Climate change is a serious issue right now, and our energy use has been proven to directly contribute to it. Greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide are trapping the sun’s heat inside our atmosphere, resulting in higher incidences of bushfires, drought and shifting coastlines.

The good news is that we can all play a part in slowing global warming. Businesses have a large role to play in reducing climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; but by assessing your current Environmental Management strategies and implementing them in your workplace, you can save energy and reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. Not only will you help the environment, you will also enjoy the benefits of production efficiencies and cost savings.

To start with, you may want to assess your business' environmental responsibility by undertaking an audit of energy consumption and green practices, which will also indicate your business' potential savings from implementing basic Environment Management strategies.  Dawtek Online's Environmental Management Policy package is an instantly downloadable set of templates to assist your small business to have an effective Environmental Management strategy in place. There are also many online resources such as carboncompass.com.au which provide tools to aid in calculating your carbon footprint.

Additionally, businesses can make small changes like buying appliances with high star energy ratings. On average, one extra star will save you 10 – 30% of energy expenditure. Replace old light globes with energy saving ones, and consider switching your energy to GreenPower. GreenPower is electricity that is generated from renewable resources such as the sun, wind, water and waste. The cost of implementing GreenPower can easily be recouped in the long run by the savings it will provide, and you will immediately reduce your greenhouse gas contributions. Throughout Australia 27,000 organisations have already swapped to GreenPower. Remember that the State Government can offer a wide range of support to businesses looking to reduce their impact on the environment.
Set an example by showing initiative and compassion for our environment and its resources. By implementing a successful Environmental Management strategy now, you can decrease costs and reduce your carbon footprint. We cannot stop global warming, but we can slow it, if we act now.

Copyright
All documents are Copyright Dawtek Online Pty Ltd, 2010. 

References:
GreenPower:
http://www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au/for_businesses_2655.html
Star Ratings:
http://www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au/
Carbon Footprint Calculator (sign-up required):
http://carboncompass.com.au/solution/business-carbon-footprint-calculator