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 6 Comments

• Re: Roadblocks to Sustainable Behaviour

  2006-07-30 22:00:39 UTC

  Hi Barbara (and all),
  
  Along with dust, paper should be stored away from anywhere it might be affected by moisture, and should also be fanned before being loaded. There are recycled papers I am aware of that work fine in colour printers (eg. Evolve Business), but they are the wrong size for the US. Just for interest, in Australia claims that recycled paper somehow impedes the performance of office machines may be a breach of the Trades Practices Act! Trade Practices Act 1974 Claims that the use of recycled office paper will increase the cost of service agreements and violate product warranties or that only a company specific brand of paper can be used in their equipment, may constitute a breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Under the Trade Practices Act 1974, it is an offence to mislead the public about the characteristics or suitability for purpose of any goods. It is also an offence to make a false or misleading representation about the exclusion or effect of any condition, warranty or guarantee. If a competitor's recycled paper is identical or equivalent in performance to their own, equipment manufacturers or suppliers cannot legally discriminate against the competing products. This applies to misleading claims about competing products and also to attempts to establish bias through conditions in service contracts and warranties. As a result no office equipment manufacturer can legally discourage the use of recycled paper if it meets the specifications for the machine in which it will be used. www.environment.nsw.gov.au/education/spd_officewasteguides.htm (p 11 of document, p 15 in Acrobat) The other argument you can put to technicians who trot out this 20th century explanation for copier or printer malfunction is this: 1. Determine how many reams you are consuming, then work out many sheets you are consuming (not sure if its different o/s but here 1 ream = 500 sheets A4 paper). Make sure management knows about this, make sure staff know about this, get it into whatever kind of annual report or public record you can. One State government agency in South Australia used 1185 reams the first year the data was captured, that's 592,000 sheets of paper - only 68% of this was recycled paper (specs are 100% recycled, minimum 50% post consumer content, not bleached using chlorine or chlorine compounds). The same agency is now at 95% in terms of purchasing environmentally responsible paper, largely due to the sustained efforts of a dedicated Greening Program Manager. 2. Point out to equipment techs that that while your organisation uses xxx sheets of paper per year, then the environmental impact is with the paper, and in future you will be specifying equipment that *can* handle recycled paper, duplex printing etc. That should send your copier techs scurrying and maybe foster some sustainable behaviour back up the supply chain! In 2001, the Dept for Environment and EPA here in South Australia invested in upgrading printers which could do duplex printing and made a 22% and a 38% saving respectively on paper purchased in the first eight months: www.environment.sa.gov.au/dehaa/pdfs/annual_parl02.pdf (p111 of document, p116 in Acrobat)
  
  Cheers,
  Sharon Ede
  
  Project Officer
  Greening of Government Operations (Waste)
  Zero Waste SA

• Disgreenimation

  2006-06-14 23:29:48 UTC

  We need to apply the same standards to all of our resources instead of "picking on" renewables...... I got fed up with this too, especially re: constantly having to argue the case for non-chlorine bleached, high post consumer, recycled content paper (mostly with paper manufacturers who don't produce it!) and invented a word: disgreenimation (n. dis-green-im-ation): 1) requiring meticulous analysis of environmental credentials of 'green' products, systems or services, while not applying the same or greater level of rigour in assessing the environmental impact of all other products or services.
  
  Sharon Ede
  Greening of Government Operations Project Officer
  Zero Waste SA Adelaide, South Australia
   

• Re: Energy for breakfast, help needed

  2006-05-03 22:20:34 UTC

  An interesting discussion! The notion of Climate Justice is also relevant here: http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GlobalWarming/Justice.asp I think its more offensive to *not* consider the greenhouse impacts of food miles, given that they are largely caused by the 'global consumer class', with the impacts (which include the effects of climate change on agriculture) of greenhouse largely falling on the less wealthy people in the world.
  
  Sharon

• FW: Social Impact Filters

  2006-04-30 21:20:59 UTC

  Hi Richard (and all),
  
  Not sure if this is exactly what you are looking for, but this may be of interest/use? http://www.sustainableinnovation.org/the-social-footprint.html
  
  Regards,
  Sharon

• Re: Environment/housing linkages

  2006-02-07 22:16:19 UTC

  Hi All,
  
  Here are some links which may be of interest re: environment/housing: www.christiewalk.org.au/ - piece of ecocity, 'live' project in the CBD of Adelaide, South Australia www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/fs73.htm - Your Home - Christie Walk www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/index.htm - Australian Greenhouse Office Your Home Technical Manual www.abc.net.au/science/planet/house/special.htm - Sustainable House (inner Sydney retrofit) www.lgp.qld.gov.au/?id=2273 - Sustainable Housing, Queensland Dept of Local Govt & Planning www.bioregional.com/programme_projects/ecohous_prog/bedzed/bedzed_hpg.htm - BedZED UK www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ec/bldsus/index.asp - Ecocity Waitakere, NZ www.sdrc.auckland.ac.nz/ - Sustainable Design Research Centre NZ www.beaconpathway.co.nz/research+reports.aspx - Beacon NZ Worth considering not just obvious things like energy, water, materials, but how different ways of living (eg. co-housing) might achieve environmental goals: www.cohousing.org/resources/whatis.html
  
  Cheers,
  Sharon

• Re: Looking for examples of effective environmental websites

  2006-02-02 19:55:23 UTC

  I can't answer the second part of the question, but these sites may be of some interest/use? I've tended to find that effective resources which can be used for behaviour change around environmental issues don't always have an obvious 'environmental' focus. www.crabgrass.org/site/strategic_1.html www.jobsletter.org.nz/pdf/stratq97.pdf www.toolsofchange.com./English/firstsplit.asp www.cnvc.org/nvc.htm

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