GP green tips

Last fortnight we mentioned offsetting your car and flight emissions. This time around, we present five tips on how to become more environmentally friendly when travelling.

When you drive a car, it emits greenhouse gases at the tailpipe and further emissions result from extracting and refining the fuel you consume. More emissions are even embodied in the materials and manufacturing of the car itself.

By minimising or displacing car use, you can reduce all these negative impacts as well as save on fuel costs and time, and in some instances you can reduce parking fees.

Here are a few tips:

• Encourage walking and cycling
  The most effective way of reducing your carbon footprint is through walking or cycling to work since neither mode of transport produces any harmful emissions. Besides the environmental benefits, it’s also good for staff health, which is good for the business.
  Walking can be encouraged through pedometer challenges, with a prize for the employee who takes the most steps. Cycling can be promoted through events such as ‘ride to work days’, discounted bikes, helmets and drink bottles to employees within a 15 km radius, and through the provision of showers and bike locking facilities at work.
  Click here for other benefits and cycling ideas.
  
  
• Use public transport
  Besides walking and cycling, utilising public transport is the least carbon-intensive way to get to work. It takes 0.3 kilograms of greenhouse gas per person to travel via public transport for 100 km, compared to 32 kilograms of greenhouse gas to drive an average-sized car the same distance. Also, it helps you to save money compared to the total running costs of a car and is less stressful than driving in peak-hour traffic. You can plan your trip using the transport information website in your state.
  For more ideas to encourage public transportation in your workplace, click here.
  
  
• Carpool
  An easy and efficient way of reducing carbon emissions is for co-workers to share a car to work together. In some instances, the travel time can be significantly reduced if you take advantage of transit lanes (also known as T2 or T3 lanes).
  If you are an employer in the practice, you should encourage your workers to carpool by providing them with incentives such as preferential car parking spaces, free car-tuning for workers who carpool, and a guarantee that workers will receive a ride home.
  The first step to take when implementing a carpooling program is to link employees who live close to one another. In a large company, this could be best facilitated by the HR team since they have each employee’s address.
  
  
• Drive a more fuel-efficient car
  Consider buying a more fuel-efficient car. Go to the Green Vehicle Guide to compare prices, models and fuel efficiency. Some cars may be more expensive to buy, but the fuel savings from a higher efficiency rating should pay you back in time and deliver savings into the future. Studies have shown that a fuel-efficient car can save up to 20 tonnes of greenhouse gas and up to $10,000 on fuel over its lifetime.
  
  
• Switch fuels
  Running your car on LPG is more beneficial to the environment because of its lower carbon impact compared to unleaded petrol. In addition, LPG is a cleaner burning fuel compared to petrol; therefore your engine’s lifetime is extended. Subject to space limitations, most unleaded petrol-fuelled vehicles can be converted to use LPG at a reasonable cost. System installation costs range from $2500 to $4500 depending on the type of vehicle, type of system and additional enhancements.
  The average cost of LPG is 60 cents less than unleaded petrol per litre of fuel. Depending on the number of litres you use when you fill up, which varies according to your type of car and its fuel efficiency rating, you can pay off your installation costs as a result of your fuel savings within 2-3 years. For example, a large car that travels 15,000 km per year will take two years and two months to pay back a $2500 system installation. A larger car that travels more kilometres annually will take even less time to payback.

Here are five tips to reduce your carbon footprint:

• Become a carbon neutral medical practice
  Undertake an emissions assessment to calculate your office’s carbon footprint and impact on the environment. After that, purchase carbon credits to offset any remaining, unavoidable carbon emissions. One organisation that offers this service is the Carbon Reduction Institute. They also provide certification logos to promote your practice as an environmentally conscious practice that is taking action on climate change.
  
  
• Support a low carbon economy
  A simple and easy way for you to help solve climate change is by buying products or outsourcing services from carbon neutral certified businesses. This in turn encourages more businesses to take action towards more climate-friendly measures. Furthermore, if supply chain items are purchased from carbon neutral businesses like those found within the Carbon Reduction Institute’s Low Carbon Economy then your medical practice can grow with minimal impact on the environment.
  
  
• Offset your car’s emissions
  The carbon emissions from your car use depend on your vehicle’s fuel type, fuel consumption and kilometres travelled. To gain an estimate of your carbon emission impact from car use, you can freely use the CRI Carbon Offset Calculator.
  
  
• Offset your flight emissions
  The carbon emissions from your flights depend on the distance between the airports and the emissions factor associated with passenger flights. In addition, the greenhouse gases released directly into the atmosphere at a high altitude from aircraft increases the gases’ apparent lifetime in the stratosphere, and hence their ability to accelerate global warming. A factor of 2.7 is used to take this effect into account and is known as the radiative forcing index. Therefore, it’s best to only fly if it is absolutely necessary to reduce your carbon emission impact. To gain an estimate of your carbon emission impact from the flights you’re planning to take, you can freely use the CRI Carbon Offset Calculator.
  
  
• Use videoconferencing
  An alternative to reduce carbon emissions from business-related travel is to consider videoconferencing. The use of videoconferencing also reduces time and costs that were otherwise spent in driving a car or purchasing a plane ticket. One option is Skype, which is a very popular teleconferencing and videoconferencing tool that many businesses use to communicating with one another. There’s also the option of using carbon neutral videoconferencing and Broadreach is one company providing such services.

Here are five green strategies for the office or administration space of a medical clinic:

• Install Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs
  Replace incandescent bulbs, halogen downlights, floodlights and Par38 spotlights with Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) to save electricity. These lights will often have a relatively short payback period depending on the lights they are replacing. For example, not only do the halogen globes themselves use a large amount of energy, but they also require a transformer, which for a 50W halogen would typically use 10-15W. This results in a single halogen downlight using 60-65W of power. Instead 11-15W CFLs can be placed in a recessed cone-shaped reflector to achieve a similar narrow beam effect at a fraction of the energy use. For a more traditional appearance there exist CFL downlights, which operate far more efficiently and do not require a transformer.
• Upgrade T8 fluorescent tubes to T5 lighting
  T8 fluorescent tubes in your building may be able to be replaced with a more energy-efficient T5 bulb. The Carbon Reduction Institute currently distributes a T5 replacement kit which can be placed in a T8 fitting and installed in less than a minute. These kits are available for purchase or on a green lease arrangement to larger customers. Please contact mattd@noco2.com.au or visit www.noco2.com.au for more information about these lights.
• Centralise office electronic equipment
  If possible, try to centralise and minimise the number of computers, faxes, scanners and photocopiers in the office. These devices not only use large amounts of power when in use, but also have significant standby power usage. Some devices will even consume power when they are apparently switched off. One option is purchasing or upgrading to a ‘multifunction device’ which is an integrated machine that combines faxes, printers and copiers into one.
  
• Reduce printing documents
  Encourage staff members to read documents on the computer screen instead of printing if possible. Also, have your fax machines save incoming faxes as documents rather than printing them out, saving both power and paper.
• Recycle paper
  Before thinking of recycling paper, encourage staff to reuse scrap paper as a scribble pad for note taking. Promote recycling in the office by placing recycling bins next to normal office bins. Using stickers and signs is an easy way of reminding staff about the importance of recycling.

Winter warmers: more green tips to cut costs and save energy

HERE are five more important tips offering low-cost options for enhanced heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system operations.

• Install thermostats
  Make sure thermostats are installed in HVAC systems to regulate the most favourable temperature that is energy efficient, without compromising reasonable comfort levels. Thermostats should be installed away from heat sources (including electronic equipment such as printers, computers and photocopiers) and draughts so that temperature readings won’t be corrupted and cause your HVAC system to function inefficiently. In addition, you can prevent your staff unnecessarily changing temperature settings by placing locking covers over the thermostats.
• Conduct regular maintenance
  Your HVAC systems should be regularly maintained to ensure that they are functioning at their best. Simple maintenance works include cleaning burners and air-conditioner coils, cleaning and replacing air filters, and checking ducts and pipe insulation for leaks or damage. Maintenance checks just before winter and summer will help ensure that your system will function efficiently when it is most needed. A logbook recording past maintenance and scheduling future maintenance may also be helpful to remind you when your system needs a check.
• Have your HVAC system audited
  It may be more feasible for medical clinics with larger and more complex HVAC systems to have your systems professionally audited for energy usage and efficiency by professional auditors who can also advise on other efficiency measures. Check out Australian Air Science and Coral Air who both provide these types of services. Have a look around to find the company that best meets your needs.
• Replace your HVAC system with a newer and more energy-efficient one
  Depending on the age and type of your system, it may be time for a replacement. Consider replacing your system with reverse-cycle air conditioners and gas heaters that have high energy efficiency ratings, which will allow you to save on energy costs as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Check out www.energyrating.gov.au and compare different models and brands with their varying energy labels. Although a more energy-efficient model may cost more, the savings in its lifetime often pay back the extra initial cost.
• Use a portable heater instead
  In some instances, portable heaters are more cost effective than a central system, especially in medical clinics that have smaller areas to heat. Portable heaters may also be easier to maintain because of their smaller size. You might want to consider small electric fan heaters, column or radiant heaters, portable coolers or fans.

Green tips to stave off the winter blues

THESE green tips focus on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). They are of particular importance now as the colder winter temperatures mean more people are using their HVAC systems for heating. The following five tips are simple energy-efficient ways in which you can reduce your carbon footprint with no additional costs.

• Turn heating and cooling off outside practice hours. This is one of the simplest yet one of the most overlooked tips to reduce your carbon footprint. Leaving your HVAC system on for 24 hours a day can easily double your electricity costs. Therefore, it is wise to ensure that the last person to leave the practice turns off the HVAC system at the end of the day, especially over the weekends. Alternatively, installing a timer that will turn off your systems outside of business hours may be a more convenient way of doing this automatically and the cost of a timer is negligible.
• Use a zoning system. Many ducted HVAC systems allow you to "zone" your building by choosing which areas should be heated or cooled and at what temperature. Make use of this feature by servicing only those areas that are in use and shutting down unused areas, thereby reducing electricity loads from unnecessary heating.
• Adjust thermostats. Make sure thermostats are set appropriately, with winter temperatures set around 18–20°C. Encourage staff to wear appropriate clothing for the winter season so that they find these conditions comfortable. In addition, areas that are used infrequently such as storerooms and toilets, can be set at lower temperatures (e.g. a temperature of 16°C in winter can decrease heating costs by about 30% for these areas).
• Keep doors and windows closed. An open door can waste up to 50% of HVAC energy costs. Therefore, it is vital that external doors are closed, as well as any internal doors that can isolate rarely used areas. Make sure that doors and windows have tight seals and remain closed as much as possible.
• Allow airflow from your HVAC system. Ensure free airflow by making sure that drapes, furniture or any other items do not block the vents or outlets of your HVAC system.

Stay tuned... next time, we’ll be discussing five low-cost options to improve the performance of your HVAC system.

5 tips to reduce carbon footprint within the practices!

These tips will reduce energy bills as well as the greenhouse gases that spew from coal fired power stations.

• Switch lights off when you are leaving the room or install motion sensors in your practice so that the lights turn off automatically when a room isn’t occupied.
• Turn off computer monitors or set them to power saving mode when you are leaving your desk – even if it's only for a few minutes!
• Keep your air-conditioning to comfortable, rather than extreme temperature settings. We recommend 23 degrees in summer and 18 degrees in winter
• Make use of natural light to enhance lighting and comfort levels. This can be achieved cheaply through eaves and blinds
• Only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need

Courtesy the Carbon Reduction Institute and Bayer. Come back regularly for more simple practical tips.