First steps to becoming more sustainable
Looking for quick wins and easy cost savings without spending a lot. We have hints and tips to help all businesses.
The Yarra City Council’s Climate Emergency Plan 2024–30 commits to making sure every choice and action responds to the climate emergency. This page provides simple, practical tips that all businesses can follow to become more sustainable.
You’ll find:
information on business programs you can join to support your sustainability journey.
Pre-leasing checklist
Where you lease will have major impact on your electricity bill and the carbon footprint of your business. Understanding the building can better help identify what has been or could be done to improve the energy efficiency of the tenancy. This checklist helps identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of different premises and potential opportunities to negotiate or drive future change.
How to use this checklist
We suggest following this checklist in the numerical order, with items number three and onwards being given to real estate agents during initial scoping of sites. The real estate agents/property owners may not have the answers straight away, but they should be able to provide them. You can also download the checklist [ PDF, 372.3 KB] .
| 1. Location | Y/N and any notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Public Transport | Is public transport within 200m of the building? | |
| Active Transport | Does the building encourage staff to commute actively to work by providing amenities such as bike parking, showers or change facilities? | |
| Access | Does the tenancy allow for people with different abilities, such as wheelchair users, to enter easily on their own? | |
| 2. Design | Y/N and any notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Is the tenancy facing north or west? Melbourne is a net heating climate, meaning you will generally use more energy to heat the premises than cool it, having a premises orientated North or West will collect more sun and warmth reducing heating requirements. | |
| Windows | Does the building have north, east and west facing windows and can they be opened? As pre the orientation above, these windows are great for capturing sunshine to help heating, they also allow light and fresh air flow, potentially reducing the need to turn on lights and air-conditioning. | |
| Shading | Is there external shading to the north or west windows in summer? This can dramatically reduce the heat build up from north and west facing windows at hotter times of the year. | |
| 3. Property | Y/N and any notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Walls | Is the building insulated and if not, are there plans to insulate? | |
| Roof space | Like the walls, is the roof space insulated? | |
| Solar Panels | Have solar panels been installed? If not, can and will the owner install solar panels? Solar on the roof is the cheapest way to power your premises during the day and can save many thousands of dollars in electricity bills. | |
| Windows | Are the windows double glazed with timber, plastic of thermally broken aluminium frames? Timber, Plastic or Thermally broken aluminium window frames, combined with double glazing or thicker glass significantly reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. | |
| Heating | Is the building heated with electric heat pumps? Burning gas releases methane which is bad for people and the environment, for space heating electric heat pumps (reverse cycle air-conditioners) are cheaper to run and better for the environment. | |
| Cooling | Is the air-conditioning system less than 15 years old? Air conditioning systems more than 15 years old, generally use more than twice the energy of modern equivalently sized systems. | |
| 4. Ownership | Y/N and any notes |
|---|---|
| Does the owner have any sustainability goals? This could include plans for renewable energy, waste reduction, climate change mitigation or adaptation plans. | |
| Has the owner obtained a current NABERS or GreenStar rating to measure the energy performance of the building relative to others? | |
| Do you have a choice of electricity supplier? If not, is the embedded network provider choosing to purchase renewable energy? | |
| Has the owner or previous tenant had an energy audit completed? | |
| If an energy audit has been completed, have the recommended actions been taken or is there a plan for these actions to be taken? | |
| Will the owner commit to undertaking an energy audit and allowing you to undertake actions as required? An energy audit can be a as little as $1,000 yet often saves many thousands of dollars in energy costs if action items are actioned. Doing this early in a tenancy can make it worthwhile for tenants to complete many of these items themselves, as long as the owner consents. | |
| Has a water audit been completed and is being actioned? | |
| Does the owner have plans to shift the building to an all-electric premises? |
| 5. Operation | Y/N and any notes |
|---|---|
| Are there any electricity, gas or water bills available for the tenancy? If so, are they lower than other potential sites? | |
| Does the tenancy have a Building Management System? This will allow you to set the temperature range of the premises to align with the seasons, it should also be more efficient than relying on manual processes. | |
| Does the tenancy have LED lighting? LED lighting uses significantly less electricity than older technology light globes. | |
| Are lights in storage rooms, bathrooms or other little used spaces on sensors so they turn off when not in use? If not, are they on switches that are easily accessible so they can be easily turned off? | |
| Does the premises have water efficient fixtures, such as WELS rated taps and shower heads? | |
| Does the premises have separate internal bins for glass, cans, paper, cardboard, and compost? | |
| Does the premises have on-site composting or can it be set up? |
Other information sources. Note many residential solutions will be applicable for small business premises.
- Solar for Business Solar Panel (PV) Buyers Guide
- Compare energy retailers
- Resources to help you save money and emissions
- Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity- Independent, not for profit targeting greater energy productivity and decarbonisation support for business success.
- CitySwitch - Australia’s flagship decarbonisation program for office-based businesses.
Energy efficiency checklist
This checklist is designed to help you save money and reduce emissions. It has actions that are easy (you can complete) and stretch (you may need a professional/equipment). You can also download the checklist [ PDF, 520.6 KB] .
- Check and maintain equipment regularly, including cleaning refrigeration coils, replacing worn seals and checking insulation around piping.
- Put appliances such as non-perishable drinks fridges, coffee machines and lights on timers or controls to turn down or off when not in use.
- Check that thermostats are accurately calibrated within fridges and cool rooms. Check room temperature with your heating and cooling system.
- Adjust temperature settings for the season to save heating and cooling costs. Winter should be between 18 and 21⁰C while summer should be between 22 and 26⁰C.
- Ensure exterior doors close automatically.
- Clean windows and skylights to reduce daytime lighting needs.
- Ensure lighting fixtures or covers are cleaned.
- Ensure all doors close tightly. If you have open fridge or freezer display cases, consider fitting them with doors or replacing them with new models.
- Service large walk-in cool rooms annually, including cleaning, refrigerant levels, and a check of moving parts. (Stretch)
- Consider retrofitting existing refrigerators and display cases with modern high efficiency motors and variable speed drives.(Stretch)
- Ensure employees don’t use personal heating and cooling equipment - these negatively impact main HVAC systems.
- Ensure temperature settings are suitable for each room, and unused spaces aren’t being heated or cooled.
- Regularly change or clean HVAC filters. Dirty filters use more energy and reduce air quality.
- Remove furniture and other obstructions from areas in front of vents.
- Close exterior doors whilst running the HVAC system.
- Repair or replace damaged pipes, insulation or other parts. (Stretch)
- Calibrate thermostats with ambient air temperature and check sensor locations. Adjust temperature settings if they are inaccurate. (Stretch)
- Investigate the energy savings of a retrofit with variable speed drives and energy-efficient motors. (Stretch)
- Install window films, add external blinds (or internal if not practical) insulation and/or cool roof painting to reduce energy consumption.(Stretch)
- In winter, open blinds to take advantage of daylight and sun to warm the building.
- Replace old incandescent and fluorescent lighting with LEDs.
- Ensure dimmable lights are set to the appropriate level.*
- Install LED exit signage.
- Install signage to remind users to turn off lights when not in use.
- Upgrade lights to be on motion and daylight sensors. (Stretch)
- Install movement or infra-red sensors linked to the lights. (Stretch)
*LED lights dim over time. They should be turned down initially and turned up over time to maintain the same light output. You can borrow a light meter from Yarra Libraries to measure your lighting levels.
| AS/NZS 16802 recommended lighting levels | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kitchenettes and dining areas: 240 lux | Offices: 320 lux | Storerooms: 80 lux |
| Corridors: 40 lux | Detailed work: 600 lux | |
- Ensure appliances have an Energy Efficiency Label – the higher stars the better.
- Select dark mode for Windows and Apple operating systems and applications.
- Turn down the brightness on a computer monitor, which can cut its energy use by a quarter while reducing eyestrain.
- Ensure sleep settings are activated on laptops, monitors, printers, copiers and other devices so they go into a low power mode when not in use.
- Swap out desktop computers for laptops, which use significantly less energy than desktop computers.
- Include prompts that remind people to close doors / turn off lights / HVAC if not on sensors or timers.
- Promote the results of energy saving initiatives to staff and customers.
- Include energy efficiency messaging in your staff inductions.
- Encourage staff to dress for the season, so HVAC can be set at seasonal temperatures.
- Review interval data (available through CitiPower or Jemena) to ensure energy use is as expected and equipment isn’t left on when it isn’t needed.
Join the CitySwitch program
Yarra City Council supports CitySwitch, Australia's flagship decarbonisation program for office-based businesses. This makes if free for local businesses to join and learn where to start on your de-carbonisation journey. Whilst the content is prepared for office-based businesses, much of the content is suitable to far more than just your office space.
Utilise the Victorian Energy Upgrade (VEU) program
The Victorian Energy Upgrade (VEU) program is a government initiative that provides discounts on energy saving products, such as:
- hot water systems
- lighting
- heating and cooling
The average business saves $3,700 per year by participating in the VEU program.
The Essential Services Commission approves each registered product under the program to meet minimum efficiency, quality and safety benchmarks.
Find out more about eligible products and search for accredited suppliers.
For assistance getting started and accessing the VEU program, please contact us via [email protected].
Get an energy audit
An energy audit focusses on providing actionable energy conservation measures to reduce energy consumption and energy bills. There are three levels of energy audits, as detailed by the Energy Efficiency Council.