Parkes Automotive outlines sustainability measures

June 17th, 2011

Parkes Automotive co-owner Anita Newport was asked to contribute to a recent report of business leaders talking about how they have introduced and worked through sustainability measures in their businesses.

"Key Factors in their Sustainability Success" was put together by Bridget Marsh of Creating What Matters. Other participants who have "gained traction" with sustainability work in businesses included the founder and CEO of Sustainable Business Network, the founder and MD of Paraoa Bakehouse, the founder and CEO of Eco Shop, the Technical Director of Resene Paints and the Managing Director Ricoh NZ.

Parkes Automotive, in Greenwood Street Motueka, has won several Tasman District Council and industry environmental awards in the past three years. Under Anita and partner Andrew Parkes, it has made a commitment to sustainable business practice as the preservation of the environment for future generations.

"It is something the team feel strongly about," Anita told the report. "Sustainable practice means meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. To achieve this, Parkes Automotive endeavour to go beyond compliance through the adoption of pro-active strategies to restore and enhance the environment in which we work, live and play."

Their long-term goal is to become carbon neutral and produce zero waste, and the impressive outcome of their journey to date of writing includes an 80% reduction in waste to landfill and reduced electricity consumption by 20%.

Bridget Marsh said she really wanted to have someone from the automotive industry involved in the discussion because it has a rather 'dirty' reputation. She asked why Anita and Andrew decided to do this.

"Andrew and I worked on deep sea fishing vessels before we took over the garage five years ago and saw firsthand the destruction that industry can have on the environment," she said. "We promised ourselves that when we were in the position to be able to make a difference that we would. We had no idea at that stage that we would buy a business in the automotive industry that is not known to be environmentally friendly, but where there is will there is a way."

The first thing they did was find out where they stood. "We spent a bit of time measuring the waste our business was responsible for and looking at long-term solutions for the waste, as we wanted to make sure that any system we put in place would work, and that other garages and businesses could use the initiatives in their own workplaces.

"It was also important that we had the support of our staff and the community so that anything we put in place would be supported in our absence. We have incentives for the staff in the way of a slush fund with all of the savings made by recycling and re-using going into the slush fund to be spent on staff.

"For our customers, we have newsletters providing environmental tips etc, and a monthly $100 workshop voucher draw for those customers who chose to receive invoices and reminders by email rather than post, or pay their accounts using internet banking, which all reduces paper and travel.

"I am also in the middle of a research project on waste tyres for the Tasman District Council to help find a long-term solution for end-of-life tyres in New Zealand, as 4 million tyres a year currently go to landfill."

The key points Anita offered the report were that all industries can work on their sustainability, and to "be a leader in your field - teach others as you go".

As a member of the Sustainable Business Network, which provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences, Parkes Automotive has taken specific steps to minimise their impact on the environment:

Reduced electricity consumption by 20% by responsibility placed on workshop manager to ensure lights are turned off ASAP, hot water heating contained to a Zip only, a fan heater in office replaced by a gas heater, office renovations that saw a new large ranch slider replacing a wall to capture more heat/light from the sun, and the use of skylights in the workshop and fluoro tubes and eco bulbs where possible.
Fuel consumption was reduced by replacing an old tow truck with a smaller vehicle and using a scooter rather than a car to collect local parts. Vehicle trips are planned to ensure as much is done in one trip as possible to save too much travelling.
Reduced waste by at least 80% by:
- Placing recycling bins at each work bench.
- All waste oils and fuels are sent to refiners.
- Old printer cartridges and toners are sent to be recycled with any financial return being donated to Ronald McDonald house.
- All plastic/glass and cans collected at roadside.
- Paper has been reduced by emailing invoices etc, paper is reused as note pads where possible, paper and cardboard collected in large bins we provided by Street-smart when they do the school recycling.
- Scrap metal and old batteries sold to scrap merchants who strip what recyclable metals they can and the rest is disposed off correctly.
- Outdated LPG bottles collected and sent in mass to be re-tested at Fire Protection Services and then resold.
- Tyres reduced by offering customers a discount if they take them to use in their gardens etc, farmers using them as tree protection, listing them on the "Terranova Waste Exchange" website-cloth towels are washed to use in wash rooms.
- Food scraps are taken home in biodegradable cornstarch bags to the compost or worm farm.
- Aerosol cans reduced by buying cleaners etc in bulk and using re-usable spray bottles.
- Recycled rags from laundries and customers are used in workshop.
- Installations of LPG systems to vehicles which reduce fuel emissions.
- A parts cleaning station that filters and recycles the chemicals it uses has been introduced.
- A contained outdoor area and shed has been built for larger parts washing etc which channels water into a storage tank and is emptied by oil refiners, greatly reducing impact on waterways.
- Consciously seek to deal with environmentally conscious businesses including giving consideration to packaging used and wherever possible using local suppliers to reduce transport emissions.
Working with the Enviroschools programme to donate trees as a yearly scheme to help offset our carbon emissions.
Purchased a large recycling bin which we have gifted to the community to increase education and reduce waste. This bin is outside the museum on High St.
Saving our used postage stamps for the Christian Blind Mission who use them to generate funds for over 1000 relief projects.
Reducing junk mail received by putting signs on our letter box and PO box.
Further reduction of paper use (now using over 50% less) by increasing emailing of WOF reminders, invoices etc. This has been helped by the incentive given customers who receive emails and pay accounts by internet banking etc.
Re-usable boxes and packaging are saved to be re-used when sending parts to be fixed.
Emails sent have "Please think about the environment before printing this page" on them to discourage waste at receiving end.
Improving the emergency spilling procedures by having an oil spill kit, emergency procedure book hung in office with appropriate contacts etc, channelling to prevent waterway impacts and absorbency pellets to soak up oil if needed.
Working with suppliers to provide products in cardboard packaging rather than plastic.
Making customers aware of the option to use second hand parts if appropriate for job.
Saving fluorescent tubes to be sent in bulk to recyclers in Christchurch.
Replacing a large old fridge/freezer with a smaller one more suited to their needs.
Purchasing an external hard drive to do backups onto rather than printing daily reports.
Setting up a computer network from home to office to reduce travel to work when not necessary.
Turning all electronic equipment off when not in use.
Purchasing recycled stationery to close the recycling loop and ensure recycling is being successful and encouraging local retailers to supply it.
Introduced "Skype" so that they can internet conference with Sustainable Business Network and hopefully soon more organisations that take it on board, greatly reducing the need to travel.
Purchasing "Kiwi Green" cleaning products for use in workshop and domestic uses.
Saving oil filters for crushing to remove last of oil before being accepted by scrap merchants.
Making worm farm plans using old tyres available to customers.
Using a staple-less stapler to attach eftpos receipts etc (these use a form of paper binding to bind up to 5 pieces of paper without staples).
Installing a PDF printer on their computers enables conversion of any file to PDF format ready for emailing.

This is a comprehensive list, included so that readers may get ideas that may apply in their own domestic and business environments.

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