Environment Strategy

Our Approach

The Commercial Research Unit (CRU) respects the environment and is committed to reducing its environmental footprint. The aim of this strategy is to ensure all CRU staff are aware of and considerate of the environmental impact of their daily tasks.

CRU appreciates that most elements of their daily work routine have an impact on the environment. These elements can include heating and cooling the office, the presence or absence of plants, paper type and use in printing and copying, the material composition of procurement items, computer and light use, food and coffee packaging etc. Even small changes can make a big difference over time.

Accordingly, CRU is committed to incorporating strategies in all areas of work that may reduce its environmental footprint.

The CRU is also committed to raising awareness amongst its staff about the environment, the factors that impact negatively upon it and ways in which the actions of each individual staff member can make changes at work to reduce these negative impacts.

Examples of our Commitment

  • Strategies that CRU incorporate into their work to try and reduce its environmental footprint include (but are not limited to):
  • using recycled paper in all printers and photocopiers;
  • keeping printing to a minimum by only printing what is necessary and printing double sided and 2 document sheets to a page;
  • assisting others in keeping their printing to a minimum by providing a prompt at the end of emails reminding recipients to be considerate of the environment before printing;
  • prioritising the purchasing of recycled stationary products when the option is available;
  • choosing responsible and local suppliers- to reduce emissions from transportation;
  • turning off lights if staff are leaving their office for extended periods;
  • turning all computers off each evening;
  • having native plants in the office (choosing native plants allows for them to be planted in local gardens to attract native wildlife once they grow too large for the office space);
  • opening and closing windows/blinds as a means of heating and cooling the office rather than using air conditioning, heaters or fans;
  • taking crockery cups when purchasing coffee on campus and using existing office cutlery for consumption of food to reduce use of plastic cups/lids and cutlery; and
  • having a paper recycling bin for all staff and plastics/metal recycling bin for the CRU office.

CRU staff dedicate regular time each week try to learn something new about the environment and strategies to make our workplace more environmentally friendly. This can include discussing strategies described in “True Green @ Work” written by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, discussing strategies that we may have learnt from other information sources or reviewing our existing strategies and developing ways that these can be improved.

At weekly meetings, CRU staff report on the actions they have taken the week previous to make environmentally friendly decisions at work. Each person has a “green at work” book that has a checklist for everyday and an option to list other actions that have been undertaken by individuals to try and reduce their environmental footprint. Weekly assessments of these books enable the team to encourage and reward one another for efforts made to be more environmentally friendly at work.

The CRU environment strategy is integrated into other elements of the CRU corporate social responsibility plan, such as work/life balance. For example, CRU staff are committed to dedicating two hours per month to undertaking volunteer work in the Illawarra region. Some of this volunteer work will involve assisting in the care of local food gardens and nature reserves.

 

 

Last reviewed: 19 March, 2008