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| Baristas brewing a Fair Trade Caffe L'Affare cuppa at the official Fair Trade Auckland announcement |
On May 4,
Auckland Mayor Len Brown announced that Auckland is New Zealand’s newest FairTrade city. Over 300 businesses are already signed up to being a Fairtrade
businesses, purchasing and
selling Fairtrade goods. When we think about Fair trade we also think about
being sustainable, and what this means for business.
Heart of the
City advocates ethical and sustainable practices. We are strong supporters of
public transport, sponsoring the CityLink bus service, advocating for the
central city rail loop, and providing the BIG little City Rides pedi-cab
service. We are a member of the Sustainable
Business Network, and
we have taken part in their challenge, which assesses how your business
operates and indicates areas for improvement. Just some of the small steps we
are taking in our own office are using re-usable cups when ordering takeaway
coffees, taking care to print on both sides of a piece of paper, any many of us
travel to work on public transport.
We all know
that being more sustainable is a good for the environment, but it can also be
good for the bottom line. There are considerable financial and branding
benefits to be gained by doing sustainable business. We thought it would be
useful to pull together a small list of ‘simple tips’ that business may
consider taking to become more sustainable, along with some useful references
that you may be interested to further your knowledge in this area.
HOTCity’s
simple steps towards sustainability
Saving
power
- Turn off the lights when you’re not in the room – or better yet, install sensor lights so this happens automatically
- Turn off your computer and other electricals when you’re not using them – standby mode can use huge amounts of power
- Buy low energy equipment – fridges, freezers, light-bulbs etc
Reducing
waste
- Don’t print documents just for the sake of it, and make sure to print double-sided when you do print
- Recycle as much as you can. Use reusable cups for takeaway coffee and recycle scrap paper
- There may even been a space for a small office ‘bokashi’ compost bin for green waste
Shopping
smart
- Look out for the Fair Trade mark when you shop for office tea and coffee supplies
- Support local businesses where possible. The networks you can create within your local community are far more valuable than the cents you may save shopping elsewhere
- Within the CBD, you could utilise the HOTCity business directory to assist you finding the right businesses in the area
Leaving
a smaller carbon footprint
- Do you really need to travel for that meeting? Would a phone call or teleconference suffice? Save the petrol and the time and stay in your office
- Use public transport where possible to get to work and travel between different locations
Be
connected
- Join a group with a sustainable focus – in some industries you can gain accreditation for your sustainable efforts, which will impact positively on your brand
- Sign up to e-newsletters – they’ll will give you regular reminders that sustainability is an ongoing effort
Some good online
sustainability resources
Creating What Matters – Advice from
leaders in sustainable business practice
Triple Pundit – Sustainability in Retail: Not an Oxymoron
Triple Pundit – Sustainability in Retail: Not an Oxymoron
Business
Govt NZ – Sustainability in Business
Ministry for the Environment – Simply Sustainable Web Toolkit
Ministry for the Environment – Simply Sustainable Web Toolkit
We’d
love to hear ways that your business is working to be sustainable – what are
your top tips?
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