With energy prices set to rise, Victorian businesses are being encouraged to reduce their energy consumption and protect their business against price impacts through an energy saving initiative from Bendigo Bank and Carbon Down.

Bendigo Bank’s Head of Environment and Sustainability, Trudy Ellery, said electricity use accounted for 71 per cent of the average business’ carbon footprint but by making a few simple changes every business could reduce its energy consumption and save money.

“Electrical items left on standby account for more than six per cent of Australia’s commercial electricity usage, costing the business community more than $588 million each year,” Ms Ellery said.

“Many Australians businesses are inclined to leave their appliances on standby without realising the significant impact that standby power has on their energy consumption and power bills. 

“But by changing everyday habits at work, there’s plenty of scope for businesses to cut down on power, save money and reduce their carbon footprint.”

Bendigo Bank is giving Victorian businesses the opportunity to win $10,000 through its Generation GreenTM Energy Saver Initiative. 

To enter simply visit the Generation Green^TM website and tell us what your organisation has done or could do to save energy and reduce its environmental impact.

The first 5,000 entrants will receive an energy saving power board with a retail value of $49.95.

“Business owners can save money while out of the office, simply by connecting their electrical equipment to an energy saving power board which conveniently switches off appliances at once,” Ms Ellery said.

The most innovative responses will receive the following prizes;

1. First prize: $10,000 to spend on improving your business’ energy efficiency
2. Second prize: Bendigo Bank Financial Planning Advice and Services valued at $5,000
3. Third prize: A Business Energy Assessment from VECCI Sustainability Services valued at $1,000

“At Bendigo Bank we’re working to address environmental issues by providing customers and communities with practical solutions that can create a more sustainable future.”

To enter, visit the Generation Green^TM website www.bendigobank.com.au/generationgreen/ 

Entries close at Midnight on Tuesday 31 May 2011.

Carbon Down

We all know what the ‘Australian made’ certification looks like and what it stands for. But what about sustainable certifications, for example how do you really know if a product is genuinely organic? Certifications are easy identification marks but often it’s hard to know which ones to look out for and what they stand for.

As in most industries, sustainability has regulatory bodies and industry watchdogs that keep standards high and keep consumerism fair. Such bodies are, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Standards Australia and International Standards Organisation (ISO).

There are also many consumer advocate groups that investigate environmental claims and bring green labelling and reporting standards up to scratch, such as Choice Green Watch. Explained below are some of the more widely used and reliable sustainable certifications that will help you make better environmental purchasing decisions, at home and for your business.

Fairtrade www.fairtrade.net
Fair Trade Certification ensures that products have been produced and sold fairly. This ensures that producers, workers, and communities who are generally disadvantaged in the international market are paid fairly.

Good Environmental Choice Australia label (GECA) www.geca.org.au
GECA reviews a range of consumer, building and industrial products against standards of environmental performance and life cycle assessment.

Energy Rating label www.energyrating.gov.au
It is mandatory for many categories of electrical products offered for sale in Australia to carry an approved energy label. The Energy Rating label is a government endorsed label denoting the energy efficiency of an appliance. 

ENERGY STAR label
ENERGY STAR is an international standard for energy efficient electronic equipment. It was created by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 and has now been adopted by several countries around the world, including Australia. Products that carry the ENERGY STAR label are energy efficient as they either automatically switch into a ‘sleep’ mode when not being used and/or reduce
the amount power used when in ‘standby’ mode.

Green Power www.greenpower.gov.au
GreenPower is a government accreditation program for renewable energy. GreenPower is generated from clean, renewable energy sources that are easily available and are found in naturally occurring sources such as water flows, energy from the sun, wind energy and waste. It is bought by your energy provider on your behalf.

Australian Certified Organic (ACO) www.ofa.org.au
Australia is one of the few countries with a developed organic sector that does not have a national organic logo/mark. However, there is an Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Products and products can be certified organic through a range of bodies, the largest of which being theAustralian Certified Organic (ACO) label.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) www.fsc.org
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international body that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. As with recycled content, you can get varying percentages of FSC certified content , the higher the FSC percentage the better.

Planet Ark endorsed www.products.planetark.org/paproducts
Planet Ark supports a limited range of ‘greener’ products. Planet Ark supports these products because they have met with certain environmental standards. They must offer a more environmentally responsible alternative to the commonly used products that are on the market, while still being a quality product.

National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) www.nabers.com.au
Although NABERS is a voluntary environmental rating system for office premises, it is widely recognised. NABERS is a performance?based rating system for existing buildings. NABERS rates a building on the basis of its measured operational impacts on the environment.

Green Star www.gbca.org.au
Green Star is an environmental rating system for commercial buildings, and is administered by the Green Building Council Australia (GBCA). Green Star rating tools range from 4 Star Green Star Rating (Best Practice) to 6 Star Green Star Rating (World Leadership).

National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) Carbon Neutral Program
Carbon Neutral Program is a voluntary scheme which certifies products or business operations as carbon neutral. The program is an initiative of NCOS and is administered by the Australian Carbon Trust. It replaces the Greenhouse Friendly program which ended on 30 June 2010. Visit here for more.

NoCO2 Certification Program
The NoCO2 Certification program is a logo certification system that rewards and recognises carbon neutral products and services. It’s run by The Carbon Reduction Institute and there is a variety of certification types including Low CO2 Business Certification and Carbon Neutral Events, visit here.

For more information on other environmental government endorsed programs, such as Grow Me The Money, and Carbon Down, visit www.growmethemoney.com.au and www.carbondown.com.au.

Investa and Origin

Two players in Australia’s corporate landscape switched on a brand new system to generate lower-emissions electricity at Coca-Cola Place in North Sydney and share its benefits with Deutsche Bank Place across the harbour.

In a first for Australia, the NSW Minister for Resources and Energy, Hon Chris Hartcher, MP, officially launched the trigeneration precinct for these two commercial buildings.

Investa Property Group (“Investa”) and Origin have set a precedent for smarter energy management in our cities with a compelling, alternate energy solution that helps lower emissions and network demand, while increasing energy efficiency and power security.

Coca Cola Place and Deutsche Bank Place are significantly shrinking their carbon footprints, saving around 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year between the two buildings.

Origin Executive General Manager, Energy Markets, Frank Calabria said, “Working in partnership with our customers, by deploying smart technology and highly-efficient systems, we can unlock the promise of trigeneration systems in a manner that can cut carbon pollution at the same time as delivering economic benefits. This solution with Investa is a great example of how we are paving the way for more intelligent energy systems of the future.”

This trigeneration solution uses natural gas to produce electricity on-site, as well as heating and cooling for the building. As the waste heat is captured to provide heating and cooling, trigeneration provides up to 80 per cent efficiency, a significant increase on conventional coal-fired power stations which convert only 30-40 per cent of their fuel energy into electricity. [1]

This energy milestone overcomes challenges that have been limiting the use of trigeneration technology at large commercial sites in the past.

Chairman and CEO of Investa, Scott MacDonald commented: “As an owner and manager of more than 60 commercial office buildings we aim for maximum efficiency – that means keeping energy bills low, while providing premium services to tenants.”

“With this initiative we are leasing space to an operator which can generate power, as well as manage the balance of demand and supply.”

Two Energy Service Agreements (ESA) allow Investa to purchase electricity, hot water and chilled water from Origin’s distributed generation company, Cogent, as well as top-up, peak and off-peak electricity for both sites.

“This is Australia’s first open commercial tri-generation precinct, delivering a more efficient way to generate power, heat and cooling at the source,” said Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP.

“It is the first step to building a trigeneration energy network for the city centre that will reduce carbon pollution and increase efficiency, for city businesses,” said the Lord Mayor.

With Origin’s cogentpower, a ‘virtual private energy network’ is overlaid with the Ausgrid network to balance energy demand between the two buildings. This solution will enable the trigeneration plant at Coca Cola Place to operate at maximum efficiency all year round, while taking advantage of Sydney’s mild climate.

It is the first step towards creating precinct-based trigeneration systems for buildings within the same distribution network as surplus, lower-carbon electricity can be exported to the electricity grid. As this electricity is generated in North Sydney’s CBD and shared into the grid locally, energy is not lost via the high-voltage transmission network.

It is estimated that 12 separate entities control around 60 per cent of office accommodation in the City of Sydney, so the uptake of commercially-viable green technologies can make a real impact on emissions for this sector.

“Responsible building operators strive to use as little energy as possible,” said Craig Roussac, General Manager of Sustainability, Safety and Environment at Investa.

“This agreement proves we can have our cake and eat it too. We can power a super-efficient building with lower emissions electricity, while at the same time heating and cooling it with the waste heat that would normally go up a coal-fired power station’s smoke stack. In addition, further benefits flow from the ability to export excess electricity to the grid,” Mr Roussac said.

“This partnership tackles the supply of energy, opening the door for precinct-based trigeneration systems that will underpin more efficient buildings and more reliable infrastructure.” Mr Roussac said.

Commenting on the initiative Genia McCaffery, Mayor of North Sydney Council said: “Coca Cola Place has a set a benchmark for sustainability and design in the North Sydney CBD. With this trigeneration project, Investa and Origin have raised the bar once again, showing commercial property owners across Australia just what is possible in generating and using energy efficiently.”

[1] http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1998-99/99rn21.htm, see Table 1, Electricity Generation Efficiencies for Coal Power Stations and Cogeneration.