With great success, 55 local Bendigo accountants and financial planners at Strategem Financial Group have taken up the challenge of creating an eco-friendly office to meet waste and energy management targets.
Strategem share in these positive workplace changes with another 298 Victorian businesses through the Grow Me the Money program, an initiative by VECCI and the EPA to improve the impact business has on the environment.
Stategem Financial Group Partner, Sharon Gleeson reports that “results have been encouraging, with the most significant being 50 per cent of total waste now being recycled – a target that we aim to increase to 70-80 per cent in the next 12 months.”
A small group of enthusiastic staff have taken the lead in implementing the changes across the whole business, helping their colleagues to cut energy and waste and monitor their overall progress.
Initiatives include shutting down computers overnight and de-lamping in over-lit areas to reduce gas emissions.
Also, furnishing each work station with a bin for waste recycling and one for onsite shredding, which is then recycled.
This is in addition to three years of actively reducing reliance on paper resources by increasing computer to computer communication, converting internal documents to electronic format and investing in dual screens for every work station.
“The rewards are in achieving a healthier business, financially, as well as meeting our community social responsibilities to improve outcomes for our local and larger community,” she said.
“It’s an important and necessary part of our business.”
“These measures could work just as well for other businesses – every little step counts.” she said
