Switched on Business & Industry
Want a better profit?
Want a better environment?
Then this project’s for you!Thanks to a $222,000 Ausindustry grant from the federal government, the City of Gosnells, in partnership with the South East Regional Energy Group, Maddington Kenwick Sustainable Communities Partnership and Swan Catchment Council is piloting an innovative new project in Gosnells. The Switched on Business and Industry project, which is being delivered as part of the switch your thinking! programme, seeks to improve sustainable business practices within the City of Gosnells and address environmental efficiency of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) - namely organisations with less than 200 full time equivalent employees and/or less than $10 million turnover (ABS). The Switched on Business and Industry project will help meet the needs of small business participants by working closely with them to achieve real change in the way their business is carried out. Each business will receive one-on-one mentoring in the processes of sustainable business practices, customised to their individual needs. The project is designed to acknowledge where each business has come from and its traditional business practices (the past), look at the current challenges and opportunities (the present), and transform the opportunities into practical visions and directions (the future). The project begins with a series of business audits which are designed to help businesses better understand their industry-specific operations, and their environmental impact. Businesses will have one-on-one contact with professional auditors/mentors who understand the intricacies of small business and can provide support.
Specifically, the series of audits aims to:
· Increase efficiency;
· Conserve resources;
· Re-use;
· Recycle;
· Reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
· Ultimately, increase the net profit of each business. The audits serve to empower businesses to minimise their environmental impact and maximise profits at the same time – greening the bottom line. The first round of audits will be conducted in June / July 2008 with a follow up audit conducted 12-months later. This will allow benchmarking data to be gathered and allow comprehensive reporting of any change that occurs. Upon completion of each round of audits, individual businesses will receive a confidential report. Reports will be reviewed with a mentor to give qualified recommendations, and will include: · Understanding the issues;· Benchmarking data to: local business, business type and program averages;
· Links to support;
· Identification of consumption processes, practices and technologies;
· Collation of costed suggestions for improvement after business consultation for preferred strategies;
· Assessment of most feasible and practical improvement for each of the targeted businesses; and
· Development of an appropriate implementation timetable of cost effective efficiency upgrades To assist businesses to implement auditing into their own individual business practices, a series of training workshops will also be delivered as part of the SOBI project. Industry specific workshops will be held in late 2008 and will be run during the day and night to enable maximum participation. The City of Gosnells is seeking to recruit 350 SMEs to participate in the SOBI project, particularly those within the Maddington/Kenwick industrial areas. Businesses wishing to participate in the Switched on Business & Industry program will be asked to pay a small $25 subscription fee, which not only covers the baseline and follow-up audit and training workshops, but also covers on-going support to businesses to enable them to implement sustainable business practices (valued at $2,000).
