Becoming environmentally sustainable

There are many things you can do at home and at work to become more sustainable. This guide provides a range of ideas on how to improve the sustainability of day-to-day activities. To gain an understanding of what we consume, this guide also includes some general figures of what an average New Zealander consumes over a year.

What an average New Zealander consumes over a year:

• 10,300 km travelled on our roads (that’s equal to five trips the length of New Zealand).
• 835 litres of petrol and 820 litres of diesel.
• 9,000 kilowatt hours of electricity (this would power a standard 100W light bulb for over 10 years non-stop).
• 780 kg waste generated (combined, all New Zealand’s waste would fill more than 400,000 buses each year).
• 90,000 litres of water used domestically (enough to fill over 550 bath tubs).
• 236 kg of paper (a stack of paper almost 5 m high). This is five times the world average for paper usage.
• More than 150 kg of packaging each per year.
• 19 tonnes of CO₂ generated per person per year.

NB: This information is based on data from the  Ministry of Economic Development,  Land Transport New Zealand and the  Ministry for the Environment.

Easy things to do – most are free (and may even save you money)

• Involve staff, family and your community when looking for ways to improve your environmental sustainability.
• Try to drive less, reducing fuel consumption, vehicle emissions, and your petrol bill – 100 km not driven saves 28 kg of CO₂ emissions.
• Drive smoothly and have your tyres inflated correctly to save fuel – it’s safer and can increase fuel efficiency by up to 25 percent. Check out www.fuelsaver.co.nz
• Turn off all lights and electrical equipment (at the wall is best) when not in use. Unplug any chargers since they are still draining power.
• Print things only when absolutely necessary, use the double-sided or booklet printing option and recycle all paper.
• Use stationery and office paper with at least 50 percent recycled content and FSC accreditation.
• Eliminate, minimise or recycle packaging when making purchasing decisions – check if the product can be recycled.
• Look for accepted environmental accreditation such as Environmental Choice or ISO 14000. More than 700 products in New Zealand are now accredited.
• Cut your hot water use and lower your water cylinder temperature to 55°C.
• Remove individual staff rubbish bins, or promote waste reduction and recycling by providing only a paper box and a small bin. About 80 percent of office and household waste can easily be recycled.
• Reduce/increase air conditioning temperatures in winter/summer. Moving your thermostat up 2°C in summer or down 2°C in winter can save hundred of kilograms of CO₂ emissions.
• Reduce your use of plastic bags by shopping with cloth bags or reusing plastic bags.

Moderate things to do – minor cost/effort

• Change light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) – they last much longer and use 20-30 percent less energy.
• Recycle and compost as much waste as practicable – the Govt³ website has advice on easy and accessible options for recycling.
• Don’t provide disposable crockery or cutlery, and discourage the use of takeaway containers.
• Encourage public transport for journeys to and from work and during work hours.
• Ensure vehicles are regularly tuned.
• When purchasing appliances, consider their water and energy efficiency ratings.
• Use 100 percent recycled and chlorine-free paper, non-toxic printing inks, and recyclable toner cartridges for printing and publishing.
• Provide eco-friendly cleaning products.
• Provide Fair Trade or organic tea and coffee products.
• Conserve water by installing water-saving showerheads and dual-flush toilets.

Significant actions – a bit more cost or effort

• Consider alternative fuel systems for fleet vehicles such as bio-diesel, CNG, LPG, or electric or hybrid vehicles.
• Give preference to fuel efficiency and low greenhouse gas emissions when purchasing fleet vehicles – aim for fuel efficiency better than 7 litres per 100 km for standard passenger vehicles (check them out on www.fuelsaver.co.nz).
• Provide printers with ‘follow-me’ capability to minimise wasted office printing.
• Write environmental criteria into tendering documents, contracts, policies and procurement guidelines – include sustainability of products over their lifetime and end-of-life disposal clauses.
• Recognise, reward and publicise good performance and innovation in sustainable practice.
• In new and refitted building projects, give preference to sustainable building materials, practices and design. Consult a sustainable building specialist – up to 70 percent of operating costs of a building can be determined at the design phase of a project.
• Measure, track and report on progress – what gets measured gets managed.