Great changes in the Great Lakes

The YMCA at Lake Street has made some great energy and resource savings and is working on further improvements all the time.

Water is being saved by installing timers in some showers. Water restricted shower heads and educational posters are in place. The recycling of roof water and an outdoor running track are next on the agenda.

Staff members ensure lights are turned off when not needed and ink cartridge and mobile phone recycling boxes have been placed in the foyer.

All cardboard is recycled, with a paper shredder on its way to help recycle other paper goods. All internal memos and draft work is done on used paper.

Above: Great Lakes YMCA, exterior and interior views.

Over to you

Buy wisely

There are many things you can do in your workplace to combat climate change such as thinking before you buy. Cheaper products may look attractive, but in the long run it may be more economical to consider a product's energy efficiency, sometimes referred to as the ‘second price tag’. This second price tag affects how much you really end up paying for the appliance over its lifetime.

Therefore, it makes good sense to choose the most energy efficient appliance you can afford because over time it will save you hundreds of dollars, as well as helping save the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Power

Why not consider sourcing your electricity through an approved Green Power program – your current supplier might be greener than you think or you may want to shop around.

Green Power is electricity generated from clean, renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydro plants, as well as landfill gas, biomass and wave energy. It is available from almost every electricity retailer in the country.

Above: Wind turbines, compact fluorescent lamp, solar panels.

Compact fluorescent lamps

Phasing out incandescent light bulbs will reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions by 4 million tonnes by 2012. This is roughly the same as taking 1 million cars off the road or planting 4 million new trees a year.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) cut greenhouse gas emissions and running costs by 75 per cent while producing as much light. They come as circular or linear tubes, or as plug-in CFLs.

CFLs are cheaper to run, so they will pay for themselves very quickly. In areas where lights are used a lot, they will pay for themselves in a few months.

CFLs may cost up to $5 more per light when you first buy them, but you will save this money by using less energy.

Greenhouse Friendly™

When you see the Greenhouse Friendly™ logo attached to a product or advertised in association with a service, it means all of its greenhouse gas emissions have been offset through Australian Greenhouse Office approved greenhouse gas reduction projects. It also means the company selling the product or service is a member of Greenhouse Challenge Plus — a program where members commit to improving energy efficiency, cutting waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, visit www.greenhouse.gov.au/greenhousefriendly.

Keep it simple

There are so many things that can be done around the office to reduce carbon emissions and sometimes all the information can seem overwhelming but if you stick to the basic 4R principle of Refuse, Reduce, Re-use and Recycle you can't go wrong:

Refuse: excess packaging and materials.
Reduce: the amount of materials you use by buying in bulk, repairing appliances and furniture instead of replacing them, and avoiding disposable products.
Re-use: containers, building materials and clothing: repair and sell things you no longer need and consider buying second-hand.
Recycle: everything you can't refuse, reduce or re-use. Check with your local council or state environmental authority to find what and where you can recycle.

Next: At Home and Workplace Local Directory