Environmental Steps Forward

Environmental steps forward

Facilitated by Sustainability Victoria – a State Government statutory authority -“ the College has commenced a journey towards achieving a 5 Star Sustainability Certification over the coming years. As a first step the College has formed a ResourceSmart Planning Group that is charged with the responsibility of guiding the school to reduce our ecological footprint as well as educate staff and students in making environmentally responsible decisions. We look forward to reporting on their progress which will in coming months include the production of a School Environment Management Plan (SEMP).

Supporting this objective, the College in the recent term break implemented two projects that were significant steps forward in that regard.

Gym Lighting

The O’Malley Gym was previously lit with 400-watt Metal Halide lights that have now been replaced with 150-watt light emitting diodes (LED). It is estimated that this one change will reduce electricity usage by 62.5% or 15,034 kWh p.a. whilst also delivering environmental savings of 18.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions p.a. When you take into consideration the lesser use of electricity along with the 15-year life of the new LED fittings the operational costs are estimated to be reduced by over $5,000 p.a.

Beyond the environmental and economic gains, the gym is now significantly brighter with lux levels rising from a measure of 80 to 320 as well as the system having enhanced functionality as lights now are dimmable, can be individually controlled, are sectionable and programmable. We look forward to these upgrades enhancing the experience of students and all users of the facility.

With the success of this project we are now looking to including the installation of LED systems in the new Food Technology and Boarding facilities.

Photocopiers

Also during the break, we upgraded the entire fleet of College photocopiers to the latest energy efficient Fuji Xerox devices. The new fleet incorporates a number of environmentally friendly features such as a 44% reduction in power used in standby mode, LED technology for image scanning and other features that reduce power consumption and CO2 emissions.

The systems various software applications also deliver a number of print reduction strategies that will lead to the use of less toner and paper. Your son has been issued with a new student card that allows him to access the Follow Me print method that allows him to release his printing at any device across the campus.

Despite its host of productivity and environmental gains the system is also a winner on the economics front. It’s a significantly cheaper system as well!

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