Enviro-Mark News Issue 4, May 2009
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Editorial
Swine flu. The economic recession. Our Canterbury Crusaders are struggling to make the Super 14 rugby play-offs. These are difficult times indeed but fortunately the news is all positive here at the Enviro-Mark®NZ programme.
Our programme is evolving. We have always strived to provide everything you need to develop a simple, effective environmental management system (EMS); all backed up with credible certification. That won’t change but we are now putting a stronger focus on promoting Enviro-Mark and helping you promote your membership so you get the greatest value from our programme. It all makes a difference in these increasingly competitive times.
As we mention in this newsletter, we will be exhibiting at the bizzone Business Expos coming up in the next few months in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. We are also partnering with industry groups such as PrintNZ to increase the reach and awareness of Enviro-Mark. Further such alliances are in the pipeline.
The Enviro-Mark programme is to become a key component in Greater Wellington’s ‘eMission’ sustainable business programme. It’s also a central part of a new Landcare Research-led programme to help New Zealand businesses embrace Life Cycle Management (LCM) – an increasingly hot issue with regulatory authorities in Europe at the moment.
I’m delighted to announce that we are also expanding the Enviro-Mark team with the addition of a new Membership Manager. A key focus of this role will be to ensure all our members are aware of the membership services available to them as part of their membership subscription. The role will also be focused on how to improve the value of being an Enviro-Mark member. So as a minimum you can expect more free seminars like our popular, recent sessions on ‘How to beat the $10 per tonne waste levy’, and ‘How to promote your business and win more work’.
I hope you find this edition of our e-newsletter interesting. As always, I welcome any feedback.
Charlie Bartlett
Enviro-Mark NZ Programme Manager
Bizzone Business Expos - Free Tickets
 Charlie Bartlett |
Visit the 'What's happening' section of our website for free tickets ($20 value) to the upcoming bizzone Business Expos in Auckland (27-29 May), Wellington (22-24 July) or Christchurch (5-7 August).
With more than 230 exhibitors at the Auckland event alone, the expos are a great opportunity to develop contacts and gain information to grow your business. Make sure you pop by our new-look booth. We always look forward to catching up with members to discuss how you are progressing with your EMS. We’ll also be presenting at the Wellington Expo so watch out for that also!
At our booth you can also go into the draw to win $50 buckets of products from Eco-store, an Enviro-Mark member.
PrintNZ
Environmental performance and sustainability is a key issue for the print industry at the moment - so we 
are delighted to announce that PrintNZ are officially endorsing the Enviro-Mark Programme as their environmental programme of choice for their 700 strong members. They are hoping that the whole industry will improve its environmental performance and they see Enviro-Mark as a key part of that process.
Two print organisations at the forefront of improved environmental performance are Soar Printing, which we profiled in our last edition, and APN Print, featured below. These two organisations are using their Enviro-Mark credentials to create points of difference in the market. As well as achieving cost savings and reducing their own environmental impacts, these companies are effectively using their own environmental performance to improve the environmental performance of their customers as well.
We have a range of initiatives planned for the year ahead that will make it easy for print companies, paper suppliers and other members of the industry to enjoy the benefits of Enviro-Mark.
eMission and LCM
As well as being a programme in its own right, Enviro-Mark is increasingly becoming a key component in other organisation’s programmes. Two recent examples are Greater Wellington’s eMission programme and an interesting new research programme that will help manufacturing organisations adopt Life Cycle Management (LCM) practices.
eMission is a business sustainability and carbon reduction programme being offered to businesses in the Wellington region. The subsidised one-year programme covers a range of environmental issues and aims to assist businesses to achieve Enviro-Mark Bronze, Silver and Gold certification.
LCM is becoming an important topic for export businesses in particular. Many are facing considerable market or regulatory pressure to take a complete ‘cradle-to-grave’ approach to thinking about product design, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal.
Landcare Research has teamed up with the Ministry of Economic Development (MED), the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), Business NZ and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in a collaborative research programme initially involving several manufacturing companies. The businesses will take advantage of our Enviro-Mark tools and certification as a component of their LCM efforts.
New Membership Manager
As part of our drive to increase the value we provide you, our members, we are about to appoint a new addition to our Enviro-Mark team.
The new Membership Manager will be responsible for working with existing members, planning training and seminars, and generally making sure we are doing everything we can to help you on the journey to improved environmental performance.
The new person will also enable other, existing Enviro-Mark team members to spend more time developing the Enviro-Mark programme tools and provide more face-to-face assistance and training.
Tips for a smooth audit
Here are five top-tips for ensuring you have a successful Enviro-Mark audit:
- Ensure your membership is current - you cannot get an audit or get certified if your membership has lapsed.
- Thoroughly check you meet all the criteria listed in the checklists. Not only the level you’re aiming for, but any preceding levels also. The checklists are the same tools our auditors use to check your compliance with the Enviro-Mark requirements.
- Phone and discuss your preparation with an Enviro-Mark consultant: 0800 ENMARK.
- Have all of the relevant EMS documentation on hand.
- Make sure any key staff at your site(s) are available to speak with the auditor should they need to.
Member Activity
We would like to welcome Guardian Health Care, New Zealand's leading provider of care services, to the Enviro-Mark programme.
Congratulations to these members who have recently been certified:
| Alliance Group - Dannevirke | Diamond |
| de Bruin-Judge Furniture Ltd | Gold |
| Marketing Impact – Auckland | Bronze |
| Orangebox | Bronze |
| Southern Colour Print | Silver |
| Enable NZ | Gold |
| APN Print - Wanganui | Bronze |
| Taura Natural Ingredients Ltd | Gold |
| Formway Ltd - Gracefield | Gold |
| DELTA Utility | Silver |
| BJ Ball Paper Ltd - Auckland | Bronze |
| Leading Label Ltd | Gold |
| Orica Powder Coatings | Gold |
| Livingstones - The Hub Hornby | Bronze |
| Diagnostic Medlab Services Ltd | Gold |
| Wickliffe Ltd - Auckland | Silver |
| EIS Ltd | Bronze |
| Meadow Mushrooms Ltd | Silver |
| Craig Design & Print | Gold |
| Mighty River Power - Metrix | Diamond |
| Carlielle Kitchens | Silver |
| Mercury Energy (Head Office Auckland) | Diamond |
Upcoming Events
A quick scan of the list of our most successful members and one thing becomes very clear - those organisations with the highest levels of Enviro-Mark certification and those making the fastest progress through the five levels are also those taking advantage of our subsidised training workshops and other information sessions.
Check out the What’s Happening section of our new website for information about the latest workshops, seminars, drop-in sessions and other events.
This week we are holding workshops in Auckland: a Wednesday (13 May) introduction to EMS and the Enviro-Mark Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, and a Thursday (14 May) workshop on the Enviro-Mark Platinum and Diamond levels. We also have a drop-in session in Auckland on Thursday.
Member Profile: APN Print Auckland
 APN print |
APN Print is one of the largest printers in New Zealand. Part of APN, the Australasian media organisation, the print division has five New Zealand sites that are taking part in the Enviro-Mark programme. Ellerslie-based APN Print Auckland, which produces the New Zealand Herald, currently has Enviro-Mark Silver certification. We talked to General Manager, Dan Blackbourn about their EMS journey.
What has been the key to the success of your environmental management system?
The key success is that the processes we had in place prior to joining Enviro-Mark put us in a good position to progress to certified recognition of what we are controlling and putting back into our environment, and what we can do to ensure we are doing everything within our power to minimise the effect we have on the environment.
What has been the most challenging aspect?
Not knowing what was to come as we embarked on the process would have been the most challenging aspect. With the Enviro-Mark approach, the process has been easier than we anticipated but it was quite daunting at the start knowing what we wanted to achieve but not really knowing where the journey would lead us.
What advice would you give to anyone else starting out on the EMS journey?
You need to start now! Legislation in some form or another will dictate that manufacturing plants are certified when it comes to anything being put back into the environment that could be harmful in one way or another. It is better to take the initiative and work in your own time to get a credible environmental management system in place, rather than wait and then have dramatic change forced upon you.
How has the Enviro-Mark programme assisted?
Enviro-Mark has been a great help. The process highlighted some areas where our plants had to improve or tighten up process. Without the knowledge of Enviro-Mark staff we would have continued the way we were doing things hoping they were right.
What value does Enviro-Mark certification provide APN Print?
We are able to show our clients that we are taking our environmental policies and commitment to the environment seriously. It is also good to show our staff that the process of what we do does not just end when they have completed their work but is ongoing. This will assist in providing a cleaner and greener environment for their next generations.