How to Drive Sustainable Transport & a New Direction for Business

Greenfleet CEO, Sara Gipton says many business organisations want to implement sustainable transport methods as part of their overall sustainability strategy, they just don’t know where or how to start, so here is the first guide to provide practical strategies and examples for business across the broad spectrum of transport related issues. And there’s a new Melbourne organisation, Carbon Compass, to provide a sustainability hub for business.

Release from Greenfleet (22 March 2010):

Introducing: Your sustainable transport guide

Australia’s workplaces have a new set of tools to help them cut their contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

Greenfleet and the Net Balance Foundation today published a sustainable transport guide that provides employers and their employees with simple, achievable strategies to reduce emissions associated with commuting to and from work, business meetings and freight transport. Called “Your sustainable transport guide”, it is available at www.greenfleet.com.au or www.netbalance.com.

The guide has been developed with key industry players to encourage all businesses and organisations to take up sustainable transport options. It is a visible and often immediate way for businesses to show their commitment to sustainability and a great start for any sustainability journey.

Sustainable transport practices can also deliver significant cost savings, by reducing airfares, fleet costs, fuel costs, car parking and freight costs. Some less obvious benefits are improved employee health from walking, cycling and running to work, increased productivity and a reduction in employee absenteeism.

Transport is responsible for 14.6% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions, having grown by approximately 27% between 1990 and 2007. Emissions from the domestic aviation sector are projected to increase by 122% between 1990 and 2010.1

The Guide provides detailed strategies and examples covering a broad spectrum of transport related issues for organisations, regardless of size.

Sustainable transport strategies featured in the Guide include:

Avoid emissions by

 Videoconferencing and teleconferencing

 Web conferencing

 Working from home

Offset

 Offset emissions

Advocate

 Stakeholder engagement

 Government engagement

Reduce emissions by

 Business location

 Walking and cycling and public transport

 Supporting car pooling

 Flexible work hours

 Vehicle needs analysis

 „Green‟ the fleet

 Eco driving

 Vehicle maintenance

 Flexible remuneration packages

 Alter freight delivery times

 Adjusting freight loads

In commenting on the Guide, Greenfleet CEO, Sara Gipton said, “Many organisations want to implement sustainable transport methods as part of their overall sustainability strategy, they just don’t know where or how to start. This is the first guide, that we know of, that provides practical strategies and examples for business across the broad spectrum of transport related issues.”

Net Balance Director Terence Jeyaretnam said, “The Guide will promote sustainable transport outcomes in businesses right around Australia, helping us reduce our overall transport footprint, benefiting the bottom line for business and making the workforce healthier.”

About Greenfleet

Greenfleet is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to make a difference, not a profit. Greenfleet encourages organisations and individuals to reduce the greenhouse gases they produce and then offset their remaining emissions by planting native forests that won‟t be harvested. These forests do more than take carbon from the atmosphere. Greenfleet plants a wide variety of native tree species in forests that help reduce salinity and soil erosion, provide essential habitat for native wildlife, and help build climate change resilience across the Australian landscape.

About the Net Balance Foundation

The Net Balance Foundation is a not-for-profit entity, drawing resources (human capital, intellectual property, premises, networks, etc.) from the Net Balance Management Group. The Foundation conducts research and provides sustainability advisory services to small to medium enterprises (SMEs), not-for-profit organisations and industry associations on a not-for-profit basis, thereby giving these organisations access to sustainability research and advisory services which may otherwise be inaccessible to them.

Source: www.greenfleet.com.au

Carbon Compass… an exciting opportunity awaits Victorian businesses:

Want free access to proven carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions for your business?

Would you like to know what other businesses are doing to successfully adapt to the carbon constrained economy?

Do you have a carbon, climate change or sustainability solution you’d like to share with the business community?

Bringing together credible, business focussed carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions to one central place, Carbon Down’s Carbon Compass website provides all of this, free for small and medium sized businesses. Carbon Compass is a sustainability hub for business.

Join this exciting and growing business community by becoming a Carbon Compass member. Becoming a member of the Carbon Compass is easy, simply visit www.carboncompass.com.au to register your business and gain access to hundreds of valuable carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions.

It is a place where through the sharing of information, businesses can access valuable solutions to help them reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable.

All solutions on Carbon Compass have been posted by other businesses; they are solutions provided by businesses, for businesses.

As a Carbon Compass member business you will be able to:

• Gain free access to carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions that other businesses have provided, and implement these within your own business
• Rate and review solutions that other businesses have posted on Carbon Compass
• Provide your own solutions that other businesses can implement
• Receive feedback from other businesses on the solutions you provide
• Gain One stop access to information and resources relating to carbon, climate change and sustainability
• Expand your network, raise the profile of your brand and gain access to a growing community of like minded businesses

Source: www.carboncompass.com.au