By reducing your consumption you automatically help the environment. You use less to reduce overall demand. You save money. Some easy ways to reduce consumption include:

• Switch off equipment at the wall when not in use
• Use energy efficient lighting options
• Maximise the use of daylight
• Keep up equipment maintenance
• Insulate buildings
• Keep thermostats set at sensible tempratures for conditions
• Draught proof rooms and keep external doors closed
• Printing efficencies - It's estimated that every 100 reams of recycled paper saves up to two trees, and more than a tonne of greenhouse gas emissions!
 Set your computer to print double-sided by default and buy recycled.

You can be more sustainable by educating yourself about renewable energy and energy efficient products. This means that you can purchases for your business with the environment in mind. A few ideas of what to look for when buying with sustainability in mind:

• Purchase GreenPower, a Government-accredited renewable energy program that aims to increase demand, and therefore the generation, of new renewable energy. With Momentum you can choose what percentage of black energy you want to substitute with green energy. The more Green, the less black – that's a clear contribution to renewable forms of energy.
• Look for energy star ratings on appliances
• Switch to Solar Hot Water
• Ask your printing suppliers to print with environmentally friendly paper and inks
• Buy recycleable and biodegradable products for your office. Anything from the cups you buy, to the washing detergent should aid your sustainability efforts.
• Transport -If you have a fleet of cars consider this: the average 6-cylinder car may be responsible for approximately 5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
  

  To reduce your company's carbon footprint, cut your fleet's emissions by encouraging staff to use public transport, walk or ride; and use teleconferencing or Skype to decrease travel to meetings. Fill in Momentum's survey to help you identify ways to reduce the impact of your business transport usage: Transport Survey

Get your staff to be conscious of sustainability in their everyday activities. Educate them about what they can achieve quickly and easily. For large organisations it is best to form a Sustainability Committee. This ensures that at least one person is directly accountable for helping improve energy efficiency in your company. Their role is to formulate a policy and implement a series of actions to improve business practices and reach your company's sustainability goals. The committee will educate staff on new initiatives, celebrate the success of your improvements, and communicate these to customers.

Here are two meeting agendas and an Action Worksheet to help you get started.

Agenda one
 | Agenda two | 
Action Worksheet

An example of a sustainability vision is our own: “At Momentum Energy, our vision is to run a sustainable business and proactively reduce our ecological footprint through the implementation and maintenance of sustainability practices”.

Click the link below to download a policy template today.

Environmental Policy

You can also download Momentum's environmental policy.