eNewsletter May/June 2009
Stimulating Sustainability in Your Business
On Tuesday 3rd February 2009, Kevin Rudd PM revealed a $42B Economic Stimulus Package to help bolster the Australian economy. With a generally positive response from communities and business it is interesting that on the very same day the Reserve Bank of Australia also announced a further 1% rate cut to the base rate, bringing it down to 3.25% - the lowest it has been in over 40 years. However, a key question remains as to whether all this proposed discretionary spending remains sustainable - if it hasn't been before now, what has changed?
The stimulus package is intended to add a boost to our GDP through money provided to low and middle income households in the hope that this will help boost retail spending, a major employment and economic activity generator. However, recent media commentary suggests that many will put this sudden boost towards savings or bills, and others have said that all that money would be better put to longer term outcomes such as tax relief, improving schools, housing, services, and infrastructure projects.
The question remains that if discretionary spending on lifestyle has been unsustainable before now (evidenced through the impact of the credit crunch on home repossessions, imported consumer goods and our throwaway society), how do we go about stimulating our economy in a sustainable way with wide ranging and long term benefits?
The fact is that investing in sustainability is sustainable in itself.
"How's that?", we hear you ask.
Well let's look at what sustainable means - able to continue indefinitely.
"But what does that mean for my business or project?"
Investment in staff through training, positive feedback, and employee wellbeing provides value through staff retention, improved productivity and captured value - an investment in the sustainability of the business.
Investment in resource efficiency (energy, materials, transport) means reduced waste, reduced costs, and further savings, which means continued profit, or money to be reinvested in the business. It may also open up previously untapped funding/investment streams by way of reduced interest loans for sustainability initiatives, or increased returns in the increasingly significant ethical investment industry.
Investment in product placement and customer perception in an increasingly savvy and 'greenwash-aware' market means greater consumer trust in your products, which improves sales, profits, and money for investment in your business.
Investment in education and training, strategic policy and business planning for sustainability adds value for your business in providing you with knowledge, understanding and appropriate tools for your business to capitalise on an increasing awareness and expectation on the part of staff, shareholders, and customers for products and services which represent sustainability - with reduced environmental and social impacts, quality and saleability, and good value for money.
So in short, in the current climate of economic challenge, those businesses that invest in quick fixes to stay afloat now may not come out as well placed as those businesses that invest in long term sustainability. This passage, quoted from The Age newspaper of 29 January 2009, sums the message up nicely,
" Many powerful actors (such as the UN, the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, and Al Gore and other prominent climate activists) are trying to enable movement towards the "system crisis to system change" future — particularly through the realisation of business opportunities and harnessing of markets.
We also need to consider the relationship between foresight and experience. Learning from recent experiences requires society to consider the consequences of putting short-term considerations ahead of the longer-term and investing in "short-term fixes". This sort of societal learning is likely to reinforce the sustainability agenda.
The big risk for those companies that decide to put sustainability or corporate responsibility "on hold" is that they will be left behind before realising that the sustainability agenda has continued to grow. "
FWR Group are experienced in looking at the bigger picture, and helping you to understand and identify sustainable development options that are relevant to your business, your stakeholders and your customers. Ensure your business is prepared for risk, by being open to opportunity.
Contact us to discuss how sustainability can help protect your business or project from current threats, and to ensure its long term sustainability into the future.
Are we seeing the real effects of Climate Change in Australia?
This summer in Australia we have seen some fairly unprecedented (for here) conditions. Weeks of increasingly hot conditions across Australia 's southern states have culminated in deadly heatwaves in Adelaide ( Feb 3, 2009, Deaths Help Fill Adelaide Morgue ) and the tragedy of the 2009 Victorian bushfires. At the other end of the scale, North Queensland cities and towns are suffering under massive flooding, with damage to homes and communities, farming and agriculture, business and industry, and major infrastructure (roads, rail, communications) and facilities.
Australia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change because of its hot, dry climate, with the nation's south in prolonged drought and temperatures tipped to rise by 3 degrees Celsius by 2050 across the tropical north and desert interiors.In particular, given Australia's conditions, the link between climate change and increased risk and severity of bushfires is established by climate scientists.
Climate scientists have long predicted that one of the impacts of climate change won't necessarily be new weather events, as much as it will be extremes of existing patterns - such as the wet season in the north or the dry hot summers of our south.
So while our hearts go out to all those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in these tragic and horrific events, it is important to reflect on what we knew, what we might learn, and how we act. As the Australian community rallies together to grieve and to heal, at the national level a top priority is to use the best available knowledge to mitigate the drivers and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
It is established science that Australia is getting hotter and drier because of climate change, and there is strong evidence that increased wind speeds are also caused by warming. Climate change sets up the ideal conditions for fire storms to be more frequent than ever before.
If we are serious about reducing bushfire risk, it is absolutely vital that we act now to slow down and turn around climate change. We should be asking every politician who voices concern about bushfires what they are doing to deliver a safe climate for all Australians. The following was written in Reuters online News of 9 February, 2009;
"Brian Fisher, a leading climate policy analyst and economist, said it was crucial for Australia to try to influence the world's top emitters to rein in greenhouse gas pollution.
"The key issue is what we can persuade others to do in concert with Australia . That determines what will happen to the world's climate," said Fisher, an author for the UN Climate Panel's Second, Third and Fourth Assessment Reports.
Bushfires and tropical floods are a normal part of Australian life, and can be crucial to help natural ecology. More than 250 people have died from bushfires in the past 40 years, making fires the most dangerous natural hazards in Australia .
But after years of drought, and with record high temperatures in Victoria over the weekend, fueled by hot north winds blowing down from Australia 's arid centre, the conditions were set for a major disaster.
"I have never seen weather and other conditions as extreme as they were on Saturday. The fire weather was unprecedented," said Sydney University bushfire analyst Professor Mark Adams.
We do not have all the evidence yet to fully explain this day in terms of climate change. However, all the science to date shows that we can expect more extreme weather in the years to come -- that includes hotter days and drier landscapes across southern Australia."
Behind the Four Walls and under the Roof
FWR Group (Four Walls and A Roof) have continued to grow throughout the third quarter of the 2008/2009 financial year. We have been taking on new projects and have seen our Team continue to expand. Here are some of the recent highlights:
FWR Group leading Queensland EPA ClimateSmart Retail Program in 2009
In late 2008 we announced the commencement of our retail business sustainability project with The Good Guys national chain of electrical goods retail stores, championed by leading sustainable retailer James Brockhurst The Good Guys and his Team. We are now pleased to announce that we were successful in our tender for the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency's ClimateSmart Retail Program.
ClimateSmart Retail is a new business partnership program developed by the EPA to help promote the environmental and cost saving benefits of energy and water efficient products to consumers. The Team at FWR Group (Four Walls and A Roof) are providing the face to face training and program development for ClimateSmart Retail in conjunction with the EPA. We will continue to bring you updates over the coming months in regards to this exciting new program. First training sessions will commence in mid-April 2009.
Upcoming Launch of new FWR Group website
FWR Group will be launching their new website in early March. The new website will be easier to navigate, contain more dynamic content, and showcase our existing and expanding portfolio of projects, products and services. The FWR Group website is being designed and developed by the carbon neutral ICT Team at Homepage Development.
The FWR Group website will also be a link through to our eLearning and eTraining 'Virtual Classroom'. Read on to find out more.
Ecolect eLearning and eTraining update
Ecolect is one of the world's first 'Virtual Classrooms' designed exclusively for the growing sustainability industry.
elearning, eTraining, and eMarketing services will be coming online soon – including free learning opportunities as well as fee for service eLearning/eTraining packages that will save people, professionals and companies considerable time and money in the long term getting up to speed with the latest knowledge in relation to sustainability and sustainable development.
What is a Virtual Classroom you may ask? A virtual classroom is like a big, dynamic, interactive library. It is comprised of content and learning management systems that provide live, anytime, online education, training and information. Virtual Classrooms also have lower environmental impacts then many 'real world' classrooms. For example:
- They reduce the need for people to travel to a central location for every workshop, thereby, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and petrol use and;
- Reduce the waste generation of paper, plastic cups and full garbage bags that are a feature of typical education and training workshops.
elearning opportunities also reach more people – by affecting a critical mass of people in one session. This achieves faster results for the environment and human health and also increases the knowledge pool more rapidly.
We invite you to join our elearning opportunity program and be ready to sign up for the growing course catalogue in 2009. Ecolect is currently in the Beta-testing stage (i.e. we are working out the little hiccups in the content and learning management systems). Feel free to surf on in and visit Ecolect and contact us for more information.
Ecolect is a division of the FWR Group Organisation and in partnership with Allied Organisations.
greenbizcheck increases Business Sustainability
greenbizcheck are an environmental certification company that helps businesses reduce their impact on the environment. Clients complete a best practice, online checklist and receive an in-depth assessment of their business and a list of practical measures to improve their sustainability - covering energy efficiency, water, waste and recycling, travel and transportation, and supply chain management.
The FWR Group and greenbizcheck have developed an allied partnership. FWR Group is utilising the greenbizcheck tool with their client and will be working closely with the team at greenbizcheck to develop sustainability consulting and coaching packages to complement greenbizcheck.
To find out more, please contact us.
Sustainability Sector News
Check out the following sustainability sector newsbytes:
- The Australian Green Development Forum (AGDF) Greenspeed will be held on the morning of February24th. The upcoming Greenspeed entitled 'Bridging the Carbon Pollution Reduction Gap' will provide an interactive presentation from 4 leading experts in the carbon field. Breakfast is included. To find out more or to register please see www.agdf.org.au.
- MOSS - Models of Success and Sustainability announces their 2009 National Sustainability Series. Please see www.moss.org.au for more information. The Sustainability Series will include sessions on: Carbon Accounting, Low Carbon Economies, and Market Advantage development.
- Business Eco-Forum (Brisbane) is being held on Wednesday 25th February at 5:30pm upstairs at the LA Hotel, Crn Petrie Terrace and Caxton Street, Paddington. To find out more see www.bus-eco-forum.com.
NEW FEATURE - Book Review
The Ethical Investor - Make Money and Feel Good About It by Anne-Marie Spagnolo
Today more and more people want their investments to reflect their social, environmental and/or humanitarian values.
The Ethical Investor covers all aspects of this complex topic including approaches to screening investments and how to review the performance comparisons for ethical and mainstream managed funds. It discusses the chief ethical issues, from animal rights to weapons manufacture, providing useful resources to find out which companies may be involved in these activities and includes hypothetical case studies of investment portfolios based on actual client situations to help you create your own ethical profile.
The author, Anne-Marie Spagnolo is a financial adviser and a part-owner of a Melbourne-based financial planning practice Ethical Investment Services. She has taken this experience and her strong passion for ethical investment to write this ground-breaking book showing how you can put your money where your heart is and still make healthy profits.
It reinforces that ethical investments are a viable avenue for growing wealth and is becoming one of the fastest growing investment niches in Australia .
This is a great book for both those new to investing as well as seasoned investors who want to learn about what they need to look for and the questions to ask when considering an investment.
Book Review provided by the Team at Sustainable Insight. To purchase this book please visit Sustainable Insight
