Sustainability standards

Every Griffith employee has a commitment to support and promote environmental sustainability practices in the workplace.

Leadership

Each Team Leader will assume the roles of 'Sustainability Leader' within their element and workspace, including:

  • Providing feedback to the Sustainability Committee on progress - success, grievances, and further recommendations.
  • The provision of separate waste bins and processes are in place for collection and disposal of electronic waste, paper, cans and general waste and ensuring the specific bins are available and accessible for use.
  • Promoting a strong environmental ethic as part of the organisation's culture.

Energy

Employees are to minimise their energy consumption in the workplace through specific actions such as:

  • Enabling power management settings on each employee workstation to ensure that the monitor goes to sleep after 5 minutes.
  • Turning on your computer equipment in the morning only when you need to start using it (both computers and printers) rather than habitually.
  • Turning your computers off when you leave for the day, over weekends or any time you are away from your desk for long periods of time;
  • Turning off, or using power settings to automatically turn your monitor off when you go to lunch, meetings or anytime you will be away from your computer.
  • Turning off printers and scanners at the end of the day and on weekends.
  • Utilising natural light and switch off lights where unnecessary.

Water

Employees are to minimise their water use by taking such actions as:

  • Reporting water leaks, drips and inefficient fittings to Campus Life or via the maintenance request form.
  • Not leaving the tap running for a long time while you are washing your hands.
  • Ensuring dishwashers are at capacity loads - smaller loads are a waste of energy and water.
  • Not flushing foreign matter (such as paper hand towels) down toilets.
  • Keeping a jug next to the sink and collect water when you're waiting for the hot or cold to come through - use the water to water plants in the office.

Waste

Employees have a commitment to minimise waste and maximise recycling. This can be done by:

  • Where waste cannot be avoided, re-use and recycling should be the aim. Actions should form into a hierarchy of priorities. In order of preference, the actions selected should:
    1. Avoid waste;
    2. Reduce waste;
    3. Re-use waste;
    4. Recycle and reclaim waste;
    5. Treat and dispose of waste.
  • Where possible separate waste between electronic waste, paper, cans and general waste and ensuring the specific bins are available and accessible for use.
  • Ensuring that you have a paper recycling box under the desk (use a 5-ream paper box as a paper recycling bin) and that it is emptied into the nearest blue paper recycling bin when full. If there is no blue bin close to your office area, request your supervisor organise one from Campus Life.
  • Do not habitually print emails and electronic documents – only if absolutely necessary.
  • Ensure the appropriate disposal and recycling of old goods e.g. computers, telephones, office furniture, stationery, computer disks, toner cartridges, fluorescent tubes. Contact Campus Life for more information.
  • Re-use one-sided paper as notepaper.
  • Ensure that all cans, bottles and plastic packaging is recycled – if there are no facilities nearby contact the sustainability coordinator or Campus Life.
  • Employees have a commitment to ensure that all electronic equipment (computers, monitors, televisions, mobile phones, desk phones etc.) are recycled.
    • There are several collection days every year for old non-working equipment or equipment with no value. Contact your local desktop support team for further information. This can be done by emailing Information Services.
    • For equipment that has some resale value these need to be sent to Finance and Business Services for auctioning.
    • Mobile phone recycling stations can be found at all the University libraries and Campus Life at South Bank Campus.

Purchasing

Employees have a commitment to procuring and purchasing environmentally, socially and economically sustainable products. This includes the purchase of both services and goods (i.e. workplace equipment, furniture, fittings etc). This can be achieved through actions such as:

  • Before purchasing furniture items, contact Campus Life to see what surplus furniture they have on campus.
  • Sustainable purchasing is aimed at improving the health of workplace environments – through improved air quality and reduced pollution; reduce waste; and reduce energy use over the product’s lifecycle. The employee’s commitment includes:
    • Life cycle environmental impact assessment of all products purchased.
    • Purchase 100% recycled products where possible e.g. paper, toilet/hand towel paper;
    • The purchase of non-toxic products and services;
  • Minimisation of goods and services purchased – reconsider necessity.
  • Employees should purchase only recycled paper from the University Stores.

Travel

  • Rather than using cars, employees should utilise alternative methods of transportation for work commitments with clients and between campuses where practicable.
  • Employees should consider all transport options when considering long-distance travel including train, bus, air and rental vehicles. The transport office (FBS) has a booking system that caters for car pooling.

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