Green Skills for sustainabilityin Floristry

What is sustainability?

• There is no simple definition of 'sustainability'.• It can be an idea, a property of living systems, a

manufacturing method or a way of life. In fact, there may be as many definitions of sustainability as there are people trying to define it.

• However, most definitions include: living within the limits of what the environment can provide understanding the many interconnections between economy, society and the environment the equal distribution of resources and opportunities.

Skills for sustainability

• Skills for sustainability, also know as green skills, are the technical skills, knowledge, values and attitudes needed in the workforce to develop and support sustainable social, economic and environmental outcomes in business, industry and the community.

• /From Green Skills Agreement1 (.pdf 106 kB) Council of Australian Governments (COAG), 2008/

Why developing Green Skills areso important ?

• Australia faces a time of challenge and transition as we respond to the impacts of climate change Global Warming

Global Warming

• What is global warming ? • Global Warming is a

dramatically urgent and serious problem which we all have to respond to it and act on it NOW

• The earth's environment is being tortured by human beings

• Unless we do something about it the future generations going to be effected

• We have to preserve the earth's environment so we are able to continue to live in such a beautifully crafted world

The Future' is that if we kill the environment, we're killing ourselves

Did you know?

• 9 out of 10 Australians believe it’s important for companies to ‘consider the impact of their operations on the environment and community and not just make profits.’

• NSW industry has to reduce its carbon emissions by 5% by the year 2020 to align with the obligations of the Kyoto Protocol, which the Australian Government signed in 2007

Take action become a Green Florist !

• Reduce waste• Save water• Save energy• Use chemicals safely• Improve the sustainability of the goods

and services you purchase and sell

Reduce waste

• Separate your green waste from general rubbish

• reuse or recycle 'wastes' rather than sending them to landfill

• reduce or reuse packaging

• Reducing paper usage by using electronic document storage, printing only when necessary and purchasing recycled paper

Save water : use less and try to recycle

• Investigate your work practice

• Use water wisely• Install water saving

devices and check for leaks

• Stop water pollution

Save energy• turning off equipment when not in use • minimising the use of air conditioning• switching off computers (and the screen) when not

in use, such as overnight• selecting energy (efficient) equipment such as

copiers and computer screens• using compact fluorescent globes means the globe

is using 80% less energy than a ‘normal‘ incandescent light bulb

• replacing tube fluorescent lighting with tri or quad phosphor tubes which emit more light, so for the same amount of energy you may be able to remove some tubes completely

• purchasing ‘Green Power’ from renewable energy sources

Reduce air pollution • Use chemicals safely• Minimise use of chemicals products• Drive less.Save 1kg of CO2 for every 3kms you don't drive; consider electronic forms of communication or walking

• Choose a more fuel efficient vehicle• Get your vehicle constantly emission checked to avoid unnecessary amounts of carbon dioxide and monoxide puncturing holes in the atmospheric layer• Plant more trees

Improve the sustainability of the goods and services you purchase and sell

• Become more informed about the environmental impacts of the goods and services you buy

• Reduce your own impact by buying less and buying smarter• Actively seek out more sustainable products• Become an avid reader of product labels and compare the attributes and claims of

competing brands• Get smart about 'green-wash' and products that claim to be more sustainable than

they really are• Consider the impact of products, not just when you use them, but how they have

been manufactured and how they should be disposed of (reused, recycled etc)• Increase the capacity of your organisation to buy green products• Work with suppliers to identify, source and continuously improve the sustainability

of the goods and services you purchase• Monitoring environmentally sustainable work practices

Go Green for a better tomorrow

Useful Websites

• Smart-Biz Diagnostic tool This free tool has been developed to help you quickly and easily monitor key areas of your business using a "triple bottom line" (economic, social, environmental) approach.

• Sydney Water provide information, tools and services to help a business use water more efficiently. Find out about the services your local water supplier can assist you with to monitor water usage.

• Earth Day Network Running an Earth Day event is an example of ways to engage staff in sustainability issues.

• Waste Wise Events When planning an event to inform staff or celebrate achievements in sustainability consult this event guide and ‘walk the talk’.

• Websites• ANUgreen – Sustainability Office The Australian National University green program is an exemplary source of ideas

for sustainability improvements around the office.• Best practice guidelines for water conservation in commercial office buildings and shopping centres A fact sheet

from the Sydney Water website. • Buying office equipment This is a guide to buying and disposing of office equipment at the ‘For businesses’ section

of the resourceSmart website.• Energy efficiency for small business program A service for businesses to undertake an energy audit and develop an

action plan to improve energy efficiency, Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW.• Life cycle assessment This Wikipedia page describes the frameworks used to analyse the environmental impacts of

specific products. It indicates issues you may need to consider when choosing suppliers and products.• Swinburne Green Office Implementation ideas and materials are provided at this website for the Swinburne Green

Office program (National Centre for Sustainability).• Winemakers Environmental Management Kit A procedure for identifying and implementing changes for

environmental sustainability practices at the Environmental Protection Authority, Victoria, website.• Waste Wise Office Kit An implementation kit from resourceSmart to help you achieve your waste reduction

targets.• To find out more about the legislation governing your organisation you could also look at The Department of

Environment and Climate Change – Legislation website

References

• http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/sustainability/takeAction.htm