Smart business: Smart business = good business - fact sheet 1
Straightforward advice to help vehicle repairers get ahead in today’s business environment
Environmental best practice is good for the bottom line – that’s what smart firms are finding out when they take an approach to business management that focuses on:
- reducing the use of energy, water and materials
- minimising waste and pollution
- increasing efficiency and reducing costs
LESS WASTE = lower waste disposal costs
LESS WATER = lower water and trade waste costs
LESS ENERGY = lower power bills
LESS POLLUTION = no fines, less business risk and a better work environment
This series of fact sheets gives practical advice about pollution prevention and business efficiency measures to all firms involved in vehicle repair activities who want to be smart businesses:
- Smart business
- Managing stormwater and trade wastewater
- Hazardous substances: storage and use
- Spill control: thinking ahead for rapid response
- Managing and minimising waste
- Air pollution and noise control
- Energy efficiency: saving power adds up
- Water efficiency: saving water = saving money
- Materials efficiency: less resources = more profit
- Smart systems: measure to manage profit and the environment in your business
- Service stations (vehicle refuelling facilities)
- Mobile operations and vehicle recovery
These fact sheets pass on practical and straightforward tips that are the key to the financial success of resource-efficient companies.
They will enable you to help protect New Zealand’s clean, green image on which much of our economy depends – think of tourism, agriculture, food and films.
It’s about much more than just complying with the law – it’s also about profit and lifestyle.
Your environmental action plans and priorities
As you go through the Risk Radar programme, you will generate various action plans. But you can’t do all of them at once, so you will need to set some priorities.
You may find you need to spend some money on environmental protection – if so:
- use the tips in fact sheets 5, 7, 8 and 9 to make some financial savings from environmental efficiency
- use these savings to help offset the costs of any environmental compliance needs you identify in the other fact sheets
- use the tips in fact sheet 10 to streamline your management systems to get bang for buck from your environmental efficiency and compliance measures
The costs of environmental equipment, products and waste services can sometimes be a deterrent. But why not consider environmental costs as a normal part of your operating expenses? It is reasonable for your pricing policy to reflect these costs. Tell your customers why you believe caring for the environment is important – and look for the efficiency savings that will make your environmental improvements cost-neutral – or even profitable.
The business case
Environmentally responsible vehicle repairers gain business benefits from:
- more efficient use of energy, water and materials – and time
- reduced environmental impacts
- better competitive edge
- higher profits
- improved staff morale, retention, teamwork and productivity
- meeting the expectations of suppliers who may be looking for established/documented environmental management systems
On the other hand, poor environmental performance is not good for your business, your employees, your customers or your local community. It can harm the health and safety of your staff, your company image, its financial performance and your own quality of life. It can also result in prosecution and fines, as well as higher insurance premiums and reduced book value.
The legal case
The owners, managers, staff and subcontractors of New Zealand businesses need to know that laws like the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HASE) and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO) make employers responsible for ensuring that their activities and those of their employees do not result in injuries to others or pollution of the environment.
Resource Management Act (RMA)
The RMA prohibits unauthorised discharges of contaminants to air, land and water. Put simply, this means that it is illegal to pollute the air, soil or any waterway, either directly or via a stormwater drainage system. Pollution includes the introduction of litter, wash water, oil, paint, detergents etc into stormwater drains and/or water, or the emission of odours, smoke, dust or any other substances to the air. Councils and the courts can impose fines or even imprisonment for this kind of pollution. To find out more about the RMA go to www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/resource/index.html.
Hazardous Substances & New Organisms Act (HSNO)
HSNO controls the storage, use and manufacture of hazardous substances – those that are explosive, flammable, oxidising, toxic, corrosive, or ecotoxic (harmful to the environment). It replaces previous laws such as the Dangerous Goods Act and the Toxic Substances Act.
Hazardous substances used by vehicle repairers such as solvents, paints and cleaning agents may be controlled by HSNO and you must comply with the regulations that apply to those substances, for example by having an approved handler on site. Breaches of the HSNO Act also make you liable for prosecution or imprisonment. To find out more on HSNO go to www.hsno.govt.nz or www.ermanz.govt.nz or call 0800 376 234.
The best case
We New Zealanders see the environment as one of our key community concerns. We all want and expect all sectors of the community to care about, protect and improve it. Who stands to benefit? We all do.
Good luck with your action plans as you take the time to go through the Risk Radar programme.
Acknowledgements
IAG NZ gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry for the Environment and the use of information from the New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency, the Auckland Regional Council and Auckland Panel and Paint in tailoring this fact sheet for use in New Zealand.
