M+R Carbon Footprint

M+R has joined with Planet Toner.  For every empty cartridge that is collected by Planet Toner, they will donate $1.00 to the 20th Man Fund.  This is a unique opportunity to help the disadvantaged youth in Melbourne and the environment simultaneously.  Why don't you get on board too ? Check out www.20thman.com.au to see the great work the 20th Man Fund does to support those in need.

The firm recently launched THE GREEN TEAM who are responsible for initiating concepts to do our small bit for the environment.

The firm has received its first Carbon Reduction Certificate.

As part of our on-going commitment to this project, the firm has now joined the CitySwitch Green Office program.  This program has the potential to reduce Australia's energy consumption by approximately 162,000 tonnes of CO2, saving nearly $17.5 million in energy costs every year.  That's the equivalent of taking 36,000 cars off the road annually.  cityswitch.net.au

Terms such as ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘carbon emissions’ are now being used in everyday language, but have you ever wondered exactly what they mean? 

Carbon: the chemical basis of all organic life. In the context of climate change, the term “carbon” is short-hand for carbon emissions and generally refers to the six main greenhouse gases indentified in the Kyoto Protocol.

Carbon dioxide (CO2):  the most abundant of the greenhouse gases, contributing to approximately 75 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of oil and gas production, and is produced by burning fossil fuels or plant matter used for fuel (biomass). All animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms also produce carbon dioxide. It has a global warming potential of 1, because it is the reference from which the values of all other greenhouses gases are calculated.

Carbon neutral: indicates that something has net zero emissions (for example, an organisation, service, event or product). Various strategies are used to achieve carbon neutral status:

The first step is to determine ways of reducing overall carbon footprint as much as possible through improved efficiency and conservation.

The next step is the purchase of accredited Green Power (preferably wind and solar) or micro-generation of sufficient energy for the organisation’s demands (and, potentially, surplus to offset other emissions).

The final step is to offset the organisation’s carbon emissions by purchasing carbon offsets. This option should be used last, when carbon emissions are unavoidable (e.g. for necessary air travel).

Emissions intensity (also termed carbon intensity): the ratio of emissions per unit of production output or other performance indicator. For example: emissions per dollar of revenue, full-time equivalent staff member, square metre of office space or unit of production.

Carbon abatement: actions that produce a reduction in the amount or intensity of greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon sequestration: a geoengineering technique involving the capturing carbon dioxide produced by industrial processes and long term storage of it, by injecting it underground or under the ocean. It has been proposed as a way to mitigate accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which are released by burning fossil fuels.

Interesting Facts:

ATMs – don’t get a receipt if you don’t need it.  Annually, these receipts use enough paper to stretch two billion feet long ! … and then get thrown away (the same goes for petrol pump receipts !).

Books – borrow from the library or buy second hand.  Almost 400,000 trees are needed to print books annually.

Candy & Ingredients – buy the loose bulk kind instead of the wrapped and packaged versions.  The majority of the wraps and papers are not recyclable and can be heavily treated with chemicals.

Matches – choose paper matches over wood matches or lighters.  They are often made of recycled paper, whereas wooden matches require 5.5 million trees per year and lighters create harmful and toxic landfill waste.

Music – consider music downloads instead of buying CDs … every month 45 tons of unwanted CDs wind up in landfills.

Napkins – take only what you need instead of grabbing a whole stack and then throwing them away, unused.  If everyone took just one less napkin, it would keep a billion tons out of landfill annually.

Pens – buy the refillable kind.  The US discards 1.6 billion disposable pens each year and a refill is no more expensive than a disposable pen.

Q-tips – when buying note pads, but the kind with the paper spindle instead of plastic … they will actually biodegrade but the plastic will not.

Watch this space for more “green” tips.