Business News
Fuji Xerox chooses sustainability for its new Brisbane office design
Wednesday 24. December 2008 - Designed for the environment; tenants also educated on green practices, including BYO coffee cups to onsite café and walk/cycle to work initiatives.
Fuji Xerox Australia continues its commitment to environmental and social sustainability with the relocation of its Brisbane office to the SW1 precinct in South Brisbane.
“The relocation has been about discovering new ways to work together, smarter and greener amongst the Brisbane-based teams,” said Garry Gray, Queenslands State Operations Manager for Fuji Xerox Australia.
The new Fuji Xerox tenancy fit out on level five has been designed with advice from an accredited sustainability consultant.
“A key objective was to create an environmentally sustainable office. The sustainability consultant helped guide Fuji Xerox in taking all steps necessary to achieve our sustainability goal, including developing a tenant guide to help occupants make the most of the environmental features and ensuring 80% of construction waste was separated out for reuse and recycling,” said Gray.
All the Fuji Xerox staff has received guides on Staying Green during their working week. Advice within the Staying Green guide* includes “Do this for a week
and save this much CO2”, covering:
Turn off the lights at end of the day – 5.4 kg for every fluorescent tube
Catch public transport, walk or ride to work instead of driving – 50 kg (for 15 km commute)
Turn off the vending machine overnight – 38 kg
Turn off your computer when you leave work – 15 kg
Turn off the printer at end of the day – 6.5 kg
Take the stairs instead of the lift -3 kg (0.1kg per trip)
Brisbanes Fuji Xerox team are also being encouraged to take their own mugs to the onsite café at the new premises. “It may not save energy, but each person will produce a 1/30th of the waste compared to choosing a disposable cup,” says Gray.
The relocation has encouraged team members to rethink their transport approach. Services Delivery Manager Kim Aitken, who lives 25km away from the new office, intends to cycle the final five kilometres, saving a possible 33kg of CO2 each day. “Im a bit of a fitness freak, with a young child, so this allows me to squeeze my fitness commitments into my schedule as well as contributing positively to the environment.”
Similarly, business development executive Christine Mullins is now walking to work. “I live just under a kilometre from the new office and Im an active person who likes to stay healthy. All in all its better for the environment and my fitness levels to leave the car at home,” she said.
Further sustainable and environmental initiatives at the new South Brisbane premises include:
Indoor Environment Quality
Joinery constructed of EO1 board, certified to be low formaldehyde
Low VOC paints used throughout
Blinds installed to assist in controlling day light glare
Screen monitor arms provided at workstations as required
Energy
Metering installed to monitor energy intensive areas
C-bus and sensor lighting system installed allowing individual zones to be controlled
Water
High efficiency fixtures installed
AELA certified, Scheivello workstations
Gregory task chairs selected for their high eco-preferred content, design for reuse/disassembly, product stewardship, extended warranty
Land use and ecology
High building efficiency when tenancy is completely fitted out
Cleaners use environmentally friendly cleaning products
Waste and recycling
Paper recycle boxes are in all work areas
Bins in the kitchen for general waste, aluminium cans and plastic and glass recycling
As well as its working environments, Fuji Xerox Australia also takes responsibility for its own products at every stage of their life cycle, from cradle to grave.
“Our parent company has established an integrated recycling system for end-of-life equipment, parts and cartridges that not only allows us to reduce new resource input to product manufacture, but also reduces the carbon footprint of the manufacturing process itself. Our ISO14001 certified, United Nations award-winning Eco-Manufacturing Centre in Sydney continues to innovate and increase parts remanufacture activity,” says Gray.
Fuji Xerox Australia also produces an independently assured, annual Sustainability Report on its activities, with the most recent revealing targets of zero waste to landfill by 2010, and 100% green power by 2011.