Enviro-Mark News Issue 1, September 2008
In this issue:
Editorial
Welcome to Enviro-Mark News, the first edition of our new-look Enviro-Mark®NZ e-newsletter! We will be using this as a way of keeping you up to date with Enviro-Mark®NZ programme developments and other relevant news.
You know, Kermit the Frog was right; it can be difficult being green. However, in these more environmentally aware times it can sometimes be more difficult not being green.
Take the prominent Member of Parliament who recently spoke out against Parliament’s move to replace large office rubbish bins with the compact waste cubes now ubiquitous in so many workplaces. The Member was publicly pilloried for his reluctance to take more responsibility for his own waste. A sign of our changing times for sure.
Environmental issues have never had such front-of-mind prominence with the public. Just recently our Prime Minister, Helen Clark, met with her Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd, in Auckland and the two key items on their agenda were both environmental issues: climate change and emissions trading schemes.
With the planet struggling to support its increasingly resource-hungry population, interest in everyone’s sustainability and environmental performance will continue to grow. I know many of you belong to the Enviro-Mark programme because of your personal convictions, but it’s important to note that you’re not alone and much of the buying-public are expecting companies to ‘do their bit’ also.
In time, a credible environmental management system will be a requirement for business – a basic ticket to operate – either through legislation or socially, through the expectations of customers. Think how much public opinion has changed in just a few years; think what will therefore be acceptable in the next few years?
Kermit would be impressed. Thank you for taking the time to read this; we hope you find the newsletter useful and informative.
Charlie Bartlett
Enviro-Mark®NZ Programme Manager
NEW Bronze Checklist – Legal Compliance
Keeping your organisation up to date with new and changing environmental and health and safety legislation is a vital activity, but it can be both costly and time-consuming. Enviro-Mark is here to help.
At Enviro-Mark we want to ensure that this essential activity is as simple as possible and have updated the Enviro-Mark Bronze Checklist to reflect changes in legislation since the last update. The new checklist consolidates all the amendments and additions to the key pieces of environmental and health and safety legislation normally covered by Enviro-Mark.
The new version is available to all current Enviro-Mark members as part of their annual Enviro-Mark membership fees. We will be sending out the updated checklist to all our current Members, however in the meantime if you are keen to get your hands on the updated checklist please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team.
E-mail Enviro-Mark@landcareresearch.co.nz or 0800 366275 (0800 ENMARK).
The Enviro-Mark Team Out and About: Small Business Expos and World Environment Day
Our stand at the Small Business Expo in Christchurch
The Enviro-Mark team has been out and about lately exhibiting at the Small Business expos in Christchurch and Wellington, and at the Step Up Canterbury World Environment Day Expo.
Having a presence at these expos gave us a great opportunity to connect with existing and new Enviro-Mark members and discuss the myriad of issues facing businesses at the moment. It became clear that sustainability and environmental issues are top priority for many of these businesses, with a great proportion mentioning that having credible verification for their efforts on behalf of the environment was essential.
For both the Small Business expos we were located in the ‘Sustainability Zone’ and it was refreshing to see complementary providers there were of environmental and sustainability services – from MfE, to Target Sustainability and the carboNZero programme.
The Enviro-Mark team will continue to have a presence at select expos and conferences throughout the coming year.
Choose ‘LIFE’
Dr Warren Parker (CEO Landcare Research) with Charlie Bartlett (Enviro-Mark) picking the lucky winner.
We were lucky enough to have Formway Furniture’s generous support in providing one of their iconic and environmentally responsible LIFE chairs as a competition giveaway at the Wellington Small Business Expo at the end of July. Formway Furniture is a Gold Enviro-Mark member for their Gracefield Road operations and have been a supporter of Enviro-Mark for many years. Find out more about the LIFE chair’s sustainability credentials at their website www.formway.co.nz.
In the end we had hundreds of entries, but the lucky winner of the fabulous LIFE chair was Carol Love from Wellington. Congratulations Carol!
PrintNZ Conference
The Enviro-Mark team is honoured to be invited to speak at the PrintNZ Centenary Conference in Taupo, 13–15 October 2008. Charlie Bartlett will speak about Enviro-Mark and how it can help your printing business manage its effects on the environment while also seeking a competitive advantage. If you’re planning to be at this milestone event please come and say hello to Charlie.
e-Manage makeover
Landcare Research’s data management tool e-Manage is having a makeover. A new and improved version will become available later in 2008. We’ll give you further details in upcoming newsletters.
Member Profile: Pivotal Services
Pivotal Services, founded in 1991, has combined over 40 years of print production management experience with a respected and knowledgeable digital print team. It has created one of the most flexible and multi-talented print communications companies in New Zealand.
Pivotal has achieved rapid success with Enviro-Mark achieving the Bronze and Silver Enviro-Mark standards in seven months, achieving Gold in July 2008 a full year ahead of schedule.
In this edition of Enviro-Mark News we talk to Production Manager Lee Frampton.
Lee, to what do you attribute Pivotal Print’s rapid success in the Enviro-Mark programme?
Having clearly defined objectives at the outset with a holistic approach to the sustainability of the total business definitely helped kick-start the programme. We took into account our people, customers, processes, environmental impact and ongoing financial success. Participation in the programme was driven from the top by management, and early on, we informed and gained the buy-in of the whole management team. The influence of these managers enabled smooth implementation of the programme throughout all business areas simultaneously. A clear goal enabled everyone at Pivotal to get on board and support change, often a difficult aspect for employees, suppliers and clients alike. Defining our objective early also gave purpose for auditing activity and a positive desire for staff to achieve both personal and business goals.
What have you found the most challenging aspect of developing your EMS?
The biggest challenge was that we had to work from ground zero. This was a ‘double-edged sword’ as at least there was little barrier to changing old processes – most of the work was implementing new practices. The difficulty was that there were no previous records or measurements in place as a starting point and we really were beginning afresh.
What advice would you give anyone starting out the journey of developing their EMS?
Know from the outset what you want to achieve by being part of the programme. Greenwashing, or participating because you ‘feel’ you should be doing something, won’t stand the rigours of applying change. Get buy-in from your managers so they can reach all aspects of your business with an understanding of what is of utmost importance and why the company is activating the programme. This way everyone is working with the same objective in mind.
What are your impressions of the auditing process?
The system has rigorous step-by-step processes that ensure you don’t try to achieve everything overnight! Throughout the audit process we also gained invaluable assistance and guidance on areas additional to the audit areas. This additional information has helped us develop even more ideas of where we can take the programme within our business.
What value does Enviro-Mark give you in winning work / tendering processes?
We have already gained a huge amount of coverage as a brand within our industry as we are the only digital print company in New Zealand to be accredited to both Bronze and Silver levels. Along with the assistance this has provided us with governmental and corporate customers, it has also confirmed our own Sustainable Print Management programme is extremely beneficial to our customers. Enviro-Mark backs up the work we have already achieved to date and the sustainable thinking we have developed over the years. It is continuing us on the path towards really reducing our impact on the environment.