Posts Tagged ‘greenhouse gas emissions’

Reducing emissions by 10% in 2010

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 by SophieR
10 – 10 – 10 Cutting your emissions by 10% on 10th October 2010.
This is a community action campaign that aims to reduce carbon emissions by 10%. Around New Zealand and the globe, this Sunday will be dedicated to demonstrating to world leaders that we are ready for climate solutions! The overall aim is to get carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere back down from 390 closer to 350 parts per million of CO2 equivalent, to limit warming effects on seas, polar ice and resulting weather instability.
Reducing waste means reducing emissions:
By being more aware of the waste that we are sending to landfill, we can actively reduce emissions and greenhouse gases. Few people are aware that organic waste that is included with landfill waste, releases methane over time! Small changes to our every day lives can really mean big reductions!
What you can do as part of the campaign:
There are plenty of activities such as bike rides, planting at South shore as well as an all day climate smart documentary film festival!
For more information on Sunday’s events and smart carbon – emission cutting tips, visit www.1010nz.com
What we are doing at the SIFT offices to reduce our carbon emissions in 2010 –
Walking to and from work for short excursions during the day
Turning off and unplugging all of our appliances at the wall
Actively recycling and educating all staff on ambiguous recyclable items
Buying second – hand. There are some great deals for office furniture and supplies in Canterbury.
Using local caterers and suppliers for our functions
Using our blog to promote sustainable living instead of printed media
We would love to hear what you are doing at home and in the office to cut carbon emissions in 2010.

101010-logo-no-tagline-color

This is a community action campaign that aims to reduce carbon emissions by 10%. Around New Zealand and the globe, this Sunday will be dedicated to demonstrating to world leaders that we are ready for climate solutions! The overall aim is to get carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere back down from 390 closer to 350 parts per million of CO2 equivalent, to limit warming effects on seas, polar ice and resulting weather instability.

Reducing waste means reducing emissions:

By being more aware of the waste that we are sending to landfill, we can actively reduce emissions and greenhouse gases. Few people are aware that organic waste that is included with landfill waste, releases methane over time! Small changes to our every day lives can really mean big reductions!

What you can do as part of the campaign:

There are plenty of activities such as bike rides, planting at South shore as well as an all day climate smart documentary film festival!

For more information on Sunday’s events and smart carbon – emission cutting tips, visit www.1010nz.com

Changes in the  SIFT offices to reduce our carbon emissions in 2010 –

Walking to and from work for short excursions during the day

Turning off and unplugging all of our appliances at the wall

Actively recycling and educating all staff on ambiguous recyclable items

Buying second – hand. There are some great deals for office furniture and supplies in Canterbury.

Using local caterers and suppliers for our functions

Using our blog to promote sustainable living instead of printed media

We would love to hear what you are doing at home and in the office to cut carbon emissions in 2010.

Our new second hand glass board table

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 by Admin
The new second hand Sift Board Table

The new second hand Sift Board Table

When Sift moved to its new premises in Christchurch a couple of months ago we were determined to fit out the office with as much second hand office furniture as possible. Our Trustee member and keen bargain hunter Arthur Williamson mentioned that a great glass board table was up for auction at Bryan Andrews Auctioneers so we checked it out and thought it would be perfect as our new board table. The next day Linda won the auction and the table was set up in our new offices. It is a steel, brass, glass beast of table but exactly what we were looking for and at a great price.

We discovered that the board table used to reside at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Warren and Mahoney Architects bought the table in 1990 for the fit out of the PricewaterhouseCoopers building and then the black leather chairs were imported especially from Western Australia (they will come up nicely with some tlc).

While discovering the background of the glass board table and chairs we also discovered that PricewaterhouseCoopers has a commitment to the environment, sustainability and the communities they impact on. Good to know that the table has come from a good place!

So here’s a bit of info on the sustainable business practices of PwC:

  • They are committed to ethical business practices and were a  founding member of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (they are also a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development).
  • They are one of the key sponsors for Sustainable 60 (an award series that recognises sustainable business practice excellent) and are also involved with the Sustainable Business Network.
  • Internally, they have a team called PwCGreen, who are responsible for driving internal efforts to reduce PwC’s carbon footprint (which they have fully measured over the past two years using the appropriate protocols), including recycling, eco-friendly sensor lighting, turning off signage lighting where possible, paper waste reduction, video-conferencing as an alternative to air travel and other sustainable business practices.
  • For clients PwC has a climate change team dedicated to advising businesses on a range of services relating to climate change including greenhouse gas data management, reporting and verification, benchmarking and accounting for carbon credits.
  • The leader of their climate change team was a member of the New Zealand Government’s Leadership Forum on climate change.
  • PwC also financially supports a number of charities (chosen by staff) with the PwC Foundation and offer staff a paid day of volunteer leave for the charity of their choice.

You can find more information on PricewaterhouseCoopers here.