“We’re proud of our green image and are only too happy to demonstrate our environmentally responsible attitudes to our customers” said Graeme Bowe, Secretary of Bowral Co-op, on receiving an Environmental Achievement Certificate recently from Wingecarribee Shire Council.
“It was our own initiative to review our workplace practices, especially how we handle waste and the storage of dangerous goods, and Council’s recognition is the icing on the cake” he said.
When Carmel Rainbow, Council’s Environmental Review Officer, conducted a review of the Co-op’s premises, she found that the business had a ‘clean bill of health’ in all respects. “I was quite impressed with their own environmental policy and with the way they were maximising recycling and minimising potential hazards” she said.
An incentive scheme for the Environmental Review and Education Program was recently established by Wingecarribee Shire Council under the Wingecarribee Our Future Environment Program, recognising the efforts of business owners who are willing to participate in, and who perform well in, the program.
Environmental Achievement Certificates are issued to businesses who, by their nature, have the potential to impact negatively on the environment, but who are actively managing their environmental impacts and show a satisfactory environmental performance at their environmental review. The environmental review takes into account whether the business has the correct licences and looks at the potential for water, air, noise and soil pollution.
Businesses which show that they have adequately addressed these aspects of their business and are complying with the major provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act will receive this certificate.
“Council hopes that businesses will display these certificates where staff and customers can see them, allowing them to demonstrate their environmental commitment,” said Carmel Rainbow, who was appointed as Council’s Environmental Review Officer in September last year.
“I’ll definitely put our certificate somewhere very visible to our customers” declared Jim Wall whose Mittagong Brake Service also suitably impressed Ms Rainbow.
“The world has changed and we have to keep up with those changes” observed Jim. “The way we used to do things in our industry wasn’t very smart and I’d like to think that I’m not alone in adopting environmentally sound practices.”
“We used to wash spare parts out in the drains, but now we have this washing machine which brings them up sparkling clean and keeps the environment (and my overalls) clean as well” he remarked.
Jim Wall has engaged contractors to remove glycol and rubbish from the site. “Waste can be a problem and I’d rather see oil recycled and used for heating in Sydney’s hospitals,” he said.
“I’m concerned about Do-It-Yourself mechanics at home - how are they disposing of their waste?” he questioned.
Graeme Bowe from Bowral Co-op believes Council’s Environmental Review and Education Program is a step in the right direction. “It helps raise awareness and we all perform better when we are helped along a little” he observed.
“We have a storage system in place designed to catch spills which is so important when you consider we sit right on Mittagong Rivulet” he said.
“We promote our clean green image in our monthly newsletter and we cut up and bag a huge amount of cardboard waste for recycling - it never stops. It’s part of being in business. We even recycle stamps and corks.”
Both Graeme Bowe and Jim Wall believe that being environmentally responsible improves the workplace for everyone. “This program is a proactive effort to address actual and potential incidences of pollution in industrial premises before they become a real problem” said Paul Curley, Council’s Environment and Health Manager. “In the past, environmental officers have only been operating in a reactive way, being made aware of environmental problems when pollution incidents have been reported.”
Carmel Rainbow has visited about 90 Highlands businesses in a period of five months already. The program will continue on in a systematic manner until all industrial premises in the Shire have been reviewed, along with mobile and home based industries.
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