EIS is primarily an industrial project management service business based in Invercargill. The business was originally established in 1995 with 2 staff and now employs 37 staff with the capacity to cover complete project maintenance packages. For the team at EIS, sustainability involves providing a better workplace for staff and clients, while simultaneously trying to protect the natural environment within which the business operates.   

EIS has developed an Environmental Policy, which not only demonstrates they are serious about sustainability, but also acts as an educative tool for other businesses. The policy presents ideas of what can be done, as well as identifying some of the people that can help you do it. The waste produced by EIS is measured and recorded each week. In addition to this, vehicle and fuel use is tracked on a regular basis. Phillip Botting, HSE co-ordinator from EIS, says this makes environmental sense, but also adds up economically because it’s a good cost-saving exercise.

Phillip advises other business-owners interested in sustainability to start off like they did; by implementing things slowly instead of asking staff to solve everything at once. As he says, “you can’t just ram it down their throats. Just slowly implement it and it all catches on and everyone gets in and helps out.”

EIS is primarily an industrial project management service business based in Invercargill. The business was established in 1995 with 2 staff and has now grown to employ 37 staff with the capacity to cover complete project maintenance service packages. 

According to Phillip Botting, HSE co-ordinator at EIS, they work mostly on industrial sites in Southland for clients such as Fonterra and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters at Tiwai Point. “We just try and cover all bases when it comes to what our customers want ... we always try and go the extra mile,” says Phillip.

Approximately three and a half years ago the business completed the Quick Steps programme delivered by Environment Southland with funding from WasteNet. This 6 month programme provided EIS with a list of quick sustainability actions which, if undertaken, leads to the presentation of a certificate acknowledging their efforts. Phillip and the team had already established some sustainability initiatives, but Quick Steps helped increase the profile of sustainability within the business. As Phillip explains, “we were already doing most of these things so we thought, why not get recognition for it?”

What sustainability means at EIS

For the team at EIS, sustainability is about providing a better workplace for staff and customers, while at the same time trying to protect the natural environment within which the business operates. Phillip explains that their clients tend to be switched on to sustainability, making it important for EIS to be likewise. Because their key clients are serious about environmental initiatives and conduct annual audits on EIS sustainability policy and procedures, Phillip and his staff must also perform in this area so as to satisfy the clients’ requirements and retain contracts to work for them. This has provided a substantial motivating factor for staff at EIS to implement sustainable business practices.

At EIS the original motivation behind sustainability came from management and senior staff, which Phillip believes made the process more effective. He says, “it’s not just a good look for your company to be out there trying to improve your surroundings, it ... shows that you’ve got initiative to ... do something and not just sit around stagnating, not doing anything about it.”

One of the biggest successes in sustainability achieved within the business has been to raise environmental awareness among staff. As Phillip explains, at first it can be difficult getting tradespeople to think environmentally. “Normally everything would go in the bin but now they (the staff) actually think about what they’re doing and everyone brings back fittings and tubes (from jobs) to be recycled,” he says.

Phillip believes that an essential part of implementing sustainable business practices is to monitor your progress. Waste produced by EIS is measured and recorded each week. In addition to this, vehicle and fuel usage is tracked on a regular basis. Phillip says this doesn’t just make environmental sense, it also adds up economically because it’s a good cost-saving exercise.

Sustainability in action

EIS have developed an Environmental Policy. This not only demonstrates that they are serious about sustainability, but it also acts as an educative tool for other businesses by presenting ideas of what can be done, as well as identifying some of the people who can help you do it.

Waste management is an important part of the sustainability picture at EIS and is made as simple as possible to maintain its effectiveness. As you would expect, plastic, aluminium, glass, tins and paper are recycled. In the workshop tins, aerosol cans and containers are triple-rinsed prior to being placed in separate recycle bins. Scrap metals such as steel, brass and copper are also recycled.

Recycling is also extended to EIS customers. Clients are encouraged by Phillip and his team to return their used fluorescent lighting tubes and batteries to EIS. These items are then collected by Interwaste (based in Dunedin) who break them down into their component materials for re-use or recycling. EIS provides this service to their clients free of charge, improving awareness and goodwill between the business and their customers.

These initiatives, along with others, reduced the volume of waste EIS sent to landfill by 20% in 2008 compared with the previous year. Phillip is unsure of exactly how much money is saved as a result of this achievement, but is confident that it would be significant.

Phillip and his staff also strive to reduce the impacts associated with the use of company vehicles. They consistently aim to minimise the use of vehicles per head of staff when going out to jobs. For example, instead of taking 3 or more vehicles, attempts are made to put 3 or 4 staff members in one vehicle. EIS have also looked into different types of vehicles, in order to select the most fuel efficient models available that suit the type of work involved.  

Challenges involved in seeking sustainability

Phillip identifies two main challenges associated with the company’s implementation of sustainable business practices. He explains that getting trade staff to think environmentally can be quite an involved process. However, once achieved, the process is much more effective with the whole team working together towards similar goals. 

The other challenge for EIS has been time. Phillip says that he tends to spend approximately 2 or 3 hours a week on sustainability-related tasks, with two other staff involved for an hour or so each a week undertaking monitoring and auditing work.

Advice for other businesses

Phillip advises other business-owners interested in sustainability to start off like EIS did; implementing things slowly instead of asking staff to solve everything at once. As he says, “you can’t just ram it down their throats. Just slowly implement it and it all catches on and everyone gets in and helps out and does their bit.”

EIS also participates in the Enviro-Mark programme delivered by Landcare Research (see http://www.enviro-mark.co.nz/ for further detail). This programme helps businesses develop and implement an Environmental Management System (EMS), then provides certification after an independent audit. Phillip explains that clients notice the Bronze Enviro-Mark award EIS has received, which provides recognition that the business is aiming to do its part to reduce their environmental impacts.

In addition to this, Phillip explains that participating in the Quick Steps programme helped generate momentum for sustainability at EIS. Within this process, small to medium-sized businesses receive a site visit and subsequent list of actions they can undertake in order to become more resource-efficient and save money.