Our Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

theFM Studio is committed to best practice with regard to environmental sustainability. This is demonstrated in the values that we embrace while actively involved in various activities to promote sustainability within the workplace and the wider community. We are aware that environmental sustainability is more than just reducing our business operations’ impact on the environment. It can help our business become more resilient and productive, save on costs and give us a distinct competitive advantage.

At a high level, our activities include: the responsible acquisition, installation, use and disposal of ICT products & services so as to utilise resources more effectively, improve efficiency, increase productivity and reduce the environmental impact of operations; the reduction in energy & water consumption; improved waste management and responsible recycling initiatives; minimising commuting to workplaces and the use of public transport where necessary and; reduction in office consumables – paper & printer ink. Our current sustainability improvements include:

Reducing Energy Consumption by – 

    • Converting all halogen & incandescent lights/light-bulbs in the office to LED & CFL’s.
    • Enforcing a policy of switching off all equipment & appliances at the wall – not just placing them in ‘standby mode’.
    • Minimising use of 5 star rated AirCon unit, by using workstation fans instead.
    • Upgrade of Electric water heater to a more energy efficient Heat Pump.
    • Installation of Smart electricity meter.
    • Installing light & movement sensors to automatically switch lights on/off.
    • Being aware of heat escaping in winter & heat entering in summer by keeping doors & windows closed during the hot & cold times of day/night. Otherwise, in non-extreme temperature conditions, allowing air to flow and ventilate throughout the property by opening windows & doors.
    • Introducing a policy of only purchasing computer equipment, peripherals & other office appliances with a high energy star efficiency rating.

Reducing Water Consumption by –

    • Replacing toilets, urinals, shower heads & taps with WELS water efficiency products.

Waste Disposal & Re-cycling by –

    • Introducing a strict policy on waste recycling by separating genuine rubbish from garden waste, recyclable plastics, glass & metal products, cardboard & paper.
    • Disposing of used batteries responsibly at OfficeWorks used battery collection depots.
    • Using the blank reverse side of junk mail collateral & envelopes of received mail as office note paper.
    • Use of G1 Asset Management – experts in computer recycling & secure IT asset disposal for ‘end-of-life’ computers, servers and other electrical office equipment/appliances.

Saving fuel & travel expenses by –

  • Reducing the number of hours spent commuting & use of the car. All employees work primarily from their home offices, unless they are required to work onsite at our clients locations.
    • Use of conferencing & collaborative software to connect remotely to people rather than commute to onsite meetings.
    • Use of public transport where necessary to work onsite to avoid commuting by car (reducing the hassle of city traffic, extortionate parking fees and fuel costs)

    Other initiatives 

    • Printing to PDF and storing files in a document management system in soft copy rather than printing to hard copy – reducing the consumption of vast amounts of paper and very expensive printer ink cartridges.
    • Refilling printer ink cartridges from time to time from large bottles of ink, bought in bulk.
    • Not using Nespresso aluminium coffee pods!
    • Employing good husbandry techniques in the kitchen to reduce food waste, which might otherwise end up as landfill.
    • Reducing all consumables.

Our future sustainability improvements include:

    • Installing solar panels & a Tesla Wall unit.
    • Recycle ‘grey water’.
    • Installing rain water tanks.
    • Replacing all appliances (washing machine, dishwasher) with WELS water efficiency products
    • Replacing all appliances with more efficient energy star ratings.
    • To recycle garden waste and use for composting.
    • Review building insulation for better heat saving efficiencies (ie: renew ceiling insulation with more efficient sustainable materials – with greater R-Value)
    • Installing high efficiency (five or six-star rated) natural gas heater.
    • To continue to strive to sustain our environment by better management of natural resources and waste – saving us money – without compromising our standard of living or comfort.
    • The acknowledgement that all the simple things we can do at home and work to conserve and protect our habitat, will improve our quality of life and reduce costs.

Footnote: Our company was one of the first in Australia to drive the new wave of mobile products and services by developing innovative Mobile Apps using FileMakerGo on iPhones & iPads. The ability to access office systems away from the office and out in the field – on mobile devices, provided an enormous opportunity for our company to be more environmentally & socially responsible. We were early adopters of the new technologies provided by Apple hardware, FileMaker’s software and telcos fast 4G networks. We were amongst the first to develop Mobile Apps that would contribute to businesses sustainability on all levels. Furthermore, being at the forefront of this innovation, we benefited by attracting innovative employees and a dramatic increase in clients wanting to jump on the band wagon. And that was good for business.

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ADS | IJP | 2016