Purchases made by Council go sustainable!

Last month more than 100 staff attended Council’s Sustainable Purchasing Briefing Sessions. Staff from Financial Services and the Sustainability Unit undertook seven staff briefing sessions on the recently adopted Sustainable Purchasing Supply Policy. All staff where invited to attend to find out more about the policy, how to implement it and what sort of things they need to consider before making a purchase on behalf of Council.

The objectives of Council’s Sustainable Purchasing Supply Policy are to:

• Demonstrate to the community that Council’s purchasing decisions can improve markets for environmentally preferred products, enhance environmental quality; be resource responsible and contribute to progress toward sustainability,


• Purchase environmentally preferred products whenever they perform satisfactorily and are available at a reasonable price,


• Reduce impacts on the environment and human health through changing purchasing behaviour,


• Eliminate unnecessary purchasing,


• Make purchasing decisions in line with the waste hierarchy to avoid, reduce, reuse and recycle, and


• Improve the environment and contribute to progress towards sustainability
  

With this in mind all employees are now endeavouring to purchase goods and services with the most beneficial environmental impact and are considering the content of the product/service, products that are reusable and /or recyclable, and the environmental performance of goods, service and of the supplier.

To showcase some of the sustainable products available we also had Complete Office Supplies and the LGSAs Sustainable Choice Program there as well, demonstrating the wide variety of green products that are becoming more and more widely available.

To find out about some of the sustainable purchases Council is making click here.

Latest Sustainable Times Out Now

The latest edition of Penrith City Council's Sustainable Times newsletter is out now. The Sustainable Times is a newsletter aimed at local schools, and provides information on activities, projects and upcoming initiatives that might be of interest to schools and school children.

To download your copy simply click here. If you would like to be added to our mailing list send Krystie Race an email, stating your preference for an electronic or hard copy.

The Term 2 edition for 2008 is packed with useful information, including stories on:

- Schools come Clean
- Waste Wise Initiatives for Schools
- Walk Safely to School Day
- Every Drop Counts in Schools program.
- Children to run Council meeting
- Science in the Suburbs
- Next SPenSEN meeting

April Edition of the Sustainability Street Newsletter Out Now!

The latest edition of the Sustainability Street Newsletter for Penrith is out now. Click here to download your copy.


Read on for stories on:

- Now's the Time to Continue the Sustainability Street Journey!
- Upcoming Street Dates
- Last Words from Vanessa
- The Growers vs Green Thumbs
- Talkin (Sustainability) Shop
- Keeping that Enviro Momentum Going
- More Sustainability Streeters Now On the Street!
- The News in Brief

If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive a copy of the newsletter automatically just email Krystie Race and specify whether you would like to receive it electronically or in the mail.

Winner of the Name the Water Dragon Competition

Council recently held a competition to name its mascot for sustainability, the Eastern Water Dragon. The water dragon has been chosen as a symbol of Council’s Sustainable Penrith program because it lives along the banks of local waterways and represents Penrith City’s social, environmental and economic health.

More than 200 entries were received with many creative and innovative names suggested for our friendly lizard, making the job of judging a difficult one for our panel.

The winning name for the competition is ‘Echo’ the Eastern Water Dragon. The name ‘Echo’ was suggested by local resident, Karen Silversides of Glenmore Park. Karen put a lot of thought into the name and felt that the name was a perfect match for our mascot because how we treat the environment now will continue to echo down through generations to come. The name also has connections to the words ‘ecological’ and ‘ecosystems’ which are important within the sustainability context of our City.

By suggesting the winning name Karen not only wins the right to officially name our Eastern Water Dragon, she also receives tickets for 2 adults and 2 children to attend Taronga Zoo’s ‘Roar and Snore’ adventure, which includes overnight accommodation, meals and special behind the scenes access and tours through the Zoo.

Congratulations Karen and thank you for the thought you put into naming ‘Echo’. Naming our Mascot will help Council further promote awareness of the values for which he stands.

Earth Hour 2008- Business & School Update

Since our last blog entry (yesterday!) we have already had another organisation - St Marys Area Community Development project Inc. (SMACD) and another business - Crystal Clear Filtration Systems (Aust) Pty Ltd sign up for Earth Hour as well as another seven local schools, including Emmaus Catholic College, Oakville Public School, Caroline Chisholm College, Kingswood South Public School, Montgrove College, Mary MacKillop Primary School and St Marys North Public School. So that’s now a total of nine local schools, seven businesses and three organisations. Keep up the good work!

If you haven’t already signed up to show the world you care and pledged your commitment to Earth Hour all you need to do is click here to be directed to the Earth Hour website where you can register your business, school or organisation.

Earth Hour 2008 Update

As most of you would be aware Penrith City Council is once again throwing its support behind Earth Hour - an annual event coordinated by WWF Australia to raise awareness of climate change, while at the same time encouraging households, schools, businesses and organisations to take the practical steps that are needed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 5% over the coming year.

Along with millions of others around the globe, Penrith City Council will "power down" for one hour on Saturday 29 March at 8pm by turning off non-essential lighting across Council owned facilities and encouraging all staff to switch off machines and unplug appliances at the power point before they leave the office.

The inaugural Earth Hour event in 2007 saw Sydney plunge into temporary darkness as more than 2 million residents turned off lights and appliances, which, as a result, helped cut energy usage by 10 percent. This year Earth Hour has grown significantly, with more than 20 cities around the world signing up and millions of people in households, communities, businesses and corporations set to take part.

Several Council facilities, as well as a number of schools, businesses and organisations across Penrith City will be participating in Earth Hour this year – most noticeably by switching off their lights for one hour on Saturday 29 March at 8pm. Currently we have 89 residents across the Local Government Area; two local schools, including Holy Cross and St Clair Public School; six local businesses, including Altank Sheet Metal, Lindsay PieMaking Equipment Pty Ltd, Holistic Healing Therapies, eSpire Solutions, Colliers International and The Candle Hut and two organisations, including Technocrats Association of Australia and UWS have signed up, not to mention 10 Council owned facilities as well. Way to go Penrith City!

If you haven’t already signed up to show the world you care and pledged your commitment to Earth Hour all you need to do is click here to be directed to the Earth Hour website where you can register your home. Let’s see if we can hit 200!

Even if you can’t switch your lights off for the one hour period you can still participate. Earth Hour is as much about making the small changes needed to reduce energy consumption as it is about switching off the lights, so why not sign up for Earth Hour and start looking for areas where you can save 5%?

As an extra incentive to get involved Penrith City Council will commit to plant a native tree or shrub on behalf of each home, business or school that signs up to participate in Earth Hour 2008. The planting will be undertaken with assistance from NRMA Insurance through their communityhelp Grants Program and the planting will be undertaken in Werrington Creek Park, Cambridge Park.

For more information on Earth Hour and how you can make a difference, go to www.earthhour.org or visit our website.

Graduates of Sustainability

Saturday 1 March was an important day for members of Penrith's newest Sustainability Streets, with participants of the program graduating in a celebration held in the lovely grounds of Muru Mittigar.

After a week of rain Saturday dawned bright and sunny - just perfect for our requirements, with the sun lasting throughout the ceremony and through to the lovely BBQ lunch and bush tucker tasting, which seemed to be well and truly enjoyed by all.

Some special guests (apart from the Sustainability Street participants) were on hand to lend some ceremony to the occassion and included:

• The Mayor of Penrith City, Councillor Greg Davies;


• Council's Sustainability Champion, Councillor Karen McKeown;
  
• One of the founders of the Sustainability Street Approach, Dave Seignior, a Director of Vox Bandicoot Pty Ltd; and
  
• Group mentor, Vanessa Steele.

The highlight of the morning were some passionate and heart felt speeches from some of our sustainability graduands, putting into words how the Sustainability Street experience had affected them and what they had gleaned from the workshops since the program began way back in July 2007.

A big thanks and congratulations to Lee, Irene, Gretel and Janis who were the brave ones to get up and speak in front of the crowd!

A huge novelty cheque was also presented to both groups as part of the graduation ceremony to allow them to get a community project of their choice underway with the Mulgoa group choosing to work with Mulgoa Public School on a community vegetable garden, and the Garden Club working with Mamre House to improve their plant propogation and irrigation systems. The funding for these community projects was made possible by grant funding provided by the NSW Government through their Environmental Trust.

To find out more about the Sustainability Street program and getting your street, club or community involved email Council's Sustainability Education Officer or call 4732 8050.

February Edition of Sustainability Street Newsletter Out Now

The latest edition of the Sustainability Street newsletter for Penrith is out now. Click here to download your copy.



Read on for stories on:

• Newest Streets to Graduate


• Upcoming Street Dates


• Streets Avoid Toxic Chemicals


• Borax...Green Cleaner or Not?


• Earth Hour is Approaching: Show the World You Care!
  
• In Case You Hadn't Noticed...
  
• Independent GreenPower Advice Now Available
  
• Name the Water Dragon Competition

If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive a copy of the newsletter automatically just email Carmel Hamilton and specify whether you would like to receive it electronically or in the mail.

Australia Day Celebrations- A Big Hit!

Australia Day celebrations were once again a big hit at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, with the Australia Day summer sun out in full force and thousands of people flocking to watch and participate in the day’s activities and events.

From the largest Australian Flag (15,000 sq.ft) in Australia being flown beneath a helicopter above Penrith Lakes to the Roulettes aerobatic display, helicopter and aquatic stunt shows, main stage performances from Dean Geyer, Deni Hines, James Reyne, Dora The Explorer, Blinky Bill and the Australian Pro Wake Board Championships to name a few, the day was filled with action packed events on water and land.

The Sustainability Enviro area was also a huge success with interactive workshops and displays happening all day long. Our Sustainability display created a lot of interest with young kids, teenagers and even adults trying their hands at racing our model solar powered boats. A bit of cloud cover slowed the boats down for a short period of time, but the sun’s determination to shine through meant that the boats were back in action again in no time.

Unfortunately, like any race we had a wash out in the afternoon and the Red Rocket had to retire for the day with a broken rudder. But that didn’t stop the competition with the Blue Bandit still in action and slashing some of the best times of the day. Jacob (in the picture) had the fastest time of the day with 14.44 seconds - what a time!

We also had some great entries for the naming of Council’s Sustainable Penrith Mascot, the Eastern Water Dragon. Now remember the competition doesn’t close until the 29 February so keep those entries coming. If you need a copy of the entry form click here to download your copy. It might pay for you to think a little about the reason behind your suggested name – why not check out our fact sheet on water dragons for some inspiration.

Latest Sustainable Times Out Now

The latest edition of Penrith City Council's Sustainable Times newsletter is out now.

The Sustainable Times is a newsletter aimed at local schools, and provides information on activities, projects and upcoming initiatives that might be of interest to schools and school children.

To download your copy simply click here. If you would like to be added to our mailing list send Carmel Hamilton an email, stating your preference for an electronic or hard copy.

The Term 1 edition for 2008 is packed with useful information, including stories on:

• Name our Water Dragon & Win!
  
• Clean Up Schools Day: Coming Soon


• Endangered Species at Home in Penrith


• Playgrounds Go Smoke Free!


• A Win for Werrington Creek


• Cultural Exchange to Japan: Be an Ambassador for Penrith


• School Kid Celebrities!