June last year the Climate Change Taskforce released its FutureMap report which explored likely climate changes for Melbourne to 2030, the impacts and implications of this to residents, and opportunities.

Following on from this, seven action groups were formed.

The Climate Change Bill Action Group is seeking to have ensconced in regulation that climate change issues be considered as part of the introduction of any new legislation.

The Coal Action Group is seeking to review all existing data relating to the possible introduction of low emission coal technology in Victoria with a view to establishing if this is commercially viable in our State.

The Low Income Renters Adaption Action Group is identifying initiatives that can incentivise landlords and support low income renters to adopt energy saving retrofits and appliances. Members of this action group are also participating in Minister Jennings roundtable on this issue being held on 17 December 2008.

The Procurement Action Group aims to encourage members to adopt carbon neutral practices for their business including purchasing green products by joining a procurement purchasing group and bringing discounts to purchases of green products.

The Retrofit Action Group works to encourage the retrofit of existing commercial buildings and tenancies to meet new green objectives by providing our members with information on how to reduce energy costs through behaviour change and retrofit measures thereby reducing costs for the business.

The Staff Travel Action Group seeks to assist members to develop transport management plans for their staff to improve the efficiency of travel to and from work and around the city grid during business hours.

Climate Change Taskforce members

• AAMI
• Access Environmental
• Allens Arthur Robinson
• Allianz Australia Worker's Compensation
• AMRS Australia
• ARUP
• Asia Pacific Rail Pty Ltd
• A T Kearney Australia Pty Ltd
• Australian Centre for the Moving Image
• Australian Conservation Foundation
• BearingPoint Australia Pty Ltd
• BioMelbourne Network
• Bligh Voller Nield Pty Ltd
• Brotherhood of St Laurence
• Bus Association Victoria
• BusinessAide
• Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
• CIPS Australia
  
• CitiPower Pty and Powercor Australia Ltd
• City of Melbourne
• Climate Positive
• Clinton Foundation
• Connell Wagner Pty Ltd
• Connex Melbourne Ltd
• CRC for Innovative Dairy Products
• CSIRO
• Currie Communications
• Daryl Jackson Pty Ltd
• Deloitte
• Department of Innovation, Industry & Regional Development
• Department of Premier & Cabinet
• Department of Sustainability & Environment
• Environment Protection Authority
• Ernst & Young
• Fenton Communication
• Freehills
• Future Climate
• Gavin Anderson & Company (Australia)
• GE Money
• GHD Pty Ltd
• Goldman Sachs JBWere
• Green Eye
• Holden Ltd
• Imagine Un Limited
• Invest Victoria - DIIRD
• KPMG
• Maunsell Australia Pty Ltd
• Melbourne City Council
• Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Melbourne Water
• Metlink
• Mirvac Group
• Mobium Group
• Monash University
• Mollisons Communications
• Museum Victoria
• National Australia Bank
• Origin Energy
• Pacsoft Australia Pty Ltd
• Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• RMIT University
• Royal Automobile Club of Victoria
• Royal Botanic Gardens
• Shell Australia Limited
• Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd
• South East Water Limited
• Subaru
• Sustainability Victoria
• Telstra
• The Bio21 Cluster
• The University of Melbourne
• Transurban Group
• TRUenergy Australia Pty Ltd
• UBS Investment Bank
• Veolia Transport
• VicHealth
• Victoria Coal Resources
• Victorian Association of Forest Industries
• VicUrban
• Wesfarmers Ltd
• Yarra Tram
• Zoological Parks and Gardens Board
• Zoos Victoria Foundation

Climate Change Taskforce Background

The Climate Change Taskforce was established to consider the impacts of human-induced climate change on our city, and examine what can be done to mitigate and adapt to these impacts. It also considered what specific opportunities this might present for Melbourne. For 12 months, 80 of our Members - our largest ever Taskforce - have collectively volunteered thousands of hours to bring clarity to the issue of climate change for Melbourne.

FutureMap details the impacts and opportunities identified by the Committee's Climate Change Taskforce.

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