Students Show Businesses It's Rewarding Being Green

Bond University students have designed a CSIRO award-winning ‘green business toolkit’ which shows companies how reducing carbon emissions can increase their returns.

Bond’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team has been named National Champion of the CSIRO’s Environmental Sustainability Grant Program for their toolkit, named GrassRoots.

Developed after close consultation with the industry, the toolkit allows businesses to understand the impact of their energy usage on the environment and their expenses.

The Bond SIFE team beat 20 other university groups to claim the national award.

GrassRoots includes information about climate change, a business energy audit and a green marketing guide, showing businesses how to reap the maximum benefits from ‘going green’.

“The toolkit allows businesses to see exactly what cost savings would be achieved by, for example, changing all their light bulbs to more energy efficient options or using their air-conditioners for one less hour each day,” said Bond SIFE President Chris Taylor.

If businesses already consider themselves as green advocates, the SIFE team’s green marketing guide provides best practice advice on how to market and maximize the impact of these decisions.

“Businesses need to communicate their actions to the public effectively, without falling into the trap of producing unfounded ‘green-wash’, which consumers may punish rather than support”, said Mr Taylor.

Bond SIFE is a student-led organisation that aims to make a difference to the local community by running projects that educate, impart skills and knowledge, and create sustainable business practices.

The toolkit is available from the Bond SIFE website, where businesses can also upload their energy audits, before and after changes, for direct measurement of results and customised feedback from SIFE members.