RESOURCE USE & THE SUPPLY CHAIN

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1 RESOURCE USE & THE SUPPLY CHAIN as part of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program

2 Energy efficiency is one aspect of broader resource efficiency, which is the efficient use and re-use of all resources (materials, water, energy) across the supply chain. Your supply chain includes the businesses that produce the raw materials used to construct the building that houses your business, the producers that provide the food you use, through to the company that processes your waste. This guide will help identify the different parts of your supply chain, together with the impacts and the opportunities for you to influence an improvement in resource efficiency and a corresponding reduction in the environmental impacts resulting from the operation of your business. RESOURCE USE IN YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN There are many different parts to your supply chain, each using different forms of energy and other resources to provide you with the products and services you need to keep your business operating. As the cost of energy goes up, so does the cost of the goods and services you buy. Therefore, as the purchaser of these goods and services, you have a vested interest in and an excellent opportunity to influence your suppliers to improve their energy efficiency. This guide focuses on several important parts of your supply chain and explores your opportunities to influence their energy efficiency and resource efficiency and to lower your costs in the process. YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN The supply chain for hotels and pubs is quite broad. It includes the suppliers of goods you use including: electricity, natural gas, water; raw materials like building materials; together with unprocessed and processed foods, beverages, cleaning products, cosmetic products, pool supplies, computers, and lights; to name a few. It also includes the delivery of services (which might also utilise some of the supplied goods) including, for example: construction, demolition, food production, transportation (logistics, employee and guest), maintenance, operations (staff), laundry, waste management and recycling. The different parts of your supply chain link up to provide you with the goods and services you need to run your business. An example of a part of your supply chain is the agricultural food producers that supply food to your business, which is transported by trucking companies the resource efficiency of the transport and the food production process affects the resource intensity of your business. WHERE TO START It is important when thinking of supply chain to draw a boundary around your business and focus firstly on those elements that you interact with directly. As a hotel or pub you can start by changing four areas of your business that can make a big difference: 1. Adapt your purchasing processes to incorporate sustainability and resource efficiency alongside other value-for-money considerations like price, quality and service. 2. Ensure your staff are aware of how their operating decisions affect the overall resources used by your business. 3. Encourage guests and staff to use alternative forms of transport that have a lower impact like trains, trams, bikes and walking. 4. Improve your waste management performance by reducing your overall waste generation and increasing the proportion of your residual waste that gets reused or recycled instead of going to landfill.

3 PURCHASING Your approach to purchasing is one of the most effective ways to make a positive impact on your resource use because your use of resources is dependent on that of your suppliers. This means integrating resource efficiency criteria alongside other value-for-money considerations like price, quality and service. There are a number of steps to integrate resource efficiency criteria into your purchasing processes: 1. Define the need The resource use and efficiency should be considered when deciding on the specifications of goods and services to be purchased. This can be as simple as investigating the impacts associated with design and production, transport, operation (usage in your business) and end-of-life disposal. 2. Establish sources of supply There is quite a wide selection of potential suppliers who have taken steps to improve their resource efficiency and publicly advertise this. If you cannot find an appropriate source then there is scope to require a successful tenderer to address the sustainability of their own operations as well as that of their products. If you have concerns about the product then consider procuring a small quantity and trialing it. 3. Purchasing Many sustainable products are available through common-use period contracts or can be sourced by suppliers on contracts. If not available on period contracts then products may need to be sourced off-contract depending on the nature of the product. 4. Evaluate responses from suppliers Resource efficiency considerations should be a mandatory selection criterion alongside criteria such as price, quality and availability. Weighting given should be according to the resource intensity (impact) of the product to be purchased the greater the weighting given, the greater the potential for measurable resource efficiency improvements. 5. Monitor supplier performance - Monitoring performance of the selected product and its supplier will drive continuous improvement and better product design and ensure that contract conditions are being met. When purchasing services from suppliers it is critical to make them aware of your organisational objectives so they consider these when undertaking work or buying products to use when delivering their service. Often it can be as simple as asking the following questions: Is it really necessary? Can we do without it? Can you reduce the use of the existing product (or use it more efficiently) so it lasts longer? Can a product be repaired or reconditioned to extend its life? Can you reuse the product or its components in some useful way? CASE STUDY Alto Hotel, Melbourne The Alto Hotel has changed the way they supply shampoo and other liquid toiletries to guests. Individual plastic bottles have been eliminated and replaced with refillable pump action dispensers. Switching from small individual bottles to a dispenser has resulted in measurable cost savings and a reduction in waste generation and waste management costs. To find out more about Alto Hotel s recycling initiatives check out the Business Recycling website br-alto-hotel-case-study final.pdf. OPERATIONS Everyone involved in your business has a role to play in reducing the resources you use, either directly or indirectly. Management It is up to management to lead by example and to ensure that the whole organisation understands the resource efficiency objectives. Like energy and waste, this requires an organisational commitment and good communication across all levels of the business. Staff Staff, like service providers, should be trained on the organisational objectives for resource efficiency. This can be incorporated into staff induction and can be as simple as asking the same questions as your expect of a service provider. TRANSPORT Transport is another area where you can influence the impact of your business. You can encourage your staff to use more sustainable forms of transport like bikes or public transport by removing the barriers and making it easier e.g. bike lockers / showers, or discount public transport tickets. You can also influence the forms of transport your guests and patrons use such as engaging a smart car company to locate a car outside your building, provide public transport guidance or complimentary tickets. It may also be that the car parking area you provide on your premises could be more valuable as an alternative use e.g. accommodation, expanded conference rooms, etc.

4 WASTE MANAGEMENT Figure 1 shows the typical contents of a waste bin from a hotel. More than half of the material currently thrown out with the rubbish could be recycled instead of going to landfill. For both hotels and pubs, putting these materials in the correct recycling bins can save money through reduced waste collection charges. Waste collection charges vary significantly across Australia dependant on landfill costs and state landfill levies. Although they vary, the consistent trend is the increase in landfill costs, which are passed onto you as the consumer. Increasing landfill fees make it more attractive to increase your recycling performance. Recycling charges are generally more consistent as they are based on the value of the underlying waste commodities, which are affected by national and international, market supply and demand. CASE STUDY Manly Hotel, Brisbane The Manly Hotel used to send about 654 cubic metres of waste each year to landfill, finding ways to recycle became central to their waste reduction strategy. The hotel now: Sends waxed boxes and styrofoam containers (specifically, those used to package fruit and vegetables) back to the suppliers for reuse where possible. Provides recycling bins in the gaming area Shreds all waste paper (which is given to local pet shops) Recycles all toner cartridges and cardboard boxes. To find out more about the Manly Hotel s other initiatives, including energy efficiency and behaviour change, check out: manly-hotel-case-study.html Other 25% paper and cardboard 40% EPA NSW has released an excellent industry fact sheet on reducing business waste in the accommodation industry refer to the More Information section for a link. comingled 10% plastic 5% food waste 20% Figure 1: Typical composition of accommodation waste bins Industry Fact Sheet reducing business waste (accommodation); EPA NSW; November 2012 Improving Your Waste Management Performance Improving your waste management performance involves a similar approach to that of an Energy Management System. There are seven steps to improve your waste management and recycling performance: 1. Conduct a review 2. Measure a performance baseline by undertaking a bin audit 3. Make a commitment 4. Develop a waste reduction action plan 5. Implement your action plan 6. Monitor and communicate results 7. Build on experience to drive continuous improvement Saving money through Reuse and Recycling There are many opportunities to increase the recovery, reuse and recycling of the 75% of recyclable materials (paper and cardboard, food waste, bottles, cans and plastics) in the average hotel rubbish bin. General actions that you can take to improve include: Locate public waste and recycling bins in positions that will make it easier for customers and staff to recycle. Separate your paper & cardboard, plastics and food waste from general waste to avoid crosscontamination. Educate staff and customers by putting up signs about reducing waste and recycling. Actions you can take to improve the recovery and recycling of specific materials include: Paper and Cardboard Give preference to suppliers who will take packaging back for reuse. Reuse packaging for outgoing goods.

5 Food Waste Check stock deliveries and ensure products are undamaged and go immediately to appropriate storage facilities. Train staff how to handle produce safely to minimise damage and waste. Separate your food waste into fruits/vegetables and meats/dairy using separate receptacles/bins and remove any contamination i.e. no packaging. Compost organic materials onsite. Collect used cooking oil and have recycled. Donate food items that cannot be sold to consumers or recycled without cost. Plastics, Bottles & Cans Give preference to suppliers who will take packaging back for reuse (e.g. printer cartridges). Buy in bulk - this means paying less for packaging and recycling. Ask your suppliers to deliver goods and produce in reusable containers. Then return clean, undamaged polystyrene foam packaging to your local markets and return pallets to suppliers for reuse. Green waste Reprocess green waste onsite for use on gardens Construction & Demolition Materials created by the demolition of the original buildings can generally be reprocessed or reused by construction and demolition waste management businesses include bricks, concrete, asphalt. You can ensure that these materials are managed appropriated by including the requirement in your building contract. MORE INFORMATION 1. Incorporating sustainability into simple procurement processes, NSW Department of Environment & Heritage, May Incorporating.htm 2. Industry Fact Sheet reducing business waste (accommodation), EPA NSW, nsw.gov.au/resources/warr/120337bwstaccm.pdf 3. Waste Wise Hotels Toolkit, City of Melbourne, environment/documents/wastewisehoteltoolkit.pdf 4. Love Food, Hate Waste, NSW EPA, May 2013 www. lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au ABOUT THE PROGRAM In response to rising energy costs the AHA has developed a range of targeted resources to assist small and medium businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. These resources were developed with support in the form of an Energy Efficiency Information Grant from the Australian Government. This program has been designed to assist small to medium businesses to understand where and how energy is used, carbon emissions that result from the use of energy, and to understand and communicate the opportunities for reduction and resource efficiencies. The resources, tools and information available under the program identify energy efficiency improvements that can be incorporated into day-to-day operations and factored into future capital expenditure budget. For more information please visit Accor generates 70% of its waste from construction and renovation work. Source: nature.html The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein