Green Office Resource Guide

Transcription

1 Queensland Health Green Office Resource Guide For ClimateSmart Buildings March 2009 helping you to make better choices

2 Contents Green office resource guide 1.0 Vision and objective 2.0 Introduction 3.0 Why go green? 4.0 Energy efficiency policies 4.1 Energy efficiency goal 4.2 Lighting 4.3 Information technology (computers, printers, LCDs) 4.4 Air-conditioning 4.5 Other (i.e. office, kitchen areas) 5.0 Procurement policies 5.1 Procurement policy goal 5.2 Purchase of environmentally-sustainable equipment (green purchasing) 5.3 Paper products 6.0 Carbon reduction policies 7.0 Water conservation policies 7.1 Water conservation goal 7.2 Water conservation and the office environment 8.0 Waste management policies 8.1 Waste management goal 8.2 Reduce, reuse, and recycle : An environmental ethos 9.0 Behavioural management changes 10.0 Green office self-assessment reporting 10.1 National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS)

3 1.0 Vision and objectives As the social and political agenda moves towards crucial issues such as climate change and environmental sustainability, the Queensland Government has put in place policies and expectations that will lead all departments and agencies towards the goal of reducing their environmental impact. The Carbon Management Unit (CMU) of Queensland Health was established in 2004 and is responsible for increasing environmental awareness in Queensland Health through development and implementation of a Statewide Eco Efficiency program to introduce energy and water conservation measures into built infrastructure and business practices. In this short period, Queensland Health has improved environmental performance beyond Queensland Government s expectations, and in doing so, has achieved national recognition. Queensland Health is proud of its achievements towards sustainable operations and is fully committed to raising the bar and striving for continual improvement in environmental management practices. This manual details simple guidelines to increase the energy efficiency of Queensland Health offices; develop sustainable procurement practices; develop water conservation practices; develop waste management procedures; facilitate shifts in behavioural management; and develop a green office self-assessment monitoring and reporting guide. Ultimately, this manual has been developed to help you to make a difference in your office environment by: outlining what you should know about your current environmental management system providing hints and tips for what you and your department can do to increase office environmental sustainability providing useful statistics and where to go for further information. This Green Office Resources Guide is developed to provide staff of Queensland Health offices with the ability to embrace environmental values, leading to a more environmentally sustainable office environment.

4 2.0 Introduction Sitting in an office environment, it is hard to visualise how our activities are impacting on the environment. Issues, such as air pollution, global climate change, deforestation, landfills, water availability, biodiversity, chemical pollution, eutrophication and soil erosion, seem very distant and unrelated to the activities we undertake at work. It is now recognised that climate change and carbon management is a critical issue that must be addressed through innovation and intricate collaboration. Queensland Health has taken the lead in developing strategic management plans which are in line with ClimateSmart In 2009 the Carbon Management Unit released the Strategic Energy Management Plan for ClimateSmart Buildings in order to assist staff of Queensland Health in integrating sustainable practices into their day-to-day ethos and support the existing sustainability progress of Queensland Government. However, we all make decisions everyday that contribute to these environmental problems and we all have a responsibility to ensure that our everyday decisions and operations contribute as little as possible to these broader environmental issues. Governance It is evident that environmental practices are imperative to the sustainability of the office environment. In April 2007, the Queensland Government announced its role in meeting a national greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 60 per cent of 2000 levels by 2050 through the Climate Smart 2050 initiative Queensland climate change strategy 2007: a low carbon future. The Queensland Health Strategic Energy Management Plan booklets are available from the Carbon Management Unit, Health Services Purchasing and Logistics Branch.

5 The policies and practices employed in this guide will aid Queensland Health offices in meeting this national greenhouse gas reduction target through sustainable procedures. This Green Office Resource Guide provides information aimed at increasing the environmental credentials of Queensland Health offices throughout the state. Principles The principles of this guide are to be suitably adapted to the operation of respective offices to facilitate reductions in energy use and cost, water use and cost, waste production, and greenhouse gas emissions. Ultimately the policies and practices employed in this guide are encouraged to become a part of an individuals natural work routine. This Green Office Resource Guide is a means of increasing staff awareness of the environmental impacts associated with daily work practices and encourage and facilitate environmentally friendly work alternatives. Practices This Green Office Resource Guide provides a great way for staff to learn more about environmental issues and what can be done at work to reduce their ecological impact. This guide also provides an opportunity for staff to engage in behavioural management problem solving and work as part of a team to achieve environmental change. A green office self-reporting assessment system has been developed in this guide to provide management with sufficient ways to calculate the effectiveness of green office recommendations, and provide incentives to staff so that the process of saving the environment is not conveyed as a chore. The participation in a sustainable office environment will no doubt have positive effects of the individual. It is our goal to encourage a sense of ownership within the individual of these environmental policies, where an individual can easily apply similar policies to their home as well as the workplace.

6 3.0 Why go green? There are some very good reasons for making your office an energy-efficient, environmental sustainable work environment. Most people are beginning to realise that the goods and services on which we rely come with an ecological impact and that we cannot continue purely extractive practices indefinitely; we will simply run out of supplies! The environmental benefits of using energy-efficient equipment are tremendous. By reducing the level of electricity used in the office environment, you are directly reducing air and water pollution from power stations and saving a tonne of greenhouse gas for each 1000 kilowatt-hour of electricity you save. (NAEEEC, 2001) Additionally, by being eco-conscious numerous benefits can be generated for your organisation. It is our social responsibility It provides staff with a sense of environmental pride and importance Reduce paper consumption Did you know? Using less paper not only saves forests, it saves water and electricity, reduces landfill, reduces greenhouse pollution and saves you money. Reduce energy consumption Did you know? The International Energy Agency ( has compiled statistics that showed photocopiers alone consume about 10per cent of office equipment electricity demand and more than 90 per cent of the energy is consumed when photocopiers are not in use Reduce water consumption Did you know? A moderate sized building of 10,000m2 typically consumes over 20,000 litres per day or more than 7 million litres per year enough to supply 40 average homes. It makes good business-sense Did you know? By ensuring that all copiers print duplex as default, you can expect to reduce your office s paper consumption levels by nearly half! It improves corporate image Did you know? More than 70 per cent of the world s largest 500 companies are now addressing global climate change in their corporate reporting. Did you know? Research has shown that businesses who demonstrate to staff their personal environmental savings are 60 per cent more productive.

7 4.0 Energy efficiency policies 4.1 Energy efficiency goal To develop Queensland Health offices which are environmentally sustainable, and continue to increase respective energy efficiency levels within the office environment. These positive energy efficiency levels are heavily reliant on maintaining procurement policies and office behavioural practices which are in conjunction with Energy Performance Standards Regulations. In March 2008 the Australian Government released the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, known as CPRS in order to develop a structured framework to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent from 2000 levels by The phase-out of inefficient incandescent lighting is one of the programs to help achieve this goal. 4.2 Lighting Use natural light wherever possible By using natural light to illuminate the office environment you can save a significant amount of energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Replace traditional incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs to reduce running costs by up to 75 per cent and energy consumption by per cent. Fluorescent lights produce much less heat than incandescent lights, and also last up to 10 times longer, so you would also save on cooling costs in summer. Replace any existing 50W halogen downlights with 20W. This gives a similar lighting effect using only 40 per cent of the energy. Switch all lighting off after hours and in areas such as store rooms that are not going to be used for at least 10 minutes. Using separate light switches for different areas in your office allows this to occur easily. To avoid misuse of lights, light switches should be clearly labelled to indicate the areas they cover and their specific purpose. Install movement sensors or timer switches in areas such as store rooms, meeting rooms and photocopy rooms to reduce light usage. Easy to read and eye-catching energy saving reminder signs/stickers should be placed near all major light switches. Signage may include Turn off and reduce your carbon impact, or Every time you turn off this light switch you help to save the CO 2 equivalent of 10km driven by a car. Clean dirty lamps and fittings on a regular basis. This will enable you to maximise your lighting efficiency by up to 30 per cent! Clean globes and fittings cast more light than dirty ones, enabling you to get the same amount of light from fewer lamps.

8 4.3 Information technology (computers, printers, LCDs) Switch all equipment off when not in use (eg. at night) and program equipment to hibernate when not in use during office hours. If staff are not turning their equipment off, consider installing energy management option (EMO) software to switch their computers off automatically. Making one staff member in your office responsible for turning off all shared equipment at the end of each day can prove very useful. Photocopiers and printers are left to idle about 95 per cent of the time. When left on, small machines use about W/h when idle, while larger machines use even more energy. Minimise the number of photocopiers and printers in the office to increase their productive time. Make sure your computer settings are capable of the following energy-saving functions after the respective period of nonactivity:»»» 15 minutes monitor hibernation mode (switches off) 30 minutes system standby (hard drive switches off) 2 hours system hibernation (entire system switches off) Turn your computer screen off when you go to lunch to save further power. Deactivate your screensaver! Monitors should be set to hibernation, screensavers more frequently waste energy rather than save it. Turn the photocopier off at the power point at the end of the working day and during periods of inactivity. Turning your computer off at night does not damage the computer. Computers are designed to handle about 40,000 on/off cycles before causing a fault. This means you could turn off your computer every night for about 109 years. The majority of electricity used by photocopiers is in the initial warm up stage. Each time you start photocopying, the machine uses extra energy to get ready to operate. You can save energy by batch copying, which involves saving up your copying tasks and doing them in one batch.

9 If your office rarely receives faxes, switch off fax machines after hours to save energy. In the case of larger offices with many fax machines, energy can be saved by turning off some machines after hours and diverting calls to one or a few machines. Purchase a timer switch for office equipment. Timer switches automatically turn on equipment at a set time (morning), and automatically switch off at a set time (evening). These timer switches are attached to power points and can be used to reduce the power consumption of photocopiers, printers, and vending machines. Examples of energy reductions include: refrigerated vending machines (save 38kg CO 2 /wk), photocopiers (20kg CO 2 /wk), printers (6kg CO 2 /wk) and plug in boiling water units (6kg CO 2 /wk for 2.5 L, 28 kg CO 2 /wk for 25 L units). A sign can be placed adjacent to the timer switch to direct staff to the correct way to turn the equipment on after-hours. Did you know? A computer left on overnight all year generates the same amount of greenhouse gas as a car driving from Sydney to Perth that s 4352km! 4.4 Air-conditioning Did you know? Climate control accounts for about 40 per cent of an office s total energy use. The opportunity for big savings in energy efficiency can be found in your heating, cooling, and ventilation (HVAC) systems. Use natural ventilation and fans where possible. Set air-conditioner systems to a minimum of 24 C. If air-conditioning is used, close all windows and doors to reduce the escape of cool air. If the machine has adjustable louvres, adjust them towards the ceiling when cooling, and towards the floor when heating (as cool air falls, hot air rises). Switch off heating and cooling after hours. 4.5 Other There are numerous other areas within an office environment where energy use can be reduced by a significant amount. Appliances in other personal and shared workspaces, such as the kitchen, should be switched off when not in use. These policies are designed to become a part of the strategic direction of office environmental management. It is recommended that the initiative of a green team or green staff member is introduced in the office environment, where a number of staff members are responsible for the environmental management of the office.

10 5.0 Procurement policies 5.1 Procurement policy goal To develop a strategic policy of green procurement within Queensland Health offices. The purchase of environmentally-sustainable office equipment in a viable way in which offices can reduce electricity demand, save money, and help your office reduce its direct and indirect impact on the environment through the purchase of energy-efficient products. Green procurement is the purchase of products and services that have a minimal or reduced environmental and human health impact. In addition to improved environmental performance, many environmentally preferred products work as well or better than traditional products. All forms of office equipment should be purchased with the intent of reducing the energy consumption of the office environment. 5.2 Purchase of environmentallysustainable equipment (green purchasing) Inspect potential office equipment for energy saving/environmentally sustainable tags, or eco-labelling. Energy-efficient products on the market today can reduce energy costs by 25 to 50 per cent, or even more, without compromising quality or performance. Think of longevity, reusability, refillable and recyclable when buying office equipment such as printers, scanners and photocopiers. All offices should ensure that all equipment conforms at least to ENERGY STAR* requirements. All equipment rated under the APPLIANCE STAR** labelling scheme should be rated three stars or better (post-2001 scale). Is it made of recycled material? Buying recycled helps reduce your own environmental impacts as well as encourages suppliers to supply recycled products. Do you really need it? The best way of conserving our natural resources is not to use/buy them in the first place. Purchase water-using appliances/ equipment that have a five or six star rating under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Scheme (WELS). All office equipment should be eligible for recycling at end of its life. For further information on sustainable procurement visit the Queensland Governments Environmental Labelling and Product Database ( au/10_sus_procure/nine.htm) * ENERGY STAR is an international standard for energy-efficient electronic equipment. ** APPLIANCE STAR is an alternative ratings system sometimes used by the Australian Greenhouse Office.

11 5.3 Paper products Encourage suppliers to be more sustainable by asking them to supply your office with double-sided documents. Complete the recycling loop! Buy recycled paper and stationary made from recycled material. Using recycled paper does not mean a reduction in quality; in fact it is generally of an equal or greater quality than non-recyclable paper. 6.0 Carbon reduction policies Queensland Health is committed to developing policies focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable facets of the work environment. The Queensland Health Carbon Management Unit is devoted to developing strategies and recommendations aimed directly at incorporating sustainable practices into the operation of Queensland Health offices in order to reduce levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Because of the increasing risk and severity of climate change, the Queensland Government responded with a strategic policy framework. In April 2007, the Queensland Government announced its role in meeting a national greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 60 per cent of the 2000 base-level by 2050 through the ClimateSmart 2050 strategic initiative Queensland climate change strategy 2007: a low carbon future. This Green Office Resource Guide for Queensland Health promotes the way the Queensland Government supports ClimateSmart 2050 and can develop strategies to reduce carbon emissions through simple policy and behavioural changes in the office environment. The Queensland Government introduced Climate Smart Buildings - Strategic Energy Efficiency Policy for Queensland Government Buildings in January This policy document established mandatory energy reduction targets and timeframes for reducing energy consumption for all Queensland Government buildings. Energy consumption figures for will be used as the comparative baseline. These mandatory consumption targets are as follows: 5 per cent reduction by per cent reduction by 2015 Queensland Health has taken the lead in developing strategic management plans which are in line with ClimateSmart In 2009, the Carbon Management Unit released the Strategic Energy Management Plan for ClimateSmart Buildings in order to assist Queensland Health staff in integrating sustainable practices into their day-to-day ethos and support the existing sustainability progress of Queensland Government, while maintaining the capability to provide continuity of quality health care to Queenslanders. This Green Office Resource Guide demonstrates Queensland Health s commitment to the Queensland Government s greenhouse gas reduction targets.

12 7.0 Water conservation policies 7.1 Water conservation goal To develop Queensland Health offices that promote the importance of water conservation through increasing staff awareness of the environmental impacts associated with wasting water in the office. To enforce policies which promote the importance of water as a resource, not only for human use, but its importance in maintaining a healthy and productive environment. 7.2 Water conservation and the office environment Did you know? Water covers two-thirds of the Earth s surface and permeates the atmosphere in the form of water vapour. However, only 2.5 per cent of the 1.4 billion km 3 of water on Earth is fresh and the vast majority of this fresh water is secured in polar ice caps. Thus, the world s human, flora and fauna population depend upon just per cent of the Earth s total water! Conservation is the key. Install five or six star urinals, waterless urinals or sensor flush control with flow restrictor. Inform cleaning staff of your commitment to water reduction and conservation. Discuss with them ways in which they can look for opportunities to incorporate water conservation into their cleaning procedures. 8.0 Waste management policies 8.1 Waste management goal To develop Queensland Health offices that incorporate sustainable waste management practices into the operation of their office environment. Through the process of environmental change management, Queensland Health staff will maintain the sustainability ethos of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Did you know? A dripping tap can waste up to 31,000 litres each year - more than half the volume of a backyard swimming pool. Use dishwashers only when they are fully loaded, using the economy cycle. Scrape rather than rinse before placing items in the dishwasher. If boiling the kettle, only use as much water as you personally need. Replace single flush toilets with dual flush toilets. This can save 8L/flush on average.

13 The management of waste within an office environment encompasses the issue of replacing office equipment. This notion of office procurement and subsequent waste minimisation should include observation of the five (5) R s: 1. Rethink (do I really need to replace this piece of equipment?) 2. Refuse (I don t need to replace this equipment so I won t) 3. Reduce (maybe I only need to replace some of this equipment) 4. Reuse (there might be someone that could use this equipment even though it is not what I need any more) and then 5. Recycle (now I will send it off to be recycled because that is all it is good for; or all other avenues have been considered). 8.2 Reduce, reuse, and recycle an environmental ethos Reduce Encourage suppliers to be more sustainable by asking them to provide your office with double sided documents. Set your printer default settings to print double-sided. Purchase office equipment capable of double-sided printing. Implement a paper-free electronic database for information storage and communication within your office in order to reduce unnecessary paper use. Think of the environment before you print. Do you need a hard copy of the document? Would it be possible to read from the computer screen or use electronic means of communication? Did you know? It takes 10 times more energy to manufacture a sheet of paper than it does to copy onto it. Reuse Reuse single-sided paper as draft copies or notepaper within the office. Keep a once used paper box near every printer and copier in your department and educate and encourage you colleagues to use them. Reuse folders, file clips and covers. Encourage staff to use reusable cups, crockery, and cutlery for lunch/tea breaks providing paper cups, plastic spoons, and individually packaged sugar, milk and coffee sachets should be discouraged in order to avoid unnecessary waste. Recycle Construct a primary recycling station in a central location within the office. This will encourage staff to leave their desk to place all recycling material in one area. Every desk should have a paper recycling box. Staff should empty their paper bins into the central recycling station which is to be centrally located in office. If the office has a garden area, food scraps may be composted. Certain members of staff should be responsible for the management of this compost garden. Used printer toner cartridges can be recycled. Toner cartridges contain harmful chemicals which should not be placed into our landfills. For further information on how to recycle toner cartridges visit

14 Did you know? One tonne of recycled paper or cardboard saves about 13 trees and 31,780 litres of water! Did you know? In an average year, Australia consumes about 3.5 million tonnes of paper, equating to about 40 million trees, of which about 40 per cent is used for printing and writing. 9.0 Behavioural management changes Green office programs are cultural change programs attempting to promote more sustainable behaviour within the office environment. It is the goal of this Green Office Resource Guide that Queensland Health staff employ these environmental policies as part of their natural daily work routine. In essence, this guide promotes a shift in behavioural management toward more environmentally sustainable work, and potentially home, practices. Research has shown there exists a causal difference between attitude and behaviour. Numerous people may maintain that environmental sustainability is a personal responsibility, such as recognising that switching off a light and reducing energy consumption is good for the environment. However, this is in stark contrast with the number of people who actually exert that behaviour, and carry out that action of switching off the light when they leave a room. Thus, it is important to develop management policies whereby a green attitude is transferred into green behaviour. However, if these behavioural management changes are not effective in bridging the gap between attitude and behaviour, the alternative is a mechanical fix. Such technological solutions include those mentioned in Energy efficient polices such as motion-sensor lighting, timer switches, or energy management option software. Furthermore, social norms are important tools for behavioural management changes within the office environment. Thus, it is imperative that in order for the policies proposed in this guide to be effective, activities such as recycling, turning off office appliances at the end of the day, and switching off lights must become social norms within the office environment. Most people have positive attitudes towards protecting the environment, but won t behave the way they know would protect the environment because of convenience, cost ($ or time), social norms, or they simply don t know how.

15 Community based social marketing (CBSM) is founded on the idea that most of us operate in line with outside messages, circumstances, and encouragement most of the time. CBSM is a conceptual framework used to change people s environmental behaviours. The CBSM framework involves the following steps: clearly identify the desired behaviour change identify barriers to this specific behaviour change identify benefits of this specific behaviour change implement a strategy commitment, communication, incentives, norms evaluate effectiveness An example is provided below using the CBSM framework, focusing on the attempt to change the behaviour of staff in regards to energy efficiency in the office environment: 1) Desired behavioural change Staff to switch off common area lights at end of the day 2) Barriers Staff not aware of location of light switches Staff not aware of how switches correspond to specific areas No reminders or incentives to switch off lights at end of day 4) Communication Office environmental representatives survey staff about switching off lights and removing certain light globes Office environmental representatives discuss ideas with staff Signage, e.g. colour-coded floor plans, explaining switches and location; signs/ stickers next to light switch reminding people to switch off; signs redesigned every two (2) months to grab people s attention Environmental audits made public and discussed with staff 5) Incentives Night audits conducted, if staff meet two of three criteria (lights off, screen off, paper recycling bin emptied) a small gift left on their desk (perhaps a small chocolate) 6) Norms The incentive becomes a visible sign of the night audits and shows who did and did not meet the environmental night audit from the previous night Effective once switching off all equipment and lights becomes a natural routine 3) Benefits Environmental benefits lower energy consumption Monetary benefits lower energy costs Increase positive office culture and social norms

16 This example of an operational CBSM framework for changing the behaviour of office workers to switch off lighting can be applied to many facets of management of the green office, including information technology management, office paper-waste management, or water conservation. Another effective behaviour management change tool within the office environment is to form office green teams responsible for monitoring sustainability practices, and awarding certain incentives. Establishment of a green team or an individual green officer will encourage staff to feel a part of the solution to environmental sustainability. However, it is imperative staff do not feel as if they are being monitored by the environmental police! 10.0 Green office self-assessment reporting The success of this Green Office Resource Guide depends upon the ability to measure the benefits, both social and environmental, in order to correctly facilitate improved performance and engage the notion of encouraging participation at a strategic level. This reporting system will allow management to calculate the specific energy savings for each respective Queensland Health office, and alert staff to the success of their actions in making their office environment a sustainable workplace. It is important the respective environmental assessment tool used is relevant, measurable, available, and applicable to the office environment in which it is to be applied National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) is a voluntary environmental rating system for office premises that was developed by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change. The well-established sustainability rating system of NABERS is used by governmental organisations to accurately measure their level of sustainability according to a pre-established baseline measurement. To encourage active participation, and foster staff s personal connectivity with the sustainability policies detailed in this Green Office Resource Guide, it is imperative that management implement a green office selfassessment reporting system (refer to 10.1).

17 The rating system is clearly illustrated later in this document. This voluntary self-assessment system provides an explicit and consistent rating system, with a clear performance-based structure, and a realistic rating scale that recognises and rewards current performance levels, and encourages and promotes sustainable practices. NABERS can be shifted to provide separate ratings for Queensland Health-owned office buildings (covering the environmental impacts of the building as a whole), and leased office blocks (covering the environmental impacts that are under the control of the office occupants). In order for the office management to perform a self-assessment on the environmental performance of the respective Queensland Health office, they require a certain amount of easily-accessible information. This information must include: area of office premises (m², preferably to PCA standards) occupancy (number of hours the building is occupied each week) location (postcode) number of computers (for office tenants and owner-occupiers) energy and water use of the premises in the past 12 months. This data is input into the NABERS rating calculator (available at com.au/office.aspx), whereby sustainability results and ratings will be produced for energy, water, indoor environment, and waste. NAEBERS uses a five (5) star rating system to provide an accurate output of a building s actual yearly greenhouse gas emissions. Ratings can be obtained for the base building (includes central services of a building such as air-conditioning, lifts, and common area lighting). Tenancy period (Includes occupants lights and power use), or whole building rating (combines base building and tenancy). The five (5) star rating is explained on the following page.

18 NAEBERS five star rating system 5 Stars HHHHH Exceptional performance! Your office has exceptionally levels of energy efficiency, because of integrated design, operation, management, and staff members are operating sustainably. 4 Stars HHHH Excellent performance! Your office demonstrates excellent energy performance because of design and management practices or high efficiency systems and equipment. 3 Stars HHH Very good performance! Your office has very good systems and management practices and reflects an awareness of the financial and environmental benefits of optimising energy use. 2 Stars HH Good performance! Your office has some elements of energy efficiency in place and reflects the current status quo in regards to energy consumption. There is still scope for cost-effective improvements and minor changes may improve on the building s energy and operating costs. 1 Star H Poor performance! Your office is consuming a lot of unnecessary energy. There are cost-effective changes that can be implemented to improve energy consumption, cut operating costs and reduce greenhouse emissions. Very Good Poor Good Poor energy management or outdated systems Average building performance This building has some elements of energy efficiency in place and reflects the current market average. There is still scope for cost-effective improvements and minor changes This building is consuming a lot of unnecessary energy. There are cost effective changes that can be implemented to improve energy consumption, cut operating costs and reduce greenhouse emissions. may improve this building s energy and operating costs. 1 2 Current market best practice This building offers very good systems and management practices and reflects an awareness of the financial and environmental benefits of optimising energy use. 3 Strong performance Excellent This building demonstrates excellent energy performance due to design and management practices or high efficiency systems and equipment, or low greenhouse intensive fuel supply. 4 5 Best building performance This building is exceptional due to integrated design, operation, management and fuel choice. Exceptional

19 March 2009 The State of Queensland 2009 Copyright protects this publication. However the Queensland Government has no objection to this material being reproduced with acknowledgement, except for commercial purposes. Permission to reproduce for commercial purposes should be sought from Carbon Management Unit Health Services Purchasing and Logistics Branch Queensland Health GPO Box 48 BRISBANE QLD 4001 An electronic version of this document is available at

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