Here at the Invercargill TOP 10 Holiday Park, we are proud members of the Southland Sustainable Business Network and enjoy reading the regular newsletters sent to members. However, I still feel we are at times inclined to be price driven rather than always looking at the sustainability issues when we do things. We are as guilty as the next person and it's only because we have the benefit of hindsight from building several units and also the early involvement with the Sustainable Tourism South Project that we started down the track of thinking differently.

Sometimes, with all the best intentions, changes we make result in some unintended consequences. Some environmental solutions actually create other problems. Most people or organisations who have started their sustainability journey have at least one story to share along these lines. You know, when you have tried to change something to improve the environmental outcomes, but for some reason or another it has ended up causing another problem that you didn’t intend.

Your biggest energy saving opportunity is likely to come in a very small package. I occasionally hear people say that "we are not going to change the world by changing a few light bulbs". Indeed it's not the only answer, but as well as changing the world, changing your light bulb will reduce your electricity costs and may have other benefits too. The Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority says that most businesses can reduce their energy bills by at least 20% through energy efficiency improvements. One of the areas almost always noted on an energy audit, is lighting. To give an example, in 2008 the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill had an energy audit completed, where it was identified they could save $11,000-$16,000 per year through changes to their lighting alone. You can read more, or even listen to Peter Ridsdale talk about the Ascot Park Hotels energy audit on their case study on www.sustainablesouthland.co.nz.

If you are ever so lucky to have the opportunity to have a say in the design of your workplace or home, you'll find yourself with hours of research to do. When you begin to look into it, there are so many opportunities to make the indoor spaces we spend time in more energy efficient, water efficient, pleasant and healthier places to be. Something also worth putting some grey matter to, is what changes we can make to our existing building stock to achieve the same outcomes. The following are some innovative ideas to get you thinking about retrofitting.

We have a number of businesses in Southland who have implemented the LEAN system, following on from receiving training through the former Enterprise Training Programme. Recently one business asked me what the difference was between an Environmental Management System (EMS) and the LEAN system. The following is summarised from a paper written by  Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and outlines how these are different systems, but are complementary in some ways.

Everyday business actions can impact on the environment, often without anyone knowing. Environment Southland frequently responds to incidents involving the release of pollutants where no perpetrator can be found. These incidents contribute directly to the degradation of our world-class natural environment.

Are there any Southland organisations who are ISO 14001 accredited? If so, did they aim for this from the outset, or start with the likes of Enviro Mark first. Read more about one local business Alliance Group.