Our Communities. Our Actions. Our Future. · into practice by legislating a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Following this commitment, the ... the gift that keeps

The magazine of the Premier’s Sustainability Awards 2016

Our Communities.Our Actions. Our Future.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PR EMIER

Setting targets for real action on climate change

For Victoria to be in a position to respond to the effects of climate change now and in the future, we must put appropriate targets in place, and work together as a government and community towards meeting those targets.

This year we put our commitment to transitioning to a low carbon economy into practice by legislating a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Following this commitment, the Victorian Government has also set two renewable energy targets to attract investment and create more jobs in the Victorian renewable energy sector.

Sustainability is going to be a part of Victoria’s future economy. If you look globally, that’s where new jobs are created – within energy efficiency, bio energy, solar and wind. These are the jobs of the future and we want to be part of that future.

Our long term emissions target will drive government policy and programs across all portfolios, and encourage action from all Victorians to meet our goals.

While it’s important for government to lead the way on issues such as this one, it is also up to communities, businesses and individuals to play their part and work towards keeping our emissions down.

That’s why the government has introduced TAKE2, a collective statewide pledge program which encourages all Victorians, from all backgrounds and sectors, to pledge their own contribution and take direct action on tackling climate change.

Each year, through the delivery of the Premier’s Sustainability Awards, we discover the innovative work already being done by many organisations and individuals to reduce their environmental impact and create a more sustainable future.

Now in their 14th year, the stories behind these awards continue to inspire, to teach us about new sustainability approaches, and encourage others to think about their own actions.

And with the support of our green sponsors who have demonstrated leadership in sustainable practices, we can continue to deliver these awards and benefit from the knowledge that each participant brings.

Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists and winners for playing their part and helping us work towards a clean energy future.

The Hon Daniel Andrews MP Premier of Victoria

PREMIER’S SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS 2016 1

Table of Contents

01 A message from the Premier

05 Sustainability – a shared responsibility

06 Pledge for the planet

09 How do you like them apples?

10 Towards a sustainable future for ResourceSmart Schools

12 Supporting Victoria’s largest agricultural industry to tackle climate change

15 Practical experience the hallmark of Sustainability Victoria’s board

16 Energy efficiency: the gift that keeps on giving

19 Australian first automated e-waste processing machine

21 CEO’s message

22 Finalists & winners

42 Victorians love food, hate waste

44 Tips to help your business reduce its energy usage

45 Mazenod College leading the way forward

46 The next frontier for energy productivity

48 Delivering clarity through collaboration

51 Acknowledgements

At a time when the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly clear, it is more and more evident that environmental sustainability has to be part of our everyday lives.

In Victoria, we are fortunate to have the expertise, resources and support needed to embed sustainability into everything we do and seize the opportunities for new industries, products and services that will be needed as we transition to a low carbon Victoria.

This magazine shares the stories of this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards’ finalists. They’re Victorians who are leading the way as we build a more sustainable community.

They’re demonstrating their commitment and ingenuity knowing that sustainability is a responsibility we all share on behalf of the Victorian and Australian communities, and the people of the world.

The Victorian Government is playing its part too.

We have a proud track record of initiating, enabling and promoting sustainability through investment, policy decisions and encouraging innovation and new technology development.

This year we announced our ambitious Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) which commits the state to generating one-quarter of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and 40 per cent by 2020.

We’re also aiming to get Victoria to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with all government departments required to reduce and report on their emissions. We’re asking all Victorians to play a role too, through the TAKE2 voluntary pledge program, which allows them to commit to actions that will help us reach our collective goal.

We’ve continued to invest in renewable energy, with wind farms being built now at Kiata near Horsham and Mount Gellibrand near Colac, which will produce enough electricity to power 80,000 homes.

We are exploring alternative finance with the world’s first Green Bonds’ allocation of $300 million to finance government investment in energy efficiency, renewables, public transport and water treatment projects. And our $20 million New Energy Jobs Fund will drive renewables uptake and support new technology development.

With so many committed and passionate individuals and organisations, like the finalists in this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards, I look forward to Victoria’s thriving and sustainable future.

Congratulations and good luck.

Lily D’Ambrosio MP Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Sustainability – a shared responsibility


TAKE2 allows all Victorians to make a meaningful contribution to emissions reduction.

Already, the State Government is establishing Victoria as a climate change leader through TAKE2 – its collective climate change initiative. This pledge action program will help Victoria achieve net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.

More than 190 Victorian based organisations – including businesses, local government, community services organisations and educational institutions – have joined TAKE2 as Founding Partners. As well as committing to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions, they are inspiring Victorians from all walks of life to join TAKE2 and help keep the temperature rise to under two degrees.

WHY TAKE2?

Taking action on climate change through TAKE2 brings many benefits. Most importantly, combatting climate change is good for the planet.

For organisations and individuals, reducing emissions often reduces costs as well.

Organisations can use TAKE2 to promote the great work they’re doing on climate change and get the recognition they deserve. Their efforts will also inspire and motivate the community to act on emissions reduction.

But most of all, TAKE2 gives all Victorians the opportunity to work together with the shared goal of saving the planet from climate change.

HERE’S HOW TAKE2 WORKS

• Make the pledge to TAKE2 at www.take2.vic.gov.au. Then choose from a range of actions, tailored to suit different sectors. Include any climate change work you’re already doing and select the new actions you will take.

• Organisations can share their pledge with the rest of Victoria and motivate others to act. Keep everyone up to date with your efforts via the TAKE2 website and your own social media channels.

• Your pledges will be used to help track Victoria’s progress toward net zero emissions by 2050.

Sign up today at www.take2.vic.gov.au and be part of Victoria’s effort to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Together, we can make a difference.

Pledge for the planet

Pledge for the planet

6 PREMIER’S SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS 2016

AGL Energy Limited

AIRAH

Allens

Alternative Technology Association

Aurecon Australia Pty Ltd

Australian Education Union (Victorian Branch)

Australian Ethical Investment

Australian Industry Defence Network – Victoria

Australian Industry Group

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation

Australian Youth Climate Coalition

Baby Boomers for Climate Change

Ballarat Renewable Energy & Zero Emissions

Bank Australia

Banksia Foundation

Baptcare

Bass Coast Shire

Bayside Climate Change Action Group

Benalla Rural City Council

Bendigo MASH/Hub Foundation

Bendigo Sustainability Group

Beyond Zero Emissions

Bicycle Network Victoria

Birchip Cropping Group Inc.

Birdlife Australia

Brimbank City Council

Brotherhood of St Laurence

Bus Association Victoria

Carbon Market Institute

Catholic Earthcare Australia

Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance

Centre for Sustainability Leadership

CERES

City of Casey

City of Greater Bendigo

City of Greater Dandenong

City of Greater Geelong

City of Melbourne

City of Melton

City of Moonee Valley

City of Port Phillip City

City of Whittlesea

Clean Energy Council

Climarte

Climate Action Moreland

Climate and Health Alliance

Climate for Change

Climates

ClimateWorks

Cockram

Committee for Ballarat

Community Power Agency

Conservation Volunteers Victoria

Cool Australia

Country Women’s Association

Darebin Climate Action Now

De Bortoli

Deakin University

DLA Piper Australia

Doctors for the Environment

Downer

Earth Systems

Earthwatch Institute

Eastern Alliance on Greenhouse Action

Emerald Sustainability Group

Emma & Tom’s

Energy Efficiency Certificate Creators Association

Energy Efficiency Council

Energy for the People

Energy Innovation Co-op

Energy Locals

Enviroflex

Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand

Environment Victoria

Environmental Education Victoria

Eureka Mums

Facilities Management Association of Australia

Fairfax Media

Federation University

Fonterra Australia

Foodbank Victoria

Frasers Property Group

Friends of the Earth

Frontier Energy

Future Business Council

G21 Geelong Region Alliance

Geelong Mums

Geelong Sustainability

Gippsland Climate Change Network

Gippsland Natural

Girl Guides Victoria

GoGet Car Share

Good Shepherd Microfinance

Goulburn Broken Greenhouse Alliance

GPT (Group)

Green Building Council of Australia

GreenFleet

Greening Australia

GV Community EnergyHaymes PaintHepburn WindHickoryHobson’s Bay City CouncilIndigo ShireInfoExchangeInternational Council for Local Environmental InitiativesIronbark SustainabilityIslamic Council of VictoriaJohn Holland GroupKildonan Uniting CareKilter RuralKing & Wood MallesonsKS EnvironmentalLa Madre BakeryLatrobe UniversityLatrobe Valley Sustainability GroupLEAD WestMacedon Ranges CouncilMacedon Ranges Sustainability GroupMaribyrnong City CouncilMartins BuildersMelbourne City MissionMelbourne Cricket ClubMelbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Farmers MarketsMildura Eco villageMildura Regional Development CorporationMinter EllisonMirvacMomentum EnergyMoreland City CouncilMoreland Energy FoundationMornington Peninsula ShireMount Alexander Sustainability GroupMunicipal Association of VictoriaNational Australia BankNatures OrganicsNillumbik CouncilNorth Melbourne Football ClubNorthern Alliance on Greenhouse ActionOrigin EnergyOrora (Amcor)Port Philip Eco CentrePowershopProperty Council of AustraliaQantas Group (includes Jetstar)RACVRenewable NewsteadRestaurant and Catering

Australia

RMIT

Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria

Salesforce

Scouts Victoria

Solvup

South East Councils Climate Change

Southern Grampians and Glenelg Primary Care Partnership

Southern Ocean Mariculture

Sovereign Hill Museum Association

Sports Environment Alliance

St Kilda Mums

St Paul’s Cathedral

Strathbogie Voices

Sunraysia Institute of TAFE

Sunraysia Sustainability Network

Supply Chain Sustainability School

Surf Coast Energy Group

Surf Coast Shire

Sustainable Melbourne Fund

Switched on Schools

Tahbilk Winery

Tesla

The New Joneses

The People’s Solar

The Wrapping Paper Company

TIC Group

Tyre Stewardship Australia

Uniting Church

University of Melbourne

VCOSS

VicSuper

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Victorian Landcare Council

Victorian Trades Hall Council

Victorian Waste Management Association

VLGA

Voices of the Valley

Wangaratta Sustainability Network (WSN)

Wellington Shire Council

Western Alliance Greenhouse Action

Western Composting Technology

Wimmera Development Association

Wyndham City Council

Yarra City Council

Yarra Energy Foundation

Yarra Valley Estate

WHO’S A TAKE2 FOUNDING PARTNER?

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS OF

THE 2016 PREMIER’S SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS.Momentum Energy would like to congratulate all of the winners and finalists of this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards. Your hard work and commitment to sustainability are a testament to your organisation and the people involved, congratulations.

Momentum Energy is proud to sponsor the Premier’s Sustainability Awards; we believe empowering communities, helps build a more sustainable future.

How do you like them apples?

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS OF

THE 2016 PREMIER’S SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS.Momentum Energy would like to congratulate all of the winners and finalists of this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards. Your hard work and commitment to sustainability are a testament to your organisation and the people involved, congratulations.

Momentum Energy is proud to sponsor the Premier’s Sustainability Awards; we believe empowering communities, helps build a more sustainable future.

Sustainability Victoria CEO, Stan Krpan, said working with the agriculture sector was an essential part of the campaign to tackle the impact of climate change.

“Agriculture is critical to the state’s economy. We’re working with fruit growers, the dairy industry and winemakers, to help them continue to thrive, create jobs and long term investment,” he said.

“Helping them trial new methods and technologies, whether that’s through more sustainable energy use, employing new processes and materials or improving waste management will help to determine the way forward for them not only as individual producers but also for the fruit industry as a whole.”

Around the state, a range of environmental research projects supported by the Victorian Government are delivering results which should help ensure the future of Australia’s $3.2 billion dollar fruit industry.

One major study saw researchers from the University of Melbourne’s Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences Faculty work on a project led by the Primary Industry Climate Challenges Centre that confirms rising temperatures were affecting fruit crops.

Collaborating with researchers from Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland, fruit growers and industry experts from around the country created the first detailed picture of what climate change might mean for Australia’s apple, pear and cherry industries.

Findings included milder winters which may affect fruit production if crops did not get enough Winter chill, and hotter summers which could increase the risk of sun damage.

One way to reduce the effect of hotter Summers is to install netting and overhead sprinklers to cool the growing apples.

Shepparton’s Oakmoor Orchards received a $42,000 Sustainability Victoria grant to install an evaporative cooling system over 16.5 hectares of granny smith trees.

It cut sunburn loss by around 80 per cent and saved almost $50,000 a year in lost crops.

Oakmoor plans to roll out evaporative cooling across more of its orchard and is now investigating installation of solar panels on sheds and pumps to reduce energy costs.


PAGE SU B H E A DING

Page headingPAGE SU B H E A DING

Towards a sustainable future for ResourceSmart SchoolsResourceSmart Schools (RSS) helps schools benefit from embedding sustainability into everything they do and take action on climate change.

The program recently won the Education for Sustainability category at the national Banksia Sustainability Awards and was described by Banksia judges as displaying a ‘best-practice’ and ‘world-leading’ approach to sustainability education, with strong evidence of its impact.

The program has grown from an Australian Government funded pilot, delivered by CERES and Gould League in 2003, through to today’s nationally recognised program delivered by a network of sustainability educators across Victoria.

Managed by Sustainability Victoria, RSS provides a common framework, facilitation support, professional learning and resources to assist schools to minimise waste, save energy and water, enhance biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RSS also rewards and recognises students, teachers and schools for sustainability achievements through Sustainability Certification and the annual ResourceSmart Schools Awards.

RSS can also play a part in reducing global warming by acting together through TAKE2 – the Victorian Government’s TAKE2 collective climate change pledge initiative – through which school communities can help Victoria reach its net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050.

By pledging, Victorian schools and their communities will make a meaningful contribution to helping keep global temperature rises to under two degrees.

RSS has been accessed by over half of Victoria’s schools. The program looks towards a sustainable future by ensuring schools keep up the momentum and continue to embed practical approaches to action on climate change.

To learn more about RSS visit resourcesmartschools.vic.gov.au, and to make a climate change pledge to keep the temperature rise under two degrees visit take2.vic.gov.au.

*RSS Online data as of September 2016

In the 2015 calendar year Victorian schools participating in RSS saved:

$3,853,486across all resource areas (energy, water, water and waste)

9,897tonnes of CO2

39,253m3 of waste to landfill

195,199 kL of water


Sustainability Victoria is working with the dairy industry to show how compost made from recycled organic material may help it tackle the impact of climate change.

The Dairy Businesses for Future Climates research project found that a changing climate would alter the growing season for feed, forcing the industry to adapt.

Sustainability Victoria Chief Executive, Stan Krpan said there was a significant opportunity for the dairy industry to reduce its environmental impact and boost its bottom line.

“Demonstrating the value of compost products to Victoria’s largest agricultural industry may also create wider opportunities as demand increases for products to improve pasture.

“If we can show that this is a safe product, essential to food producers and at a competitive price, we can use it to potentially expand its use to other forms of agriculture,” Mr Krpan said.

“That will help us to manage the effects of climate change and divert vast quantities of material from landfills which are significant producers of greenhouse gases.

“In 2011-12, Victorian homes, businesses and industry generated more than two million tonnes of organic waste, with almost half that going to landfill,” Mr Krpan said.

“Over time, each year’s output will produce more than the equivalent 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.

“Developing new markets for products made from organics will help to protect our environment and industry.”

Dairy farming is Victoria’s largest agricultural industry.

Each year, some 4,200 farms produce more than six billion litres of milk and 27,000 people are employed on farms and in milk processing factories.

To help dairy farmers better manage their own electricity use, Sustainability Victoria has worked with West Vic Dairy to produce a series of videos showing simple ways to save energy.

SV Business – Boosting Productivity Grants are available for businesses to assess how to improve their energy efficiency. To apply for a grant go to www.susutainability.vic.gov.au/grants

Supporting Victoria’s largest agricultural industry to tackle climate change


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For six years, Ms Lauber Patterson was ANZ Bank’s Director of Electricity, Renewables and Emissions, and Head of Environmental Treasury Solutions at the National Australia Bank for two years.

They join other board members:

Ross McCann

Roger Parker

Arron Wood

Megan Flynn

Daniel Fyfe

Kane Thornton

Each Board member brings a wealth of experience, dedication, and commitment to promote environmental sustainability across Victoria.

Our collective vision for a sustainable, thriving Victoria will ensure that we continue to deliver quality programs and support communities to use resources more sustainably, and take real action on climate change.

Practical experience the hallmark of Sustainability Victoria’s board

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AUSTRALIAN MADE & OWNED

“So many passionate community members work collaboratively to address local issues and opportunities – how do we harness them and leverage their work is a question we are looking at closely.”

Sustainability Victoria’s board oversees the organisation’s overall mission to work toward a sustainable, thriving Victoria and to promote practical action against climate change.

Since March this year, the board has been chaired by Heather Campbell, an environmental engineer whose career has included time as CEO of CoastCare, Landcare and now as the CSIRO’s General Manager for Health, Safety and Environment.

During her time in the plastics industry, Heather helped management and employees make links between what they did, the products they made and their global environmental impact.

“I think growing up on a farm in New Zealand gave me a sense of the significance of the natural environment,” she said.

“What I learned at Landcare was the importance of community groups coming together to deal with local issues.”

Vicky Darling and Jennifer Lauber Patterson also joined the Sustainability Victoria board this year.

Ms Darling is co-founder and Director of consulting firm, Kintsugi Alliance.

She has more than 13 years of experience in government including senior public sector strategic policy roles, and has worked in senior advisory roles for a former Queensland Premier and a former Commonwealth Government Minister.

Ms Darling was a Member of the Queensland Parliament for six years including one year as Minister for Environment where she was instrumental in passing Queensland’s first waste reduction and recycling legislation and new litter laws.

Ms Lauber Patterson is Managing Director of Frontier Carbon and has over 25 years of experience building new businesses in the energy and banking sectors, specialising in energy, environmental and risk advisory services.


Energy efficiency: the gift that keeps

on giving

Being more energy efficient is probably one of the simplest gifts businesses ranging from primary producers to metal manufacturers can give this planet. One that works in their favour too.

Think about the benefits energy efficiency can offer a business. Immediately, energy bill savings and reduced environmental impacts come to mind. However, energy efficiency is the key to unlocking a whole raft of co-benefits. This can range from the more tangible, such as the reduced costs of maintaining equipment –which is not only energy efficient, but also more reliable - to other intangible co-benefits, such as brand reputation and staff satisfaction.

Energy efficiency is like the tip of an iceberg with energy savings floating above the surface, while hiding below is a much greater volume of business benefits. In fact, the International Energy Agency estimated that the value of productivity and operational benefits associated with energy efficiency can be up to 2.5 times the value of energy savings alone. In other words, for every dollar of energy savings there is the potential for $2.5 dollars of additional savings.


Meanwhile, South Pacific Laundry installed new steam traps resulting in energy savings worth $28,000 a year. Better consistency in the delivery of steam also improved the cleaning of around 1,000 tonnes of linen a week.

Mid-tier office buildings can also benefit directly from energy efficiency improvements. Take 234-250 Collins St, Melbourne. The building is one of 20 participating buildings on Sustainability Victoria’s Energy Efficient Office Buildings program.

The building’s owners installed new meters on the building and sub meters on tenancy lighting, HVAC services and each chiller.

Following the improvements, the building now has projected annual savings of 284,000kWh for electricity and 775,994MJ for gas, and is targeting a 2 star NABERS energy rating improvement. These results prove that energy efficiency is definitely a gift that keeps on giving. So what are you waiting for?

Victorian Government grants to help small and medium sized businesses to boost productivity are available now. Find out more about how your business can benefit from an energy efficiency assessment at www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

If you factor in all the quantifiable benefits, the business case for energy efficiency investment becomes even more compelling, in some cases cutting a three year payback to one year, as Austco Polar and South Pacific Laundry found out.

In improving the energy efficiency of its refrigeration compressors and condensers, Melbourne cold storage company Austco Polar not only saved more than $116,000 a year, but also experienced an estimated 30% boost in the productiveness of their blast freezing operations.

EPA Victoria • Industry • Community • Government Sharing responsibility for environmental protection

EPA’s Environmental Citizenship Strategy creates lasting pro–environmental behaviour change in the community, business and other organisations by encouraging:

• Accessibility, participation and responsibility• Environmental equity and restorative action• Environmental leadership

Some of EPA’s Environmental Citizenship Strategy achievements:

• The Premier’s Sustainability Awards Environmental Protection category• Restorative justice conferencing as an alternative to prosecutions• An earned autonomy program for EPA licensed premises leading the way in environmental management• A Citizen Science program where community members monitor industry impact• Community co–design of the Latrobe Valley air monitoring network

Learn more at EPA’s website epa.vic.gov.au

Sust_Awards_2016_R2.indd 1 1/09/2016 10:09 AM

The Blubox technology is the first of its kind in Australia. The machine can process up to 3,000 tonnes of e-waste each year, and eliminates the need to manually dismantle products.

The $1.44 million project, supported by a $470,000 grant from Sustainability Victoria, is a step towards the Victorian Government’s election commitment to ban e-waste from landfill in the state.

This Australian first technology represents a significant advancement in how e-waste is processed, demonstrating the Victorian Government’s commitment to keeping these materials out of landfill.

Electronic waste is growing up to three times faster than any other waste stream in Australia, putting pressure on waste management infrastructure and the environment. The amount of e-waste generated is projected to increase by more than 60 per cent over the next 10 years, from around 138,000 tonnes in 2012-13 to 223,000 tonnes in 2023-24.

While e-waste contains hazardous materials, which can create environmental and human health issues if not disposed of properly, it also contains valuable materials; such as copper and silver. A new state of the art machine that can mechanically separate TV and computer flat screens and lamps containing mercury is now in operation at Toxfree in Dandenong.

Australian first automated e-waste processing machine

EPA Victoria • Industry • Community • Government Sharing responsibility for environmental protection

EPA’s Environmental Citizenship Strategy creates lasting pro–environmental behaviour change in the community, business and other organisations by encouraging:

• Accessibility, participation and responsibility• Environmental equity and restorative action• Environmental leadership

Some of EPA’s Environmental Citizenship Strategy achievements:

• The Premier’s Sustainability Awards Environmental Protection category• Restorative justice conferencing as an alternative to prosecutions• An earned autonomy program for EPA licensed premises leading the way in environmental management• A Citizen Science program where community members monitor industry impact• Community co–design of the Latrobe Valley air monitoring network

Learn more at EPA’s website epa.vic.gov.au

Sust_Awards_2016_R2.indd 1 1/09/2016 10:09 AM


The Premier’s Sustainability Awards is one of the year’s major events for people working to reduce the impact of climate change and to create a better future for us all.

Sustainability was once the preserve of people who were not in the mainstream, but this is no longer the case, particularly as companies increasingly adopt Corporate Social Responsibility as central parts of their operations.

Sustainability Victoria is trying to have a big impact on climate change.

The Premier’s Sustainability Awards are an important part of our work to demonstrate to the community that we can all take action to improve our environmental sustainability.

The awards recognise all of those efforts – particularly the best ones – and shares them so others can take it forward and maximise their impact.

The breadth of work performed by the entrants shows what is possible for businesses, organisations and individuals.

Sustainability Victoria’s broader role is to provide leadership and support, through projects like TAKE2 which was launched in September.

TAKE2 asks companies, organisations, schools and individuals to commit to working to achieve zero nett greenhouses gas emissions by 2050. It continues to grow, and we want more to get involved.

We’re working at many levels and are pleased to be delivering programs that will help us build productivity through home and businesses and promoting opportunities for new jobs and innovation.

Sustainability Victoria studies of lower grade commercial buildings found significant savings could be achieved with quick paybacks on investments and work on homes built before 2005 shows significant energy savings can be achieved.

We’re also focussed on reducing waste, litter and food wastage which creates greenhouse gases as it decomposes in landfills.

And we’re working with universities and the farm sector to look at how the effects of climate change can be anticipated and managed so industries like fruit growing and dairy may thrive long term.

Above all, Sustainability Victoria will continue to support individuals and organisations like those that have entered the Premier’s Sustainability Awards so that together, we can work for a better Victoria, and world.

Stan Krpan Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Victoria

CEO’s message


Built EnvironmentFinalist

Monash UniversityPassive House Pioneers

Monash University has set clear socially and ecologically responsible goals to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. With all campuses working towards becoming exemplars of environmental practice, Monash is currently exploring options to achieve zero emission buildings.

As a pilot program, Passive House design principles were applied to the renovation of a dilapidated asbestos-clad warehouse at the Clayton campus for Monash’s Building and Property Division. The project objective was to turn the contaminated site into an innovative, energy efficient, vibrant and comfortable open office space, achieving close to net zero carbon.

As one of the first large commercial buildings in Australia to use these design principles, the result is an exemplar in the application of world’s best practice sustainable building. The design shows that there need not be a trade off between building performance and human comfort. It is a true blueprint for the future.

Energy Action 747 Collins Street Breaking the 6 Star NABERS Barrier

747 Collins Street is a 17 storey office building, located in the Collins Square precinct. The $2 billion Collins Square project is the second largest CBD commercial precinct in Australia, housing over 250,000 square metres of retail, commercial, public and civic places. The building, originally designed to achieve a 5 star NABERS base building energy rating, is now aspiring to a 6.0 star rating.

After a comprehensive review and in consultation with contractors, owners installed a rooftop 100 kW solar PV system. This additional energy generation is worth an estimated further 0.13 stars to the building’s NABERS performance, increasing confidence of maintaining a 6.0 star NABERS energy rating. The additional solar PV generation of 140,000 kWh per annum is expected to increase the decimal performance to 6.17 stars. The total energy cost savings to date are estimated at $30,300 per annum and growing. This rigorous and well informed tuning process in the post-occupancy phase sets a model for other completed developments.

Reverse Winner title

REVERSE WINNER CATEGORY

A committed and talented group of St Kilda East residents formed to turn their 1950’s apartment building walk-on rooftop from a wasted urban space into a stunning green roof. The new retrofitted garden and leisure space offers not only a sanctuary for the residents but simple sustainable solutions to assist with water management, resource efficiency and energy savings.

The rooftop, previously used solely for hanging up washing, has been designed to reduce storm water run-off, retain rainwater in the substrate and increase the quality of water run-off whilst reducing flash flooding.

The green roof absorbs heat and provides insulation – lowering energy bills, absorbs sound pollution and traps the distribution of pollutants – improving air quality.

The communal space has reconnected people to nature and strengthened the community. The children now have a place to play, explore the plant life, swing in a hammock and help with the vegetable garden. The impact of the garden has inspired the residents to educate and encourage other residents in that hope that more green roofs will populate the urban environment.

WINNER

38 Westbury StreetGREEN ROOF IN THE CITY


Kids In Nature Network Nature Play Week

Nature Play Week was developed by Kids in Nature Network to respond to the need to create more opportunities and encourage children to play outside to experience and explore their natural environment and surroundings.

Nature Play Week is a new movement, aiming to get kids away from TVs, computers and smartphones and back playing outside by presenting over 170 unique Australian nature play experiences across Victoria and beyond. A network of communities and organisations are involved in the program, providing opportunities for kids and families to experience dozens of outdoor locations.

Nature Play Week is a part of Premier’s Active April, offering more than 100 events such as family nature days, bushwalks, encounters with frogs, birds, burrowers, bats and bugs, and nature clubs, special scavenger hunts and nature art, plus networking and professional development events. The program provides families ongoing opportunities to connect with each other and continue to explore their local environment.

Bendigo Sustainability Group Bendigo Sustainability Group

The Bendigo Sustainability Group (BSG) brings together people with a shared interest in sustainable living, solar power, sustainable food and gardening, community education, energy efficiency and sustainability policy development from across the region. In recent years, the BSG has undertaken a more commercial orientated process by setting up a project management group to manage community solar projects.

Work has included the 20kWh solar panel installation on the Bendigo Library which BSG successfully organised through crowd funding and the BSG Energy Efficiency Program delivering over 50 sessions to low income and disadvantaged groups to explain energy efficiency and how to use the ‘switched on’ online program. BSG provides information to the community on installing solar PV and runs a sustainable house day – bringing together community, architects, designers and builders to discuss sustainable homes. BSG onsold its intellectual property for the community solar program to two other community organisations, sharing its learnings and knowledge with others.

CommunityFinalists



Developed by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, one of Australia’s largest youth led non-profit organisations, Switched on Schools is a national high school program that builds a generation wide movement to address climate change by empowering high school students to engage in sustainability and take meaningful action in their communities.

Switched on Schools uses a unique peer-to-peer approach to ignite students’ interest in climate justice through workshops, transformative summits, networking, mentoring and support, and opportunities to take part in local and national sustainability campaigns.

Since it was founded in 2007, the group has reached over 130,000 high school students and has run 32 leadership summits. In 2015, they ran summits for Victorian high schools, held workshops for 2,600 students, and trained 30 volunteers who contributed to the creation and implementation of the workshops and summits.

The national campaign, Youth Decide, provided over 3,000 Victorian students the opportunity to learn more about the impacts of global warming at 1.5, 2 and 3 degrees of temperature increase and to vote on the temperature world leaders should keep to at the UN Paris Climate Change Conference.

WINNER

Australian Youth Climate CoalitionSWITCHED ON SCHOOLS VICTORIA


CERES Community Environment Park CERES Education and Training: Teaching all Generations for Future Generations

CERES, Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, is a not-for-profit sustainability centre located on a 4.5 hectare regenerated landfill site in inner Melbourne. The centre educates through a demonstration site for sustainability applications and focused education programs for children, adults, community groups, asylum seekers, new migrants, people with a disability and youth at risk.

In 2015 CERES celebrated 34 years of community education. Highlights included Energy Smart Choices – an interactive Mobile Energy Classroom which reached 2,550 students and the Food Producer Incubator program providing young migrants and asylum seekers work experience in commercial cooking, industry mentoring, sustainable food systems, small business and sales. A new Adult Environmental Education Course was developed and delivered in water, waste, energy, biodiversity, behaviour change, industry engagement, project development and Tamil feasts transitioned from a training program to an award winning social enterprise supporting asylum seekers. The sustainability community of practice for learn locals reached 17 adult learning centres, produced online resources and saw 130,000 people visit the Integrated Water Cycle Management Demonstration Site.

Master Builders Association of VictoriaMaster Builders Green Card: Environmental Site Induction

The building and construction sector has a huge demand for basic environmental awareness training. In February 2015, the Master Builders Association of Victoria launched an industry leading environmental induction initiative, earning the trainee a Green Card as part of a emerging and sustainable technology series.

The Green Card offers all building and construction workers a basic awareness and knowledge of environmental site management procedures that help prepare participants for entering and working on a construction site, especially when safely using spill kits. The card is designed as a companion to the safety training program, Construction Induction Training (White Card), which all building and construction workers undertake before entering a construction site.

Course content can be tailored to a company’s specific environmental policy and procedure, and address issues that relate directly to specific projects. As large numbers of contractors move from one construction project to another, Green Card training becomes more widely known, increasing the value of induction training for all workers on a construction site.

EducationFinalists



Care for Self, Care for Others and Care for the Environment are the core values of the Winters Flat School community. In 2015, the state primary school in Castlemaine harnessed the power of community, student voice and a deep respect for the environment to drive their Students Leading Change Winters Flat Primary School Sustainability Program.

Staff, community members, families, school leaders and students all contributed to the school dramatically reducing its carbon footprint and embedding sustainable practices throughout the curriculum and wider community.

Using the ResourceSmart Schools program, the school gained 5-star accreditation through its work on reducing waste, energy, water consumption and increasing its biodiversity.

Student leaders engaged with other schools in the Youth Leading the World Congress, advised the Mayor on matters of waste reduction, enacted whole school policies such as the 1.2.3 Layers, Nude Food Every Day and forged links with local community groups and Indigenous Elders, central to a sustainable future.

WINNER

Winters Flat Primary School STUDENTS LEADING CHANGE:

WINTERS FLAT PRIMARY SCHOOL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM


Environment Victoria Future Powered Families

The Future Powered Families (FPF) project worked with low income families across Victoria ranging from farming families on the edge of the state to families in flats in Craigieburn, by using a peer-to-peer approach, training up members of the community to educate their own family and friends.

Community energy advisers looked at how each household used energy and offered energy saving suggestions. Between them, advisers spoke 139 languages and reached 6,133 people across Melbourne, Geelong, the Latrobe Valley, the Wimmera and Central Victoria.

At the end of the project FPF home visit recipients’ energy use was 10 per cent less than it otherwise would have been. Together, FPF participants are now saving 45.5 million litres of water, 2,792 tonnes of greenhouse gases, $476,000 on electricity bills and $116,000 on water bills, every year.

The project provided the 392 energy advisers training on household energy use, for some the opportunity to practice their English, and for many, have their first Australian professional experience to add to their resumé.

AMES Australia and Parks Victoria Werribee Park Community Garden

AMES Australia is one of Australia’s leading migrant and refugee settlement agencies, providing services to over 45,000 clients each year, helping them transition sustainably to their new lives.

The Werribee Park Community Garden – Working Beyond the Boundaries project, a partnership between AMES Australia and Parks Victoria, was created by AMES Australia’s need to engage refugees with meaningful activities, provide opportunities for work experience and to help them build connections with local communities. It also supported Parks Victoria’s need to grow its volunteer base to work in its gardens and orchards at Werribee Park.

A large number of the local refugee community are Karen-Burmese who came mostly from refugee camps – many suffered high levels of mental illness and depression connected with feelings of dislocation, isolation and low self-esteem. Since its inception, more than 600 local refugees have participated in the program, reporting benefits such as social connectedness, sense of contribution and improved employment skills. It also provides a motivated and a sustainable volunteer workforce for one of Victoria’s most important gardens.

Environmental JusticeFinalists



Voices of the Valley (VOTV) is a community advocacy group, formed in the wake of the Hazelwood Mine Fire in February-March 2014. The mine fire highlighted the economic fragility of the Latrobe Valley community, demonstrated the environmental risks associated with coal fired power generation, and resulted in renewed calls to close coal fired power stations.

To determine the health effects on the residents of Morwell, VOTV undertook a research program which included public forums and evidence gathering.

The group provided a voice for the affected communities, to gain media recognition of their plight, and to secure justice. VOTV gathered evidence about not only the cleaning issues and costs incurred, but also the immediate and persistent health effects.

Voices of the Valley continues to provide a voice for public concerns over the direct impact and long term health, welfare, economic and environmental effects of the fire. The results of their work have made health a serious issue and put community health firmly on the public agenda.

WINNER

Voices of the ValleyCOMMUNITY SUPPORT FOLLOWING THE HAZELWOOD MINE FIRE


Environmental ProtectionFinalists

Armstrong Creek Development Corporation and GbLA Landscape Architects Warralily Creek Corridor Rehabilitation Stages 2A-2F

Warralily is a new community being developed in the Armstrong Creek Growth Area of Geelong. When completed, the 800 hectare site will incorporate 7,500 homes, five kilometres of restored creek and wetlands, known as the Armstrong Creek waterway, 155 hectares of open space, 13 hectares of conservation zones, two activity centres and three schools.

During the development the creek and surrounding areas have been significantly degraded with little to no biodiversity values. Restoration was based on a land capability assessment and understanding of the hydrological, environmental, social and economic context of the site.

A 2.8 kilometre section the creek now fulfils a number of key water quality, flood management, public amenity and key environmental systems objectives. The constructed waterway system combines online wetlands, sedimentation ponds, bio-retention systems open water pools, rocky riffles and ephemeral creek channels designed to capture, treat and retard stormwater.

Rejuvenation of the site is complete and it’s now recognised as a significant waterway, public amenity, habitat and improvement project.

Moonee Valley City Council Afton Street Wetland and Stormwater Harvesting Scheme

Moonee Valley Council acquired 17 hectares of land along the Maribyrnong River to create a wetland that would provide habitat, filter stormwater entering the river, offer passive recreation for the community and be a reliable water source to irrigate sports fields.

The stormwater harvesting and irrigation scheme was constructed and officially launched in 2015. In a staged treatment process, the first pond removes coarse sediments, the wetland reduces pollutants and treated water is stored in a pond. Water is then piped to storage tanks at three sports fields. As needed, water is reticulated through irrigation systems, keeping playing fields green year round.

It is the largest scheme of its kind in the region, treating 300 hectares of stormwater run off and delivering up to 20 million litres of treated stormwater annually for irrigation, securing the water supply for sports fields, irrespective of a changing climate and water restrictions. The project has had an immediate impact and its environmental, social and financial benefits will only increase over time, as growth and environmental pressures increase.

© Andrew Lloyd



After extensive community consultation, botanical assessment and thoughtful environmental planning, the Geelong Cemeteries Trust has restored a nature reserve within a protected Coastal Moonah Woodland Area as Stage 1 of a planned larger redevelopment. The site, known as the Moonah Memorial Walk, offers graves and cremation memorials in a beautiful natural setting.

A canopy of Moonah, Coast Wirilda, Coast Tea-tree and Coast Beard-heath provide shelter to understory shrubs, grasses, herbs, mosses and lichens. Sweeping paths are made of crushed local limestone.

Mature Moonah trees have been enhanced by the addition of over 1,500 additional trees, shrubs and understory plants.

The endangered woodland is now home to a variety of fauna and flora, while providing a unique environment for burial and cremation memorials. Small bats, echidnas, fiddler beetles, ringtail possums, birds all now inhabit the environment, whilst native ants move Wirilda seeds around and wasps pollinate the orchids. Now a habitat for an endangered woodland, the site is a unique environment for burial and cremation memorials.

WINNER

Geelong Cemeteries TrustMOONAH MEMORIAL WALK AT QUEENSCLIFF CEMETERY


Hobsons Bay City Council, Moonee Valley City Council and Maribyrnong City Council My Smart Garden

My Smart Garden is a sustainable gardening behaviour transformation program that helps residents to adapt to a changing climate by turning their backyards, front yards, balconies, courtyards and pots into productive, edible gardens.

This free program promotes smart gardening through workshops and events, online resources and incentives, and takes a holistic approach across five elements of smart gardening: home grown food, providing habitat for biodiversity, turning wastes into resources, reducing water use and sheltering homes from sun and wind.

Recent achievements include delivery of 74 workshops and events involving 1,853 attendees, first time or increased activity in growing vegetables and herbs, planting and maintaining fruit trees and recycling food waste. With an estimated annual savings of 165 tonnes organic waste, 283 tonnes CO2 of greenhouse gas emissions and 8,385 kilolitres of potable water garden – Hobsons Bay City Council, Moonee Valley City Council and Maribyrnong City Council, all consider My Smart Garden to be the most successful sustainable behaviour change program they have delivered.

City of Greater Bendigo Lighting the Regions Partnership

Street lighting is commonly the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from local government authorities around Australia, often accounting for 30 to 60 per cent of emissions. Lighting the Regions is the largest streetlight partnership project ever undertaken in Australia. Sixteen local government partners, representing 35 per cent of the state of Victoria, worked closely with Federal and State Government agencies to successfully upgrade 22,612 mercury vapour streetlights to cutting edge LED technology.

The redundant streetlights were recycled and net savings over the 20 year life of the new lights will be in the vicinity of $22 million. Not only did the project generate considerable savings in emissions and on power bills, it raised community awareness, educated residents on energy efficiency across diverse regional and rural communities, improving outcomes in homes and local businesses. The project also provided training and employment opportunities for adults with disability and those in long term unemployment.

GovernmentFinalists



During 2015, the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (EAGA), a network of seven councils in Melbourne’s east, worked with the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Melbourne University and other researchers, not-for-profits and Victorian Government agencies to develop and trial a framework for monitoring biodiversity.

Key outcomes from the project included development of the monitoring framework, incorporating an implementation guide, trial to establish baselines, determine plots for vegetation, develop ClimateWatch trails, and introduce a community bird monitoring project.

This project represents a council based regional approach to biodiversity monitoring in Victoria. Its methods and tools could be applied by local and regional land managers across Australia, individually or in partnership.

The framework will help EAGA councils reflect on and adapt their onground management activities in the context of a changing climate.

Biodiversity Monitoring in Melbourne’s East was recognised in the 2016 United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Awards, winning the Local Government Category.

WINNER

City of Boroondara on behalf of the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action Councils

BIODIVERSITY MONITORING IN MELBOURNE’S EAST


Vinyl Council of Australia From Local to Global: PVC Recycling Program

Across Victoria, it is estimated that 330 tonnes of recyclable high quality medical grade PVC goes from hospitals to landfill or clinical waste at a direct annual cost of $96,000 to the health system. This is replicated across Australia and globally.

In response to this longstanding issue, the Vinyl Council of Australia has worked with a team of partners to support recycling and sustainability in Victorian hospitals, and to recover material for reprocessing and manufacture of quality mats and hose products in Australia

In 2015, they recovered high quality product for reprocessing and manufacture in Australia representing approximately 120,000 tonnes of product and a saving of 18 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions. The program also saves around $17,000 per year.

The program currently includes 34 Victorian hospitals, plus 26 across other Australian states and New Zealand, with hospital recycling trials now underway in the UK, Canada, South Africa and Thailand.

Western Health Environmental Sustainability at Western Health

Western Health provides a combination of hospital and community based health care services to a region of over 800,000 people. Employing around 6,500 staff, it is the largest employer in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Environmental sustainability is part of the organisational vision ‘Together caring for the West. Our patients, staff, community and environment’ and a cross-organisational team approach has enabled to achieve real sustainability outcomes.

Environmental sustainability is now embedded within the group’s structure through high level support and organisational governance. The Environmental Management Roadmap 2015–2020, now included in the business strategic plan, will guide the group towards environmental leadership and 50 local sustainability action plans will be implemented in departments and clinical areas.

Western Health clinicians are actively involved in published research projects investigating environmental impact in healthcare products and services. This published research allows other organisations to learn from the benefits Western Health has been able to achieve in reductions of energy, water and waste.

HealthFinalists



Nephrology practice (the treatment of kidney disease), in particular dialysis treatment, is one of the most energy and resource intensive treatments in medicine and has significant negative environmental effects. At the end of 2014, over 22,000 patients were receiving treatment for end stage kidney disease, over 10,000 Australians had received transplants and around 12,000 were receiving dialysis. In response to this issue, Melbourne Health Nephrology developed a leading environmental sustainability team, the Nephrology Environmental Sustainability Special Interest Group, which champions a range of waste reduction initiatives to significantly decrease the amount of waste produced each year.

By seeking alternative disposal methods for PVC materials and by improving recycling, Melbourne Health made significant reductions in clinical waste, while educating staff and patients about sustainable practices and appropriate waste segregation. One satellite dialysis site reduced their clinical waste per patient treatment from 2.4 kg in 2010 to 1.55 kg in early 2016, representing a sustained 35 per cent reduction in clinical waste, through actions which can be replicated in other dialysis units.

WINNER

Melbourne Health REDUCING WASTE ONE DIALYSIS PATIENT AT A TIME

© Peter Bennetts


Casafico Polystat Prefabricated Walls

Construction and demolition waste accounts for a major share of Australia’s waste sent to landfill. Polystat prefabricated walls are an all in one product, combining the frame and insulation, with cavities for services and a finished coat, ready for accelerated installation on site. Polystat uses waste materials including newspaper, polystyrene and glass, saving them from landfill and transforming them into composite walls ready for on-site building construction, strong enough to be used in load bearing walls.

The result is a pre-built, user friendly lightweight wall with good thermal properties that exceed standard insulation ratings. The thermal efficiencies of the polystyrene core provide superior insulation, saving energy to heat and cooling the building.

Polystat has been developed by family company, Casafico. Conscious of the impact that the manufacturing, building and construction industries have on people and the planet, Casafico is also forging partnerships with industry and academia to foster greater awareness and take up of the need and opportunity to develop further sustainable construction solutions.

Market Forces Super Switch

More than $1 trillion sits in managed superannuation funds, invested on behalf of millions of Australians. Yet many super funds don’t disclose to members where their money is invested.

Market Forces believes that institutions should invest with respect for the environment by using member’s funds to deliver solutions to major environmental issues and that the community can make sure the custodians of their money use it to benefit the environment.

Super Switch was created to provide information to super fund members and be a platform for action and change. Super Switch is a database and website that tracks the fossil fuel investments of superannuation products and companies. It allows members of the public to look up their fund and find out if their money is invested in fossil fuels. If a fund does so, customers can contact them via Super Switch and ask them to divest of coal, oil and gas companies and fully disclose where their money is invested, calling for environmentally positive investments to be made.

Innovative Products or ServicesFinalists



Return rates of consumer goods – generally electrical products such as laptop computers, smart phones and televisions are increasing at an alarming rate, largely due to items perceived as faulty, but actually being in perfect working order. Solvup is a cloud based technology used by retail stores and call centres that improves sustainability outcomes as products that are able to be fixed are given an extended lifecycle, instead of being discarded and replaced, resulting in excessive landfill.

An industry wide platform and drawing on a global network of vendors and repairers, the program assists the handling of apparently faulty goods through retail stores, online or over the phone. In 2015, solvup facilitated 711,673 cases that were either solved with troubleshooting, repair, return or exchange. 120,000 products were repaired with estimated carbon savings of 1,008 tonnes, by extending useful life cycles. Solvup collects, analyses and shares the data it collects to drive real industry wide change.

WINNER

Solvup BUILDING A GLOBAL STANDARD FOR SUSTAINABLE RETAIL


Australian PaperMaryvale Recycling Facility

Australian Paper is the only local manufacturer of office paper, printing and packaging papers and is committed to three pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental.

In April 2015, their wastepaper de-inking and recycling plant, the Maryvale Recycling Facility in the Latrobe Valley, opened with an innovative environmental approach to its operations. This state of the art plant, built at a cost of $90 million, is the only one of its kind in Australia.

During the nine months it was in operation in 2015, the plant processed 23,636 tonnes of wastepaper, with 88 per cent of this wastepaper coming from Victorian sources. In addition to this, it delivered nine projects which delivered savings of 33,372 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The facility has the capacity to divert up to 80,000 tonnes of local wastepaper from landfill every year; saving up to 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Toyota Motor Corporation Australia “Last Car = Best Global Car” Environment: At Work, At Home and In the Community

Toyota Motor Corporation Australia has a long and proud record of environmental commitment. The company strives to improve sustainability through all aspects of their business and seeks to develop an environmental mindset in employees by deploying an environmental policy, at work, at home and within their community.

This dedication is demonstrated through the ongoing implementation of their Global Environment Management System and achieved by developing staff energy reduction skills through the Energy Treasure Hunt Program, by providing energy auditing kits and guides for employees to reduce the environmental impacts at home. Partnering with City West Water and Hobsons Bay City Council in the Free School and Small Business Energy and Water Efficiency Audits, Toyota has dedicated $1.8 million funding towards a walking and cycling trail.

Although they will stop manufacturing by the end of 2017, Toyota Motor Corporation Australia remains committed to ensuring that “our last car will be the best global car” produced by Toyota.

Large BusinessFinalists



Crown Melbourne’s, Crown Earth program combines policy, strategy, actions, and outcomes that drive commitment to the environment across operations, from choosing suppliers to emptying rubbish bins.

Crown Earth reduces its business’ environmental footprint by focussing on energy efficiency, water conservation, materials and life cycle management. Demonstrating leadership in sustainable business practices in the gaming industry Crown Melbourne makes environmentally sensitive decisions and actions part of everyday business.

They have developed frameworks, policies, committees and reporting mechanisms so that managers and staff are supported in the implementation of sustainability measures right across the business.

They have invested significantly in educating staff, so they are aware of environmental objectives and understand how they can contribute. Their online training modules make use of behaviour change concepts, competitions and financial incentives reward teams and individuals who excel and regular communications help staff stay informed and conscious of how their actions affect the environment.

WINNER

Crown MelbourneCROWN EARTH


Jardan Australia Jardan

Jardan is a furniture manufacturer that started in 1987 and was taken over by the Garnham family in 1997. Since then, the business has grown from eight to over 100 staff, whilst transitioning from a wholesale to a retail based business with vertically integrated distribution channels and showrooms in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Its Australian made furniture incorporates environmental, social and economic considerations throughout the total product lifecycle. Widely recognised for its sustainability credentials, Jardan works with the country’s leading green building projects and works collaboratively with architects and designers to ensure the requirements for Green Building Council Greenstar scheme are met.

Jardan has obtained Chain of Custody from two of the world’s leading organisations, the Forest Stewardship Council and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification – providing assurance that Jardan’s wood based products are handled and manufactured under strict regulations that support responsible forest management.

Beaconsfield Dental Beaconsfield Dental

Beaconsfield Dental is a practice which offers all aspects of general, family and cosmetic dentistry. As well as a caring approach with their patients, Beaconsfield Dental is at the forefront of caring for the environment.

Owners are aiming to be the most environmentally friendly dental clinic in Australia and actively invest in sustainability measures to reduce their environmental impact in their clinical practice and across their site.

There are 60 solar panels on the roof capable of generating up to 100 kWh in one day. Water tanks provide water for garden irrigation and toilet flushing. The garden is home to over 500 Indigenous plants and includes Victoria’s floral emblem Epacris Impressa. The lights are all LEDs and the building is fully insulated with double glazed windows, providing thermal insulation.

Into the future, Beaconsfield Dental has plans to increase the number of solar panels and water tanks, and is investigating battery back up systems.

Small and Medium EnterprisesFinalists



Yarra Valley Estate is a 120-acre venue located at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. With four conference rooms and 48 rooms of onsite accommodation for up to 100 guests, the estate operates as a business event centre and a wedding and private functions venue.

John and Louise Ward purchased the land in 1983 with a vision to establish a private business for public good, where they would share the beauty of their land with others, nurture guests’ wellbeing and help reconnect people back to nature.

These days, Yarra Valley Estate is aiming to be carbon neutral and fully environmentally restorative within 12–24 months, achieving zero waste. They measure their footprint and benchmark operations with EarthCheck.

They grow their own vegetables, are water independent, and source produce locally. Social sustainability is equally important – each year they contribute 8–11 per cent of net revenue to disadvantaged communities.

WINNER

Yarra Valley EstateYARRA VALLEY ESTATE


Whether its kale or kebabs, cronuts or organic corn fritters, Victorians really do love their food. So it might be surprising that the average household in Victoria throws away 1 in 5 bags of food they buy. Food waste costs the average household over $2,200 a year and is responsible for one quarter of the average weekly household rubbish.

While the numbers may be shocking, the Love Food Hate Waste campaign has been able to tap in to Victorians’ love of food to help them learn how to waste less of it. And in the past 12 months, the campaign has seen more Victorians engaging with the issue of food waste than ever before.

This year, Love Food Hate Waste Victoria launched the ‘I Love Leftovers’ mini-campaign, which targeted using leftovers as one of the key ways to reduce household food waste. An easy entry-point to the issue of food waste, the campaign was embraced by the broader Victorian community, beyond those already engaged in sustainable practices.

Focussed around a series of four core infographics and ten fun and informative videos featuring tips and ideas on how to use up everything from leftover pasta to broccoli stalks, ‘I Love Leftovers’ used a content marketing approach to target home cooks in their natural habitat – social media and online news sites.

Victorians love food, hate waste

‘I Love Leftovers’ reached over 700,000 Victorians and over 300,000 people directly engaged with it, through watching the videos, reading sponsored articles or sharing the statistics about food waste on social media.

The Love Food Hate Waste Victoria Facebook page, which provides tips and ideas to reduce food waste, also grew from 6,000 fans to over 11,000 strong by the end of the campaign. Popular food and waste-free bloggers were engaged to help spread the campaign content through their extensive networks of followers.

Local governments promoted the ‘I Love Leftovers’ mini-campaign in their regions through a series of cooking demonstrations and a suite of promotional materials, which helped them spread messages about avoiding food waste.

The success of the campaign in reaching households in the broader Victorian community, by delivering food waste messages in familiar channels and in an engaging way, has given Love Food Hate Waste Victoria a proven strategy to continue tackling food waste head on in the coming year.

facebook.com/LoveFoodHateWasteVictoria

1 Have a weekly leftovers night to use up bits and pieces

2 Freeze leftovers in single-serve portions for quick meals

3 Get creative with your leftovers – repackage them into

a pie or wrap, or reflavour them into a different meal

4 Shop in your fridge and pantry first and use up what

you’ve got

5 Put leftovers in the fridge straight after a meal to

extend their shelf-life

Victorians waste 250,000 tonnes of food annually

Victorian households spend

$2,200 a year on wasted food 25% of the average

Victorian household garbage bin is #foodwaste

Victorians throw away 51,000 tonnes of leftover meals annually

great taste is too good to waste

Top 5 tips to love your leftovers

Find 1�S of ways to LOVE your fd & waste LE�lovefdhatewaste.vic.gov.au



Copy Sub Heading600 Words – Tips to help your business reduce its energy usage

Making your business more energy efficient doesn’t have to be expensive, here are a few tips that will help you reduce your business energy usage.

Switch off equipment at the end of the dayMake sure that you switch off all computers, monitors, printers, scanners, microwaves, lights, air conditioners and vending machines during weekends or holidays. They continue to draw power even if they are plugged in. Switching them off after working hours will conserve energy and reduce your energy bill.

Upgrade your lightingSubstitute your office lights and your fluorescent lights with long lasting, low energy LED lights.

Install controlsInstall motion detectors and timers to control lighting in frequently unoccupied areas such as restrooms and meeting rooms.

Ventilation and air conditioningClose shades during early morning and late evening to reduce heat gain from the sun. Close doors to the outside to contain heat in winter and cool air in summer.

Look out for draughtsSmall draughts can result in businesses losing substantial portions of their heating and cooling costs. Proper air sealing of the work environment can eliminate those draughts.

Reduce paper wastagePrint only when necessary. This will not only reduce paper wastage but also helps to cut energy required to run printer which in turn reduces your energy cost and makes life of your printer longer.

Keep control of your heating and coolingTurning your office temperature one degree down in winter and one degree up in summer can reduce the running costs of heating and cooling systems by up to 10 per cent.

To find out if Momentum Energy can help your business reduce its energy costs call 1800 SWITCH to get a no obligation quote on your Electricity & Gas usage.

ADVERTORIAL


Mazenod College leading the way forwardMazenod College, a secondary school

in south east Melbourne, gets around

50 per cent of its power needs from

a newly installed 260kW solar system,

avoiding over 350 tonnes of CO2 every

year. Mazenod says it’s now one of the

largest solar PV system at any secondary

school in Australia with 1,040 solar panels

operating across seven school buildings.

In 2014, the school installed its first

solar system which spread across the

main office building and basketball

stadium roof.

In 2015, Sustainability Victoria provided

funding to Mazenod to complete the

final stage – an additional 160kW system

which is estimated to generate around

218MWh of renewable energy and avoid

280 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Now with a 260kW solar system

which saves significant amounts

from the school’s electricity bills,

Mazenod plans to reinvest the

money in upgrading air conditioning

and heating units, only adding to

the school’s sustainability profile.

The next frontier for energy productivity

With preliminary results from the program revealing an average energy saving of 29 per cent, an average NABERS improvement of over 1.0 stars, and pay back in less than three years, the results have exceeded expectations.

Many mid-tier buildings still have their original plant and equipment.

Through an EEOB assessment on a St Kilda Road property energy efficiency consultant Justin Scholz found an 11kw pump that was set to run 24 hours a day to compensate for leakage from a broken valve. Rectifying this problem, in addition to other simple improvements, the building owner is now saving more than $10,000 a year.

“Expensive energy losses can carry on undetected for decades.” Justin says.

“The easiest way to keep your building on track is by organising periodic energy performance assessments by a qualified engineer.”

With over 2,700 mid-tier office buildings in Victoria, housing over 400,000 workers, the mid-tier office sector is a huge energy efficiency opportunity for Victorian businesses.

Many older mid-tier buildings still have their original heating and cooling plant, and usually lack the sophisticated controls and technology that are standard in newer premium and A-grade buildings.

This is why Sustainability Victoria designed its Energy Efficient Office Building (EEOB) program over recent years to specifically target ageing office buildings. Since 2013, the program has provided co-funding for energy audits and building ‘tuning’, which includes repairs and installation of sensors and controls, plus a range of upgrades across 20 buildings.

Mid-tier buildings can improve building management by modernising old controls and sensors.

Early results from the EEOB program reveals that energy savings are only part of the picture – there are a whole host of co-benefits to energy efficiency in this sector.

As the program’s participants represent a small sample of Victoria’s 2,700 mid tiers office buildings, potential benefits across Victoria’s total mid-tier sector could include a 540,000 tonne reduction in CO2 emissions, $150 million savings in energy costs and 12,000 new jobs.

Final program results are expected in the second half of 2017 when monitoring for all 20 participants finishes.

For more information on the Energy Efficient Office Buildings Program, including preliminary results, visit www.sustainability.vic.gov.au


“Program participants tell us that they’re saving time, reducing tenant complaints and maintenance costs. Some have measured improvements in staff comfort and productivity, and others have found that they’ve added value to their buildings and gained a marketing edge with which to attract tenants to unoccupied floors – in this competitive market that’s a big deal,” Stan Krpan.


Copy Sub Heading600 Words – Delivering clarity through collaboration

Following its launch by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, Sustainability Victoria proudly released the Victorian Waste Education Strategy in August 2016.

The strategy provides Victorians with a consistent, coordinated statewide approach to waste and resource recovery education.

Two key themes underpin the strategy:

• Education for behaviour change

• Social licence to operate

Over the next 10 years Sustainability Victoria (SV) will lead the delivery of activities addressing each of the six strategic directions in partnership with the Victorian Government waste and resource recovery portfolio, as well as stakeholders from local government, industry, community organisations and the research sector.

For more information go to www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/educationstrategy


Highlights of implementation so farEngaging the community on waste

SV has entered into a research partnership with CSIRO to explore factors that build community trust in the waste and resource recovery sector. This research will look at understanding and measuring community attitudes and perceptions about waste, identifying drivers, barriers and their importance for building trust. Learnings from the research will provide an evidence base for further work in the sector.

Improving Resource Recovery The local government sector provides essential waste services to the community. Associated education activities support these services and, in 2016, SV funded 10 Victorian councils to deliver projects aimed at improving resource recovery from kerbside collections. Projects were designed at an innovative, two-day design forum which brought together stakeholders from various sectors to plan tailored projects to address specific local issues.

Love Food Hate Waste It is estimated that Victorian households throw away up to $2,200 a year in wasted food. The Victorian Government’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign raises awareness about such avoidable food waste from households and provides tips and hints to reduce waste and save money.

Victorian Litter PlanVictoria has a long history in litter prevention and management activity. The Victorian Litter Plan provides the framework for current action in this space:

• Victoria’s Litter Report Card – an evidence based report which defines the state’s key litter issues

• Interventions to address Victoria’s key litter issues: illegal dumping, plastics and microplastics, litter in waterways

• Victorian Litter Innovation Fund – a $700K grants package to deliver innovative projects to prevent and reduce the impact of litter and illegal dumping

• Litter Hotspots Program (Round 3) which is being led by the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group

Victorian Litter Action AllianceCoordinated by SV, Victorian Litter Action Alliance (VLAA) is a community of practice that brings together organisations with a role to play in litter prevention and management in Victoria. VLAA builds the capacity and capability of litter managers through training and resource development, and by providing advice and support.


Copy Sub Heading600 Words –

Be part of the climate change solution. Join TAKE2 to help Victoria reach net zero

greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

www.take2.vic.gov.auDelivered by


Acknowledgements

Principal Sponsor

A special thank you to our independent judges:

Alison Rowe

Alister Campbell

Bernadette Thomas

Bill Thomas

Che Biggs

Chris Wendt

Craig Rowley

David Meiklejohn

David Singleton

Faye Adams

Fin Robertson

Gordana Marin

Ingo Kumic

Jacyl Shaw

James Wewer

Julia Lamborn

Kate Auty

Kate Elborough

Krista Imberger

Nick Alsop

Patrick D’Alessandri

Phil Cohn

Renee Atkinson

Rob Gell

Sarah Johnson

Sarah Clarke

Tiernan Humphrys

Tim Grant

Victoria Hart

Vivienne Filling

Cover image kindly provided by Armstrong Creek Development Corporation and GbLA Landscape Architects. Image: © Andrew Lloyd

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Published by Sustainability Victoria. © Sustainability Victoria, October 2016 ENG062

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Our Communities. Our Actions. Our Future. · into practice by legislating a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Following this commitment, the ... the gift that keeps