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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report for Sustainable Cities - North Sydney

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Page 1: Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report ......Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report Disclaimer: This information is provided by Village Green Environmental

Village Green

Managed Sustainable Services

Group Report for Sustainable Cities - North Sydney

Page 2: Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report ......Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report Disclaimer: This information is provided by Village Green Environmental

Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Table of Contents

Sustainable Cities - North Sydney Audit Report 4

Introduction 4

Aims 4

Background 4

Assumptions 4

Statement of Financial-Environmental Performance 5

Methodology 6

Auditing workshop 6

Onsite Audit 6

Calculation of results 8

Trader Audit Reports 8

Trader Audit Report Presentation 8

Sustainable Business Management 9

Introduction 9

Aim 9

Results

Business Culture 10

Business Management 10

Business Planning 11

Environmental 12

Financial 13

Marketing 13

Purchasing 14

Social Impact 14

Training 15

Environmental Audit

Results 17

Energy 17

Water 19

Waste 20

Transport 21

Overall business performance 22

Discussions and Conclusion 24

Appendix 1 25

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Disclaimer:

This information is provided by Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd (Village Green). Accordingly Village Green accepts no reponsibility

for any loss, damage, cost, information or expense arising from using the info. The information provided by Village Green is of a general nature.

Village Green accepts no liability for any loss, damage cost or expense that arises from relying on the information provided by them.

The information is provided solely on the basis that clients and readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of it. This recognises

that despite Village Green's best endeavours to provide up to date accurate information and documents, you may misunderstand or misinterpret

instructions or advice or information provided by Village Green 2006

With efficiency in appliances constantly improving, retrofitting appliances within a SME has also become a

viable option. Whilst the init ial outlay for a retrofi t of businesses appliances may seem an excessive

expense, the reduction in energy costs can pay for the retrofit in a relatively short period. At which time the

savings from the retrofit become a profit for the SME.

This report will serve as a guide to initially understanding the environmental impacts of the selected SMEs

and will help us to assist you to achieve pratical sustainable outcomes for your region.

We look forward to working towards a more sustainable future with you.

Sincerely

A Message from the CEO

Doug Smith - CEO.

Contact Details:

Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd

1, 2 Stephenson Street

Richmond, Victoria 3121

Australia

e: [email protected]

w: www.villagegreen.com.au

p: 03 9017 5017

f: 03 9017 5181

m: 0418559908

Village Green takes great pleasure in submitting this report to

your organisation.

We at Village Green focus extensively on improving the energy

ef f ic iency and pro f i tab i l i t y o f Smal l to Medium Enterpr ises

( S M E s ) . A s s u c h , t h r o u g h o u r S u s t a i n a b l e B u s i n e s s

Management™ model and environmental auditing process we

a re ab le to i den t i f y a reas where SMEs can improve the i r

profitability by using less resources.

Behaviour change is our primary goal. Behaviour change can achieve dramatic results without any initial

cost to the business. For example: through consultation with some SMEs, we have been able to reduce their

energy costs significantly. These reductions in cost were achieved simply through altering the behaviour of

the staff within these businesses.

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Executive Summary: Sustainable Cities - North Sydney Audit Report

Introduction

As a system of behaviour change, Village Green’s Small Business Audits are designed to be implemented

into businesses as a tool to better understand the operation of individual business and the impact they have .

Village Green audits serve two purposes:

1. To empower businesses to minimise their environmental impact and maximise profits, and;

2. To identify local issues pertinent to each community of traders.

This report outlines the data that was collected during the first round of Auditing in Sustainable Cities - North

Sydney program completed on 15/09/2006

Aims· To provide all stakeholders with a sample of current business practice in regards to operational

efficiencies.

· To identify areas of opportunity that exist within the trader group.

· Provide benchmark information regarding the traders involved in the Sustainable Cities - North

Sydney program.

Background

As part of the Sustainable Business Management™ model the Auditing process is designed with 5 main

outcomes in mind:

· Leadership and governance within the community

· Improvement of business within the community

· Improvement in the performance of individual businesses against the quadruple bottom line (QBL)

· Identifying benchmarking data for environmental performance and position in regards to business in

the street

· Reduction of capital leakage from communities

With this in mind the process itself was designed so that traders involved in the program could learn the

value and methodology of auditing and implement this into their business operations. Assumptions

In many cases suff icient data was unavai lable on site during the audit . Consequent ly research was

undertaken to ascertain a representative performance of any given appliance. Using previous studies and

contact ing manufacturers of appl iances prov ided re lat ive per formance of s imi lar appl iances. The

assumptions for this report included:

· The sequestration of Greenhouse Gas (gHg) emissions by trees reported herein is based upon

calculations undertaken by the Bureau of Transport & Communications Economics (BTCE). The

average bio-diverse tree can lock up 268 kilograms of CO2.

· Temperature calculations were based upon Bureau of Meteorology data.

· Costs reported to t raders were based upon suppl ied bi l l ing informat ion, where th is was not

presented; the average unit costs for the street were inserted into the relevant calculations.

· Transport costs are based upon ATO travel recommendations ($0.60 per kilometre).

· External waste bins were assumed to be 100% full upon collection as this is the capacity paid for.

· The standard Olympic sized swimming pool contains 1 megalitre of water.

· Service ratings: Based on historical data compiled by Village Green using both billing + audit

information. Ratings also take into account Australian Government Bureau of Meterology figures on

geographical variance in average maximum temperature.

· Gas is converted from megajoules to kilowatt-hours for the purpose of systemic reporting.

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

The tables below give an estimate of combined financial expenditure together with a breakdown of the

combined financial estimate into separate energy and water estimates with conversions into environmental

impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions. Anecdotal data collected from traders on their transport use

and waste production is combined with the total spend on energy and water to generate an estimated total

average saving per trader based on behaviour change.

Combined Statement of Financial and Environmental performance for

Sustainable Cities - North Sydney

Table 1: Combined Financial Summary

Average Saving Per Trader

Transport and Waste p.a.

Total Spend on Energy and Water p.a.

N/A

$231,622

Combined Financial Estimate Audit A Audit B Net Savings

$231,622 Not Yet Audited N/A

N/A

$205,174

1,363,106 kWhr

1,136,613 kg

4,241 trees

8.7 acres 8.7 acres

4,241 trees

1,136,613 tonne

1,363,106 kWhr

$205,174

-1,363,106 kWhr

Energy Estimate Audit A Audit B Net Savings

Total Spend on Gas and Electricity p.a.

Table 2: Energy Summary

Average Saving for Energy Per Trader N/A

N/ANot Yet AuditedTotal land required

Total bio-diverse trees required Not Yet Audited N/A

N/ANot Yet AuditedTotal gHg emision p.a.

Total Quantity p.a. Not Yet Audited N/A

N/ANot Yet Audited

Table 3: Water Summary

Average Saving for Water Per Trader

Hospitality - Mixed Use Hospitality - Mixed Use

1515

15,004 kL

$26,449$26,449

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Not Yet Audited

Not Yet Audited

Not Yet Audited

Not Yet Audited

15,004 kL

Water Estimate Audit A Audit B Net Savings

Total Spend p.a.

Total Consumed p.a.

Olympic Pools Equivalent

Highest Consumption Sector

Please note that the values displayed for water and energy are estimates based on auditing data.

$128,121.90 Not Yet Audited

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

It should be noted that the results of this style of auditing are not an exact measure of the businesses’

impacts. However based upon collected billing information the data quoted herein can be understood to be

within ± 20% of annualised usage.

64%

ElectricAppliance

8%

Gas Appliance

27%

Lighting

Greenhouse gas emmissions

Health Wellbeing and Personal Services 1%Hospitality - Mixed Use 82%Office Based 9%Retail - Large 2%Retail - Small 6%

Total: 100%

Breakdown of water use.

Summary of resource usage for the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney Program:

Onsite Audit

All audits undertaken as part of the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney program are conducted by qualified

Village Green auditors. In the first round of audits a time slot of two hours is allotted for this to happen .

Traders are encouraged to participate in this process and need to be on hand for questions relating to the

operation of their business. At this scheduled meeting traders were asked to bring 12 months of bill ing

history. During this process only 7 of the 20 businesses audited brought any billing information to the onsite

audit. The following areas were audited:

· Water

· Waste

· Energy and gas

o Lighting,

o Appliances (Electric)

o Heating and Cooling

· Transport (of business manager and general business travel)

· Sustainable Business Management

Methodology

Auditing Workshop

To introduce traders to the ski l l of small business audit ing as a business management tool an Audit

workshop was conducted. This workshop introduced traders to the needs and drivers for small business

auditing. Using case examples and facilitated activity sessions, traders were taken through the process of

how to conduct a sustainability audit upon their business. The aim of the workshop was to encourage

traders to adopt the audit process as an essential aspect of their business management.

Fig 1: Greenhouse gas emmissions by use. Fig 2: Water use by industry sector

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Yes No

Annual Customer Value

Nu

mb

er

of

res

po

ns

es

Understandingcustomer value

0

4

8

12

16

20

No,

don

't pr

ovide

training

Yes, d

ocum

ente

d

(form

al)

Yes, o

n th

e job

Yes, v

erba

l tra

ining

Energy efficiency re.use of appliances etc

Minimising waste &recycling

Minimising water use

Nu

mb

er

of

resp

on

se

s

Overall trainingoffered

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

Hea

lth W

ellbeing

and

Per

sona

l Ser

vice

s

Hos

pita

lity - M

ixed

Use

Office

Bas

ed

Ret

ail -

Lar

ge

Ret

ail -

Sm

all

Internal Volume PaperAnd Cardboard ToOutside

Internal VolumeOrganics To Outside

Internal Volume LandfillTo Outside

Internal Volume GlassAnd Metal To Outside

Vo

lum

e (

L)

Average volume of wasteby industry type

21%

5%

42%

32%

Don't have enough timeI don't have the rightskills

I don't know what to doto improve myperformance

It costs too much

Barriers to dealing withenvironmental aspects of

business

Fig 3: Average volume of waste by industry type

Fig 4: Barriers to dealing with environmental

aspects of business.

Fig 5: Overall training offeredFig 6: Displays whether respondants understand

the annual dollar value of their customers

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Calculation of results

Calculations were undertaken according to the processes set out in the Audit Training workshop. The

results reported in each section can be compared to data from follow up audits, so that changes can be

effectively recorded. The 20 traders included in this report are involved in the Sustainable Cities - North

Sydney program.

Trader Audit Reports

Each audited business was provided with an individual audit report. These reports identified the quantity of

resources used, costs of resource use and tips to reduce these impacts. The Green Scale tips in each

report outlined various actions that could be undertaken by the business to reduce each area of impact (i.e .

energy, water, sustainable business management etc.).

Size of Business

The program is funded to audit businesses with a floorspace of up to 300 sqm. Some businesses in the

region were larger than the funded size and were therefore allocated additional places within the program .

20 traders were involved in the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney.

Trader Audit Report Presentation

To increase the level of understanding amongst the businesses in the program, 15 minute interviews were

held with each business to present the findings of their audit reports. The greatest areas of opportunity

were identified and methods of managing these areas were suggested. This session clearly identified the

costs and impact of their business in the targeted areas and helped focus their attention to improving their

overall business performance. At the conclusion of these interviews traders were inspired to introduce real

changes in their business, and had the tools to implement these changes. Each individual trader report

contains an action plan (Greenscale) for traders to address and determine their level of commitment to

sustainable business management in their organisation.

•T u rn lig h ts o ff w h e n you leave a room•R egu la rly c lea n w indow s

•C h eck to ensu re tha t doo rs a re fitted an d sea le d co rrec tly to p reven t d ra fts (espec ia lly ex te rio r d oo rs )

•Tu rn app liance s o ff w h en you a re no t u s ing th em•Tu rn ap p lia nces o ff w hen you lea ve a t n igh t (in s tead o f le av ing in s ta nd by m o de )

•P rov ide s ta ff tra in ing on en e rg y e ffic ien t p rac tices in re ga rds to ligh tin g •P rov ide w e a the r-s trips to in te rna l doo rs to u tility ro om s w h ich a re n o t he a ted

•Ins ta ll no tice s m oun ted annou nc ing ope ra to rs to shu t su ita b le doo rs •C rea te an inn ova tive s ta ff env ironm en ta l aw areness p ro g ram

•R ecyc le o r re fill you r tone r ca rtridges

•Ins ta ll ligh t fittings ind iv idu a lly sw itched fo r co n tro l o f spe cific ligh ting ta sks•Ins ta ll m o tio n senso rs to ope ra te ligh tin g espe c ia lly in a rea s of low use such a s

co rrido rs , lu nch roo m s, and ca r p a rks•Ins ta ll in te rna l b lind s on w ind ow s fo r flex ib ility o f lig h t/he a t en te rin g room s

•C o ns ide r a so la r ho t w a te r s ys tem fo r hea tin g w a te r on you r n ex t rep lace m en t •Ins ta ll A A A in fra red u rina l flu shes

V illage G reen S ca le•T u rn lig h ts o ff w h e n you leave a room

•R egu la rly c lea n w indow s•C h eck to ensu re tha t doo rs a re fitted an d sea le d co rrec tly to p reven t d ra fts (espec ia lly

ex te rio r d oo rs )•Tu rn app liance s o ff w h en you a re no t u s ing th em

•Tu rn ap p lia nces o ff w hen you lea ve a t n igh t (in s tead o f le av ing in s ta nd by m o de )

•P rov ide s ta ff tra in ing on en e rg y e ffic ien t p rac tices in re ga rds to ligh tin g •P rov ide w e a the r-s trips to in te rna l doo rs to u tility ro om s w h ich a re n o t he a ted

•Ins ta ll no tice s m oun ted annou nc ing ope ra to rs to shu t su ita b le doo rs •C rea te an inn ova tive s ta ff env ironm en ta l aw areness p ro g ram

•R ecyc le o r re fill you r tone r ca rtridges

•Ins ta ll ligh t fittings ind iv idu a lly sw itched fo r co n tro l o f spe cific ligh ting ta sks•Ins ta ll m o tio n senso rs to ope ra te ligh tin g espe c ia lly in a rea s of low use such a s

co rrido rs , lu nch roo m s, and ca r p a rks•Ins ta ll in te rna l b lind s on w ind ow s fo r flex ib ility o f lig h t/he a t en te rin g room s

•C o ns ide r a so la r ho t w a te r s ys tem fo r hea tin g w a te r on you r n ex t rep lace m en t •Ins ta ll A A A in fra red u rina l flu shes

V illage G reen S ca le

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Many large corporations are recognising the

benefits to be gained from becoming more

sustainable. Examples are the capacity to

meet legislat ive requirements, as wel l as

s h a r e h o l d e r a n d b r o a d e r c o m m u n i t y

e x p e c t a t i o n s . I m p o r t a n t l y , i m p r o v e d

reputat ion and i ts inf luence on consumer

behaviour and prof i ts have also been key

drivers. Similarly, small business is affected

by these very same issues, which may be

even more pro found due to the ‘hand to

m o u t h ’ e x i s t e n c e o f m a n y s m a l l

organisations.

S B M ™ i n v o l v e s a ' w h o l e o f p r o c e s s '

approach to ensuring the business’ impact

on the wider community and environment is

m i n i m i s e d . S u s t a i n a b l e b u s i n e s s

management a lso ensures the bus iness

positively contributes to the quality of life

of the management, staff , cl ientele and

wider community.

An SBM™ survey was therefore conducted with all of the 20 Sustainable Cities - North Sydney participants

excluding one business whose owner was not available for the survey. The questions examined the trader's

management approach with respect to the four pillars of sustainability. These questions are designed to

raise awareness around some of the holistic aims of SBM™ and to identify areas of opportunity for traders.

Aim

The purpose of the SBM™ audit was to raise awareness of business operations around planning, workplace

relations, training and management. Rather than offer concrete statistics on the performance of business',

the results can be used to identify areas of opportunity for overall business improvement. Each area is

deemed to have an effect on the businesses quadruple bottom line. The results are detailed below.

Sustainable Business Management™

Introduction

Sustainable Business Management™ (SBM™) is the overarching theory to support hol ist ic business

management. SBM™ requires an 'all encompassing' approach to managing a business' operation, including

internalising the businesses’ wider effect upon the environment and community.

The audits conducted through the program are designed to give an understanding of how any given

business is run and how it affects the Environmental, Social, Economic and Cultural bottom lines. This is

called the Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL). As such these audits can be understood as an effective and

powerful business management tool.

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Results

Business Culture

This section of the Sustainable Business Management™ audit focused on the activities undertaken in a

business to positively effect the business working environment. Village Green understand the concept

of business culture is used to refer to the 'environment' within the business. Business Culture is one of

the most important aspects of any business; i t encourages customers and staff to demonstrate

business loyalty and promotes an enjoyable working atmosphere. A positive business culture, assists

the organisation in staff retention, and improves productivity. The statistics below provide an overview

of business culture performance for the region.

An important part of business culture is communication from customer to business owner. This is

important because good communication like positive and negative feedback can help a trader refine

their marketing strategy.

It was therefore considered significant to know whether traders provided channels for their customer

feedback. Our results found that 89% of businesses did provide avenues for feedback, while 11% did

not. This result provides an important insight into the priorities and orientation of the traders audited.

T h e g r a p h t o t h e r i g h t l i s t s t h e m o s t

common ways t raders at tempted to gain

customer feedback. 5% of traders reported

that they used word of mouth as the most

c o m m o n a c t i o n u n d e r t a k e n t o g a i n

cus tomer feedback . In compar i son , 5 %

preferred email feedback forms to gather

in format ion. This compar ison shows the

significance of electronic forms of feedback

against traditional role of word of mouth in

small businesses operations.

0

2

4

6

8

10

4

13

9

1 1

Word of mouth N/AInformal conversationwith regular customers

In store feedback forms Email feedback forms Customer surveys

Nu

mb

er

of

Tra

de

rs

Fig 7: Gaining Customer Feedback

Business Management

Successful business management involves knowing the needs of both customers and staff. The survey

therefore questioned business owners around their understanding of their customers in terms of

business viability, and around their involvement with staff. Clearly understanding the overall economic

value of their customers will help the business to better manage the way it treats its customers. Many

businesses operate on the shorter term and only understand their customers in terms of their

immediate dollar value - what they spend on their current visit. A loyal customer who spends less

money more frequently over a longer period of time is of more value to a business than a customer who

comes in once and spends a lot once. Loyal staff members are also more willing to chip in when the

business may be going through tough times.

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Regular staff meetings help a business owner

understand the needs of their staff and the

bus iness as a who le , and con t r ibu te to a

successful internal environment. It was found

that 42% of businesses audi ted conducted

meetings on a weekly basis. Significantly, 5%

of traders never conducted staff meetings.

16%

21%

5%

16%

42%FortnightlyMonthlyNeverNo set timeWeekly

Fig 8: Staff Meetings

As a part of business management, traders were also asked whether they conducted regular staff

appraisals. This is another feedback function which enables managment to understand whether staff

are satisfied with their role and their own performance. Our results reveal that 37% of businesses

conducted no staff appraisals. However some traders ( 5% ), felt this issue was not relevant. This may

be because they are sole traders, for example.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

4

15YesNo

Nu

mb

er

of

Tra

de

rs

E s t i m a t i n g t h e a n n u a l v a l u e o f e a c h

customer makes longer term planning more

achievable. Traders were therefore asked

whether they understood the annual value

of their customers in dollar terms. 79% of

t r a d e r s s a i d t h a t t h e y d i d h a v e a n

understanding of customer do l lar va lue,

while 21% said that they did not.

Fig 9: Understanding customer value

Business Planning

For a business to succeed it must know where it is, and where it is going. An essential element of the

Sustainable Business Management™ model is good business planning.

The breakdown on the right shows the responses

to the question of whether traders update their

b u s i n e s s p l a n s . 1 9 t r a d e r s a n s w e r e d t h i s

question, and of these, 14 traders responded :

"Yes".

The fact that 11% of respondents offered "Don't

have one" as their response is significant. This

reveals that there are opportunities for sustainble

business managment planning in the region.

11%

Don't have one

5%

Have aninformal one

11%

No

74%

Yes

Fig 10: Update business plan

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Where traders didn't have a business plan,

t h e y w e r e a s k e d a b o u t t h e f a c t o r s t h a t

prevented them f rom develop ing one. The

survey found that 0% of traders felt that they

did not have the skills or ability to write a plan.

In contrast, 40% of traders said that they did

not have a need for one. It is important to note

that many businesses without plans are not

sustainable and fail within the first year.

20%

40%

40%

Never considered itbefore

No need for one

Time

Fig 11: Barriers to business planning

Environmental

Sustainable Business Management™ requires that businesses actively seek to better manage their

performance as well as the impacts they have on the four pil lars of sustainabil i ty. Environmental

concerns form an integral pillar in the success of achieving great Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL) results .

This element of the business survey focused on the management processes that can be undertaken

within a business to minimise the environmental impact of business operations.

All traders in Sustainable Cities - North Sydney, were posed the question: "What is the greatest barrier

to dealing with environmental issues in your business?". This is a major issue for SBM™. The largest

response to this question was "I don't know what to do to improve my performance", while "I don't

have the right skills" received the lowest number of responses at 5%. The Barriers to Env. issues graph

below details the most prevelent responses.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

4

1

8

6

Don't have enough time I don't have the right skills I don't know what to do toimprove my performance

It costs too much

Nu

mb

er

of

Tra

ders

Fig 12: Barriers to environmental issues

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

24

12

1

6-10 kms20+ kms16-20 kms11-15 kms

Nu

mb

er

of

Tra

de

rs

SBM™, involves reducing both financial and

environmantal costs and r isks to traders .

This can be done by minimising reiliance on

long supply chains that involve higher dollar

c o s t s , w i t h u n s t a b l e p e t r o l p r i c e s f o r

e x a m p l e , a n d g r e a t e r e n v i r o n m e n t a l

impacts. The longer the supply chain, the

higher the cost and exposure to risk.

W e t h e r e f o r e a s k e d t r a d e r s a b o u t t h e

average distance of their top three suppliers

f rom the t rader . We found tha t 63% o f

traders of traders were exposed to higher

r isk, reporting that they sourced suppl ies

from greater than 20 km. In contrast, 0% of

traders reported that they sourced supplies

within their local region (1 to 5 km).

Fig 13: Average supplier distance

Another method of reducing business costs is to share deliveries with other local businesses. It is

significant that, while 42% of traders surveyed had established such a scheme of shared deliveries, 5 %

had not yet deliberately organised anything.

Financial

Financial performace is a key indicator for the sustainability of any business. The ideal scenario is for

business owners to have up to date information so that they can make strategic decisions about

product marketing and services.

Traders were therefore asked how often they

reviewed their business financial perfomance. 19

traders answered this question, and of these, 11

traders responded: "Weekly".

T h e f a c t t h a t 0 % o f r e s p o n d e n t s o f f e r e d

"Half-yearly" as their response is s igni f icant .

W i t h o n l y h a l f - y e a r l y r e v i e w s o f f i n a n c i a l

performance, traders may miss crucial t rends

that enable them to optimize expenditure, and

resource allocation.

42%

Monthly

58%

Weekly

Fig 14: Frequency of Financial Performance review

Marketing

Marketing a business is the proccess of communicating business products and services in an accurate

and concise manner to the customer. This is an essential aspect of business success.

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

7

12YesNo

Nu

mb

er

of

Tra

de

rs

Technologies like the internet have opened

up opportunities for local traders to market

t h e i r p r o d u c t s a t a g l o b a l s c a l e . W e

t h e r e f o r e a s k e d w h e t h e r b u s i n e s s e s

marketed their business online. With 37% of

traders saying that they did not market their

business online, and 63% saying that they

did, we can see how much online marketing

is involved with local businesses operations

i n t he reg ion . Th i s i n t u r n m e a n s t h a t

t raders are ab le to rea l ise the potent ia l

opportunities that exist for their businessFig 15: Traders Marketing Online

Purchasing

Purchasing is an essential aspect of day to day business management. Purchasing choices can impact

on the retention or loss of community income streams. When businesses choose to purchase their

goods and services from regions outside of their own, they run the risk of escalating capital leakage

from their community. This risk can lead to a perception of community financial robustness, however

the resulting outcomes can be very different.

To ascertain their puchasing choices, traders

were asked whether they purchased Australian

owned and/or grown products in preference to

imported. 26% of t raders did not prefer to

p u r c h a s e A u s t r a l i a n o w n e d a n d g r o w n

products against imported products.

Significantly, 0% prefered to purchase mostly

A u s t r a l i a n o w n e d a n d g r o w n p r o d u c t s .

However it should be noted that some traders

may actual ly not be in a posi t ion to favour

Australian products because, some products

are only availble from international suppliers.

26%

21%

53%NoYes - All ProductsYes - Some Products

Fig 16: Local products

Social Impact

The social aspect of business is a new avenue that many large corporations are being forced to deal

with through market demand. Small business has a responsibility also, as do all sectors of society, to

positively influence social aspects of local communities. There are many ways individual businesses

and groups of small businesses can contribute to positive improvements in their local community. One

way is to understand the potential negative impact of their business’ products and services, and

implement a strategy to mitigate this.

'Social impact' is assessed in two ways: how much a business impacts on the local community, and the

impact of the community on the business. To evaluate the level that local community issues impacted

businesses, Village Green asked traders if there were any community issues that concerned them. Of

the traders surveyed, 68% reported that there were issues that concerned them and their business,

which means, of course, that 32% of traders said there were not any issues of concern.

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For those t raders that had concerns, Vi l lage

Green then attempted to find out whether there

were any barriers they felt prevented them from

ac t i ve l y dea l i ng w i t h commun i t y i s ses t ha t

impacted their business. 15 traders answered

this question, and of these, 7 traders responded :

"Don't have time".

The fact that 27% of respondents offered "Costs

t oo much" as the i r r esponse i s s i gn i f i can t .

Engagement with community issues can be both

cos t l y in money and t ime and perc ieved as

costly. The data collected from traders shows

how much of an issue this is in the area.

27%

Costs toomuch

47%

Don't have time

27%

Don't know whatto do about the

issues

Fig 17: Barriers to addressing social impacts

Training

An aim of the project has been to gather data on how behaviour change can reduce environmental and

social impact together with financial expenses. Of specific interest is the amount of natural and financial

savings achievable through industry recognised training.

Training is an essential element to any successful business. Furthermore, sustainable business

management requires that a holistic approach be taken. By providing a broad base of training options

and relating these to the success of the business, helps to create a more responsive and proactive staff

in regards to a whole of business approach to management. The SBM™ model requires sustained

effort into training in areas which are commonly ignored by the small business community.

0

2

4

6

8

10

10

2

5

2

Yes, verbal training

Yes, on the job

Yes, documented(formal)No, don't providetrainingN

um

be

r o

f T

rad

ers

Traders were therefore asked a number of

q u e s t i o n s a r o u n d f o r m a l a n d i n f o r m a l

training provisions. Village Green identified

three main target areas: energy efficiency,

water and waste. With respects to energy

efficiency, 53% of traders said that they did

not provide any training. This means that it

i s imposs ib l e t o asse s s t h e b e n e f i c i a l

ef fects of t ra in ing for these t raders in a

formal ised way. However 11% repor ted

that they provided documented, industry

recognised training. Therefore the benefits

o f t r a i n i n g c a n b e a s s e s s e d f o r t h e s e

traders in a formal way with opportunities for

benchmarking.

Fig 18: Energy efficiency training

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It is interesting to compare the training types

and levels for energy efficiency with those for

water use. In contrast with energy efficiency,

the Vil lage Green survey found that 11% of

traders had documented (formal) training for

min imizat ion o f water use, bu t 47% d idn ' t

prov ide any t ra in ing at a l l . Again in these

instances this means that we are unable to

assess the effectiveness of industry training

programs. However it does provide a general

ind ica to r o f po ten t ia ls fo r wate r sav ing i f

training is provided.

47%

11%

26%

16%

No, don't providetrainingYes, documented(formal)

Yes, on the job

Yes, verbal training

Fig 19: Training for reduced water usage

For waste, Village Green focused on recycling and appropriate disposal methods along with overall

reduction in waste production. Accross all traders, 53% replied that they provided on the job training,

while 16% did not provide any training. This means again that there are opportunities here for training

providers, and for the analysis of training effectiveness.

Training for staff is one important element of holistic business management. Another is training of

business owner. Village Green therefore asked traders if they thought they could benefit from training

in various areas. The results are reported below.

- Management Skills: 84% yes, 16% no.

- Financial planning and analysis: 68% yes, 32% no.

- Computer skills: 63% yes, 37% no.

- Market analysis: 74% yes, 26% no.

- Business planning: 74% yes, 26% no.

- Sales and marketing: 89% yes, 11% no.

Discussion

The results above indicate the need for additional support for the region from industry association, state and

local government and industry specific capacity building initiatives. These results also allow for interested

parties to develop targeted and practical training programmes which, when delivered will achieve higher

levels of SME involvement and improved business resilience.

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Results

The results reported in this document compare the business' and their industry type with those of other

business' involved in the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney program. The business' have been attached to

an industry type, as set out in Appendix 1. These results will help to identify areas of opportunity for the

trader group business' to grow, as well as identify areas in which savings can be made.

Energy

Energy was divided up into three main sections:

· Lighting,

· Appliances (Electric) and;

· Heating and Cooling.

Fast Fact

To offset the greenhouse gasses emitted by the 20 traders

in the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney program, the MCG

would need to be planted 1.95 times over with dense forest.

The businesses involved in the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney program collectively spend $205,174 per

annum on gas and electr ici ty. This is the equivalent of 1,363,106 kWh per annum and the relat ive

greenhouse gases (gHg) emitted annually is 1136613 kg or 1,137 tonnes p.a. To offset the impact of this

energy use on the environment, 4,241 bio-diverse trees would need to be planted requiring 9 acres of land.

Environmental audit

The way in which energy is used within business is best illustrated by the average energy intensity of the

industry sectors (Figure 20). The Hospitality - Mixed Use industry sector is, on average, the most energy

intense with businesses consuming 6588 kWh/m2/annum. The Electric Appliances within the "Hospitality -

Mixed Use" sector consumed the most amount of energy. This was the case for 7 of 20 businesses.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Hea

lth W

ellbeing

and

Perso

nal

Service

s

Hos

pita

lity - M

ixed

Use O

ffice

Bas

ed

Ret

ail -

Lar

ge

Ret

ail -

Sm

all

Industry type

kW

hm

2

Average energy intensity (kWh/m2/annum)

Fig 20: Average energy intensity by industry type.

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The nature of a business obviously determines the way in which natural resources are used. This can be

seen in the percentage of gHg emitted by the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney industry sectors. The most

intensive industry sector is Hospitality - Mixed Use. Within that sector Electric Appliances, represents the

majority of the ghg 59%.(Figure 21).

0K

100K

200K

300K

400K

500K

Hea

lth W

ellbeing

and

Perso

nal S

ervice

s

Hos

pita

lity - M

ixed

Use O

ffice

Bas

ed

Ret

ail -

Lar

ge

Ret

ail -

Sm

all

Gas ApplianceLightingHeating and CoolingElectric Appliance

gHg emissions by energy use and industry type

The category Electric Appliance accounts for 64% (730 tonnes) of the total gHg with Lighting consuming the

second largest amount at 27% (310 tonnes) (Figure 22).

64%8%

27%

Electric ApplianceGas ApplianceLighting

Greenhouse gas emissions by use(kg)

From the results the greatest area of opportunity exists in creating savings from the use of Electr ic

Appliance and Lighting devices.

Fig 21: Greenhouse gas emissions by industry type. (Stacked by use)

Fig 22: Greenhouse gas emissions by use.

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Water

Water is the essence of all life. Similarly, water contributes at

some level to the running of all businesses. The way in which

water is used in today’s society assumes that it is an abundant

resource.

Australia has one of the highest quality water supplies in the

world, and we are also one of the highest consumers of water

per capita, in the world.

Fast Fact

The Sustainable Cities - North Sydney

businesses consume enough water annually

for one person to have 75,020 baths or

spend 128 years having these one after

another.

From the audits it was identified that 15,004 kL of water per annum is consumed by these businesses; this is

roughly 15.0 Olympic sized swimming pools in volume. Of these, 13.5 Olympic sized swimming pools are

disposed of to the sewer annually. That is, roughly 1.5 Olympic sized swimming pools are being used

primarily for revenue gaining activities.

Figure 23 shows that the industry group Hospitality - Mixed Use consumes the greatest amount of water,

with 12,352 kL used annually. This represents about 82% of the total volume of water consumed in the

community. On average the least amount of water is consumed by the "Health Wellbeing and Personal

Services" sector (78kL).

Health Wellbeing and Personal Services 1%Hospitality - Mixed Use 82%Office Based 9%Retail - Large 2%Retail - Small 6%

Total: 100%

Total volume of water kL p.a

Given this, and the increasing demand on water in this country, the price of water (along with all other

resources) is following an upward trend. With increased prices comes a greater imperative to control these

costs. The benefit of doing so also reduces our impact on the environment.

The greatest area of opportunity for water savings exists within the "Hospitality - Mixed Use" sector .

Fig 23: Water wolume by industry. Total volume = 15,004.06 kL

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Waste

Each input into a business, that is not used to generate a benefit to the business, is a waste. If you consider

business as a closed entity, then all the inputs into a business need to be processed, either into products or

services to market or into waste. If the input is not used in the revenue gaining activity for the company,

then precious resources (time and money) are being spent on processing “waste” therefore reducing the

efficiency of each business. Up to 24% of Australia’s waste is attributable to the small business sector.

The waste audit involved recording the volume and type of waste generated by

the businesses at North Sydney.

From the audit there is 356 tonnes of waste generated per annum. Of this

waste:

· 26% is organic waste

· 46% is landfill

· 18% is Paper and Cardboard

· 10% is Glass and Metals (Fig. 24).

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

Health Wellbeingand Personal

Services

Hospitality - MixedUse

Office Based Retail - Large Retail - Small

Internal Volume PaperAnd Cardboard ToOutside

Internal VolumeOrganics To Outside

Internal Volume LandfillTo Outside

Internal Volume GlassAnd Metal To Outside

Industry

Vo

lum

e (

L)

Average volume of waste by industry type

Fast Fact

The volume of waste

generated by the

Sustainable Cities -

North Sydney

businesses annually is

enough to fill 3.42

average Australian

houses, floor to ceiling

Due to the number of businesses in the Hospitality - Mixed Use industry type, this sector produces the

greatest amount of waste (223 tonnes p.a). However, on average the smallest contributors to the total

waste stream is Health Wellbeing and Personal Services sector and the largest is the Retail - Large sector .

Fig 24: Industry Average waste volumes. (Stacked by waste type.)

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At the group level it was identif ied that the greatest area of opportunity is the recycling of Organics .

Currently there are around 93.76 tonnes per annum of Organics waste that could be recycled(Fig. 25).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Health Wellbeing andPersonal Services

Hospitality - Mixed Use Office Based Retail - Large Retail - Small

7%13% 13% 8%

0%

20%

49%

23% 30%55%0%

29%

1%

24%

25%73%

10%

63%

38%

20%

Internal Volume PaperAnd Cardboard ToOutside

Internal VolumeOrganics To Outside

Internal Volume LandfillTo Outside

Internal Volume GlassAnd Metal ToOutside

Type of waste stream by industry type

Transport

To reduce the reliance on fossil fuel based transport in the workplace it is essential to first identify the

existing mode of transport. The transport audit only focused on certain elements of the business, these

areas included:

· The personal transport of the business owner or manager (to and from work each day), and;

· Other trips made during the normal business week for business purposes using the owner’s vehicles.

This section did not ask for other business-related transport such as, the delivery of products to the

premises, and transport behaviours of staff.

The audited transport costs for the group are estimated to be $117,499 per annum. Based on the audit, the

average number of kilometres travelled on any given week is 4,041km. On average, 91% of these weekly

kilometres are travelled by Car. Associated with this travel is the emission of 53 tonnes of greenhouse

gasses annually, requiring a total of 197 trees to be planted to offset these emissions. Various factors affect

transport in relation to business operations. Issues of staff safety due to late closing times, as well as

distance travelled to place of work will impact on the cost of transport.

The Retail - Small industry type (8 businesses) accounts for the majority (54%) of the 29 tonnes of annual

greenhouse gas emissions in transport.

Fig 25: Type of waste by industry.

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Overall business performance

When discussing these results with business', the most important figure is the overall business cost. From the collected

data we can see that a total of around $359,744 is spent per annum on business operations (excluding labour, stock

and waste costs).

The Hospitality - Mixed Use sector spends the greatest amount on business operational costs; (Fig. 26). On average the

business' with the largest costs are the Hospitality - Mixed Use businesses.

However, the above data only considers the amount of resources consumed, not the way in which resources

are managed. To understand the performance of a business in relation to resource use and associated

costs it is best to understand the efficiency of the business.

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

Health Wellbeing andPersonal Services

Hospitality - Mixed Use Office Based Retail - Large Retail - Small

Industry Type

$

Overall business spend

The average operating cost per square metre per hour ($/m2/hr) best represents the operating efficiency in

which resources are managed in the business. At the group level the average efficiency rate is cents per

hour per square metre.

When the efficiency rate is examined the Office Based industry sector is the most efficient per square metre

(0.0043486 cents per square metre per hour), see Figure 27. These businesses consume the largest

amount of resources but are the most efficient at doing so due to their size. On average the business' with

the largest costs are the Hospitality - Mixed Use business'.

Fig 26: Overall business spend by industry.

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Another important aspect to understand is the

e f fec t o f cos t compared to env i ronmen ta l

impact. An example can be communicated

through the comparison of gHg emissions and

relative costs.

The audited Transport use accounts for 33% of

the total costs in a business and the Electric

Appliance use is 22% (Fig. 28). $0.00

$0.01

$0.01

$0.01

$0.02

$0.03

$0.03

$0.04

Health Wellbeingand Personal

Services

Hospitality - MixedUse

Office Based Retail - Large Retail - Small

$/h

r/m

2

Average operating efficiency ($/hr/m2)

22%

17%

8%9%

33%

10%

Electric ApplianceGas AppliancesHeating and CoolingLightingTransportWater

Costs by use

Yet when looking at the overall greenhouse

impact, the Electric Appliances within all 20

businesses accounts for the greatest volume

o f g r e e n h o u s e g a s s e s w i t h 6 1 % ( 7 3 0

tonnes) of the total of 1,189 tonnes. This

compar ison shows that the greatest cost

audited in the businesses has a much more

significant environmental impact (Fig. 29).

61%

ElectricAppliances

8%

GasAppliances

26%

Lighting 4%

Transport

Breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions

Fig 27: Average operating efficiency.

Fig 28: Breakdown of costs by usage.

Fig 29: Breakdown of greenhouse gas emmisions.

In terms of energy usage and consequent gHg emission the industry type,Hospi ta l i ty - Mixed Use,

consumed the most energy, while Office Based exhibited the lowest energy usage. To offset the groups

level of gHg emissions would require that 4,241.09 bio-diverse trees be planted on 8.73 acres of land.

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Discussions and Conclusion.

The results of the audits indicate the environmental impact of the

traders. The combined energy use associated with transport and

the businesses energy consumption of the Sustainable Cities -

North Sydney traders requires 4,241 bio-diverse t rees to be

planted to offset the associated greenhouse gas emissions. In

total, this requires over 9 acres of land to be planted or nearly 2

times the playing surface of the MCG.

In addit ion to this, the volume of water consumed by traders

(15ML) is equal to over 15 Olympic sized swimming pools or the

equivalent of one pool 625 metres long! Of this less than 1.50

pools are actually consumed on site, the remainder enters the

sewer and is wasted. This volume of water is directly related to

the income st ream of the bus iness ' . The vo lume o f waste

gene ra ted by t he aud i t ed b u s i n e s s ' i n t h e N o r t h S y d n e y

community is equivalent to filling over 3.42 standard 18m 2 houses

with this waste per annum.

The single greatest cost to a business (excluding water for the purposes of this audit) is the Transport and

Electric Appliance usage associated with the businesses. Therefore, the opportunity present for business is

to try and minimise this cost for increased profitabil i ty. The greatest environmental cost ( in terms of

greenhouse gas emissions) is the Electric Appliances use within the audited businesses.

It is important to discuss the impact of these businesses in ecological terms and recognise that the actions

undertaken by the surveyed business' are not representative of the majority of the SME sector. What is

different about the business' participating in the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney program is that they are

part of the few, genuinely committing themselves to the ideals of SBM™. These business' should be

congratulated on participating in such a program and be rewarded for their efforts.

The wider effects of this program are not recorded through the auditing process, however through our

contact with these business' during this period the anecdotal evidence is that the sustainable practices learnt

through the program are also being applied in the homes of those involved (customers and staff). This

‘butterfly effect’ supports the theory that small business is a powerful vehicle to increase the sustainability

and viability of our community as a whole.

Owing to the high demands placed upon small business, relative to the resources available, it is a common

trend throughout Australia that a distinct lack of time is the largest barrier to dealing with all sustainability

issues within business.

100% of business' that do not have a documented business plan miss opportunities for efficiency. The

creation of planning documentation, while requiring greater effort up front, allows for continual reference to a

stated plan and gives clear direction to business policies and procedures. This process also frees up

managerial time to deal with day to day operations. The clear opportunity for small business is to develop

these plans. Further, the opportunity exists to include sustainability objectives into the process. The next

stage of the project (training) will give business' clear pathways to achieving this as well as outlining easy

and practical actions that can be immediately implemented within their business.

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An important observation to make here, constantly re-inforced to the trader group through the workshops

and one-on-one contact , is that the aforement ioned savings are a powerful market ing tool to help

differentiate individual business' within the North Sydney community. By communicating the environmental

performance of a business and the actions they are undertaking to improve their performance makes

business more transparent and connected with the needs of the wider global community. On a bell curve of

behavioural change these business' are now classed as the early adopters of change, they are progressive

and forward looking. Customers value these attributes in modern business, both large and small.

Much of the data revealed in this document identifies areas of opportunity for the North Sydney traders to

develop both individually and as a group, some have been discussed here. The data reveals the difficulties

that business' face in tackling the many issues surrounding small business. The Sustainable Cities - North

Sydney program aims to turn these diff icult ies into opportunities that groups of traders and individual

business' can manage sustainably.

By being a participant in the Sustainable Cities - North Sydney program, these business' are the leaders of

this exciting and progressive new movement. Congratulations are extended to all traders involved for

embarking on the journey towards a sustainable business and community; this report is the first step.

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Appendix 1.

Accommodation: A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging, usually on a short-term basis. Hotels

often provide a number of additional guest services such as restaurants, swimming pools or child care

faci l i t ies. Some hotels also have conference rooms and encourage groups to hold convent ions and

meetings onsite.

Health Wellbeing and Personal Services: Services offered to clients in the areas of medical treatment,

including veterinarians, personal wellbeing, health, beauty.

Hospitality - Mixed Use : These businesses deliver any of the following services - bar, gaming, dining,

bistro, light meals, coffee, and club facilities. A further division of this is the Hospitality - Pub sector which is

limited to pub venues. Pubs will often offer a smaller range of the above services.

Kitchen : Fewer than 10 seats within the auditable f loor space of the premises. Premises have food

preparation areas and the ability to store - fresh, dry and frozen foods. Premises must have a food cooking

ability within the auditable floor space.

Kitchen - Dining In: Over 10 seats within the auditable floor space of the premises. Premises have food

preparation areas and the ability to store - fresh, dry and frozen foods. Premises must have a food cooking

ability within the auditable floor space.

Office Based: Consultancy based businesses: Experts, task management, paid service, giving advice.

Retail - Large : Bulk purchasing and sold onto consumers in small quantit ies (includes wholesale and

individual retailers), total floor space over 300 m 2 , includes all covered areas, the primary task of the

business is retailing products.

Retail - Small : Bulk purchasing and sold onto consumers in small quantit ies (includes wholesale and

individual retailers), total floor space is under 300 m 2, includes all covered areas, the primary task of the

business is retailing products.

Abbreviations

ATO - Australian Tax office

AGO - Australian Greenhouse office

CBD - Central Business District

CO2 - Carbon Dioxide

BTCE - Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics

EMS - Environmental Management System

GHG - Greenhouse Gas Emissions

kWh - Kilowatt-hour

QBL - Quadruple Bottom Line

SBM - Sustainable Business Management

MWh - Megawatt-hour

MJ - Megajoule

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Notes

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© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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Page 28: Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report ......Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report Disclaimer: This information is provided by Village Green Environmental

Village Green Managed Sustainable Services Group Report

Sustainable Cities - North Sydney Class of 2006

Dress'U 50-54, Shop 5 Burns Bay Rd Lane Cove

Giving & Living 146 Longueville Rd Lane Cove

Glintz Hair Spa 120 Longueville Rd Lane Cove

Lane Cove Club 1 Birdwood Ave Lane Cove

Lane Cove Delicatessen & Organics 22 Lane Cove Plaza Lane Cove

Lane Cove Fish Supply 27 Burns Bay Rd Lane Cove

Lane Cove Toy Library 57a Tambourine Bay Rd Lane Cove

Lane Cove Village Pharmacy 3/50-54 Burns Bay Rd Lane Cove

Lovely Photo Centre 143 Longueville Rd Lane Cove

MBE Lane Cove 91, Shop 2 Longueville Rd Lane Cove

Photo Centric 20 The Plaza Burns Bay Rd Lane Cove

Renegade Cycles P/L 43-45 Burns Bay Rd Lane Cove

Sloans Lane Cove 119 Longueville Rd Lane Cove

Starr's Pharmacist Advice 36 Burns Bay Rd Lane Cove

Zest Café Shop 1, 2, 115 Longueville Rd Lane Cove

Lane Cove Aquatic Centre 2 Little St Lane Cove

Argy's Eatery Shop 1, 77 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Bean Drinking Shop 1 Ernest Place Crows Nest

Borge's Imaging 4/136 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Crows Nest Adult Book Exchange 91a Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Crows Nest Community centre 2 Ernest Place Crows Nest

Flower Works of Sydney 118 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Garfish Restaurant 6/ 29 Holtermann St Crows Nest

Heller's Healthfoods 132 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Indian Home Diner 57 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Juvenile Diabetes Lvl 4/ 80-84 Chandos St St Leonards

Macro Wholefoods 13- 19 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Map World 136 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

New Orleans Café 6 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Peter Pan Takeaway Restaurant 67 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Pixels Plus 45 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Restore Natural Therapies 98a Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

Salinger & Co 104/20 Clarke St Crows Nest

Terry White Chemists Crows Nest 108 Willoughby Rd Crows Nest

© Village Green Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd. 2006

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