Let the sunshine in
The rollout of renewable energy at our facilities took a bold step forward with our Dandenong branch. As we reduce carbon emissions and source renewable energy, we have committed to solar panels for our operation hubs and Melbourne was the next in line. It was also an opportunity for our Product Development team to test one of our new 360 Solutions Products; hireable solar panels. Our Dandenong branch is constructed with the same modules we hire to our customers so what better way to prove our latest product than on ourselves? In two months, the Melbourne solar panels generated 4320 kwH of power. This equates to a reduction of 3.412 tonnes of carbon emission or planting 185 trees. Simultaneously, we decreased our carbon emissions and gave our customers a working example of how hireable, temporary solar panels can work on a project site.
Volunteer hours #jobdone
At the start of 2023, we set out to volunteer time, minds and manpower to the communities in which we work. The goal was 800 hours from our team all over Australia dedicated to activities that improve the environment and/or social wellbeing. And we achieved it! By August! We couldn’t be prouder of the team, particularly our Townsville team who were the first to achieve their volunteering milestone. Some of these 800 hours were spent helping with the game day operations at the Garbutt Magpie’s Cup, donating much-needed blood, planting trees on National Tree Day and more. We won’t stop there as the end of the year approaches with more activities planned and an even bigger goal for 2024.
Circularity, volunteerism & sustainability
Circularity. Sustainability. Social good.
These are big topics and there is one of our local teams that is taking tangible steps towards solutions. In the Brisbane Branch hire yard, the team regularly receives erroneous furniture, equipment and accessories when customers return buildings. After confirming that the customer doesn’t need or want them back, the Brisbane team uses their volunteer hours to clean and refurbish the goods before donating them to Lifeline. It is a win-win-win solution. We now have a clear sustainable path for managing relinquished goods. Lifeline gets a supply of high-quality, refurbished goods and 43.2m3 is diverted from landfill. It is sustainability in action. This team won the quarterly ESG initiatives award for Q3.
ISO Strength
Our New Zealand team has successfully achieved ISO14001 (Environmental), ISO9001 (Quality Assurance) and ISO45001 (OHS). These international standards certify our quality, safety and environmental commitments and the management structure to ensure customers can always rely on and expect the best from Portacom.
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With Toitu Diamond Enviromark certification already in hand, our New Zealand team joins the Australian team in ISO certification as part of the group’s market-leading status on environmental, safety and quality management. Our next step in ensuring we meet international standards is to gain EcoVadis accreditation for Portacom, Ausco and NET Modular.
Ahead of the curve
Our comprehensive sustainability plan has three main goals:
Simple and admirable goals that need a lot of consideration and effort to ensure it happens.
If you are a supplier or customer of our business and want to actively take part in some of our ESG initiatives then contact Jenny Winckworth (Lancaster) .
Throughout the year, we have been investing in a new hire fleet and these new modules are built to the RCLG-compliant, ECO Upgrades. The ECO Upgrade includes low VOC adhesive, paints and finishes for an improved internal environment. ECO Upgrade buildings also come standard with LED lighting with monitoring sensors, blinds or tints, improved insulation and weather seals all of which help to reduce internal heat and energy consumption. And finally, water-saving taps to minimise water consumption.
You will see more and more ECO Upgrade Buildings in the Ausco fleet and for those projects seeking Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) support, ECO Upgrades can add significant weight to the site accommodation requirements.