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Green Public |
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Savings & Loans In The Community |
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Savings & Loans Green Loans
Savings & Loans now have a range of green loans, which have proven to be immensely popular among our members.In addition to our Green Car Loan (previously Breathe Easy), which offers a reduced interest rate loan for purchasing an environmentally friendly vehicle, Savings & Loans has also introduced Green Personal Loans#.
Green Personal Loans provide members with a reduced interest rate loan for the purchase of “green” products. “Green” products are any solar energy product, or any product that is greenhouse friendly, water saving and/or energy efficient, low toxicity or fuel efficient, such as solar hot water systems, rain water tanks, solar panels, insulation, grey water treatment systems and more. Check out more information on our Green Loans at savingsloans.com.au/personalloans
community&environment blog
Do you think there is more to be done with linking business and community? Are you worried about the health of the environment? Do you feel strongly about certain ethical issues? Would you like to see more done in the way of sustainable development? If it’s important to you, we want to hear about it! Savings & Loans’ most recent blog, community&environment, has been created as a way to bring our members, as well as the wider community, together to discuss the environment and community. This blog is an online environment where you can share tips on being ‘greener’, express concerns, discuss events, share opinions, and speak up about topics that are relevant to the environment and community. You can join a discussion or start your own – all you need is an opinion. Visit savingsloans.typepad.com/community
Conservation Volunteers Australia
In early 2007, Savings & Loans partnered up with Conservation Volunteers Australia, to encourage all staff, members and the community, to become involved in environmental projects. Conservation Volunteers Australia is a not-for-profit, non-political, independent and community based organisation that works with groups of volunteers on important conservation projects for the betterment of the environment. Whether it’s assisting with habitat protection, rehabilitation projects, responding to climate change or a number of other efforts to build sustainability, there are plenty of fantastic opportunities to make a difference.Savings & Loans has a commitment to making a positive impact on the community and environment. By investing our time and resources into environmental initiatives, we’re actively promoting solutions to climate change, and hope to show others the steps they can take to join us. We encourage our staff, members and community to become involved. For more information visit savingsloans.com.au/community
Project Zero - Carbon Neutral by 2010
Everything we do produces carbon - from switching on our computers to starting up our cars. Carbon emission puts a huge strain on our environment, causing climate change issues as well as a number of other environmental problems.
In an effort to lessen our environmental footprint, Savings & Loans has a goal of reducing our total net carbon emission down to zero (carbon neutral) by the year 2010. While it is impossible to eliminate all carbon emissions, through cutting our use of natural resources and carbon offsetting, we intend on becoming carbon neutral. To achieve this, we have a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling program in place in all of our branches and departments and encourage all staff to develop environmentally-friendly travel plans. Our ‘Green Days’ have also been a huge success, where all members of staff are encouraged to leave their vehicles at home and take environmentally friendly transport to work. Small steps can add up to make a big difference. For more information about how we’re helping the environment, visit savingsloans.com.au/environment
# Terms, conditions, fees, charges and lending criteria apply and are available upon application. This information and advice is provided without reference to your personal circumstances so you should consider whether this product fits your objectives, financial situation and needs. You should consider the disclosure documents when deciding whether to buy or hold this product. Contact Savings & Loans for a copy of the disclosure documents, or visit savingsloans.com.au
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Five Handy Tips To Help Take The Heat Off Your Winter Energy Use |
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With World Environment Day fast approaching (Thursday, 5 June) Origin, Australia’s number one green energy provider is encouraging households to lower their energy consumption to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills.
In winter, the typical Origin household consumes approximately 2700 kWh of energy, which is 7 per cent more than in the warmer months.
The following five tips provide easy ways for households to use energy without sacrificing comfort this chilly season:
1. Set temperatures wisely
Thermostats and heaters should be set at a maximum 8ºC higher than outside temperatures. A higher degree setting can increase the cost on your energy bill by up to 10 per cent.
2. Let in natural light
Open blinds during sunny winter days and allow the sun to heat the inside of your home.
3. Replace standard light globes with energy efficient globes.
Energy efficient globes cut greenhouse gas emissions and running costs by up to 75% but produce just as much light.
4. If it blinks, switch it off!
Many appliances use less electricity when they’re doing little or nothing, so don’t forget to turn off the TV or computer screen when you’ve finished using them.
5. Install AAA rated shower roses
It may be cold, but using the shower to heat up is not the best solution for you and the environment. Change from a standard 15 litre/minute flow rose to 9 litre flow and you may save more than 450 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions this winter.
Origin’s Anne Armansin understands the growing financial pressures families face today and recognises that higher energy consumption during winter can add to this burden, not to mention place added pressure on the environment.
“As the colder months approach, households tend to increase their heating usage without considering running costs and the impact this has on their energy bills and the environment. There are simple actions people can take to reduce their energy consumption, save money on their bills and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions,” Armansin said.
To find out more visit Origin’s Energy Institute at energyinstitute.com.au
For further information or to arrange an interview with Anne Armansin, please contact:
Undertow Media
Natalia Totsikas
0431 022 655
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Kate Aurel-Smith:
0409 528 024
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Origin
Amelia Daly:
0413 616 435
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About Origin
In Australia, Origin retails electricity to 1.8 million customers and natural gas and LPG to over 1.2 million customers mostly in eastern Australia. Origin is Australia’s leading green energy retailer and sells a range of sustainable energy products including GreenPower, Green Gas and carbon offsets to residential and business customers. In June 2007 Origin reached a key milestone of 250,000 green energy customers. Through Contact Energy, we sell electricity, natural gas and LP Gas (LPG) to a customer base of nearly 650,000 in New Zealand.
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Organic food: You've bitten into a world of biodiversity. You're eating from better eco-systems. |
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The benefits of biodiversity and best environmental practice will be formally recognised over the next two weeks as world-wide attentions go eco-aware - and organic is ahead.
The period, spanning International Biodiversity Day (22/05/98) and International Environment Day (05/06/08) provides opportunity for consumers to consider behind-the-scenes of eating organic – namely, increased species activity and wildlife preservation.
Dr. Andrew Monk, standards chair of BFA, says both have been left behind in non-organic agriculture.
“They’ve been at best neglected and at worst fundamentally under-mined over the last sixty years of singular agricultural focus on increased agricultural output (through synthetic chemical inputs)”.
“Functional biodiversity as utilised in organic farm systems should not be seen as a luxury – it’s an essential element of our food production systems”.
“Major independent studies have confirmed organic farming actively contributes to better levels of biodiversity at every level of the food chain than does conventional”.
“Organic agriculture is proving that we not only must, but can, have our environmental cake and eat it too”.
Among the species observed to increase under organic land management are invertebrates, insects, butterflies, birds, small mammals and flowering plants.
Insects benefit from use of organic pest control methods (Integrated Pest Management) which use a natural balance of important predatory insects to feed on and control problem pests, rather than applying non-targeted pesticides which eradicate all species.
In Australia, ladybirds, spiders, predatory thrips, wasps, praying mantis, ants and lacewings can be found working in organic farm systems.
Below the ground diversity in microbial life is also enhanced in organic soil matter. As an environmental bonus, Greg Paynter, BFA soil health technician, says better soil and crop biodiversity leads to better carbon storage.
“Diversity in plant life when multiple species of plants are grown means greater diversity in root exudates, which aids soil nutrient recycling and carbon sequestration”.
Diversity in the type of crops grown in organic systems also guards against possible food production system devastation from disease.
“Monoculture (where only one species of crop is grown intensively) creates an environment that is conducive to disease pathogens. The Irish potato famine where a narrow genetic stream of plants resulted in one strain of disease (potato blight) destroying their entire crop is a classic case in point. This is counteracted in organic systems to some extent by increasing farm resilience and viability through the eco-services of diverse fauna and flora,” says Mr Paynter.
Under the BFA Australian Organic Standard, practices such as shelter belts, corridors, wetlands and remnant vegetation protection are encouraged for best environmental practise. It is mandatory for land managers to provide appropriate native vegetation areas greater than 5% of total farm land area.
“This is not a one day of the year event, but an every meal issue”, says Dr. Monk.
Contact BFA for more information and details of Australian organic farmers utilising biodiversity:
Media contact: Jaime Newborn ph. 07 3350 5716 ext 222 e-mail
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Media enquiries: Dr. Andy Monk, BFA Standards Chair ph. 0429 960 044
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Are Your Children's Walls Safe? |
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Bauwerk colour has created a new range of natural paint colours for
children's rooms, which allows kids to draw on their walls with chalk ,
just a like a giant chalkboard. So unleash your inner child , its easy
and safer for kids, chalk just wipes off ready for the next round of
fun.
BAUWERK Paints are giving the phrase freshly painted a new meaning:
Paint
produced using abundant resources, without toxic by-products, free from
harmful substances, technically brilliant, greenhouse gas free, carbon
neutral and user friendly.
The nesting instinct may be a
natural urge, but many of the products and materials used by expectant
parents to create a nursery or children's room can be a danger to the
health of babies and young children. This is a critical time to
consider the impacts of chemical pollution and to take the time to
create a healthy space for your little ones.
Babies are at
greatest risk from chemical exposures because their skin absorbs up to
three times the amount of chemical absorbed by an adult.Babies and
young children breathe twice as much air as adults, so they have
greater exposure to chemicals from the air.
Visit www.bauwerk.com.au for more details.
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