Regional Shopping Centres Recycling Programme

Hi Hugh and all,

ZWSA has produced a Waste Management and Reduction Guide for the Retail Industry: www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/retail_industry/index.php The guide is based on the efforts of Centro Group's Colonnades shopping centre here in Adelaide: www.centro.com.au/About+Centro/Corporate+Social+Responsibility.htm Centro recognises its responsibility as a corporate citizen with regard to environmental sustainability and the need to balance the interests of securityholders from a purely "Return on Investment" point of view against its obligations to the community as a whole. This is particularly important in regard to the responsible use of energy and water. In recognition of this, Centro has already taken numerous steps to address its energy and water consumption, including the following:
* Management is working with the Green Building Council in Australia to develop a green star rating tool for the design of shopping centres. This rating is a similar concept to that which has already been introduced for domestic buildings. It is likely that the rating, once developed, will be applied to all new shopping centres;
* Recycling initiatives are in place at all centres. This is particularly evident in food courts where rubbish bins are segregated for different types of rubbish to allow recycling. Similar initiatives are also in place at the Centro corporate office, with paper and cardboard recycling established; and
* At several of Centro's major sites water management plans have been introduced. These plans address the present use of water, and target measures and savings in storage and recycling of water. In addition to being applied at the centre level, the measures introduced are largely directed at the tenancy level, particularly at tenants who are major users of water. In South Australia, Centro Colonnades has established itself as a shopping centre which cares for the environment, its customers and the community who live and work nearby. An environmental action group was set up in 1995 and has implemented many operational best practices. As a result Centro Colonnades has won the Property Council of Australia Environmental Excellence Award for 2003, 2005 and 2006. It was also a merit winner in the internationally acclaimed MAXI awards in 2005 for its environmental initiatives. Furthermore, Zero Waste SA, a State government body, are now producing a guideline booklet for shopping centre waste management in SA based on the Centro Colonnades model. Cheers, Sharon Ede Research/Project Officer (Greening of Government) Zero Waste SA www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au The South Australian Government established Zero Waste SA to promote waste management practices that as far as possible eliminate waste or its consignment to landfill, & advance the development of resource recovery and recycling. 'There is something fundamentally wrong with treating the earth as if it were a business in liquidation' - Herman E Daly This e-mail message may contain confidential information, which also may be legally privileged. Only the intended recipient(s) may access, use, distribute or copy this e-mail. If this e-mail is received in error, please inform the sender by return e-mail and delete the original. If there are doubts about the validity of this message, please contact the sender by telephone. It is the recipient's responsibility to check the e-mail and any attached files for viruses.