(Justmeans.com / CSR News) - March 18, 2010 – An existing program by Australia’s Commonwealth Government, Re-Tooling for Climate Change, has been issuing business grants for small to mid-sized manufacturers to reduce their environmental footprint through efficient equipment, yet many still do not prioritize sustainability. 

The initiative has been running since 2008, along with a strong public and political agenda that urges companies to improve their environmental performance. Accomplished mostly through financial assistance and information, many large companies have already reduced emissions.  Grants have been offered from $10,000 to $500,000 that could provide up to half of the cost of projects that improve energy and water usage. 
     
However, most small and mid-sized companies have still not taken the bait.  “There are exceptions, but our research into the attitudes of smaller businesses shows that most don't see the need to change their environmental behavior as part of their core business” says Beth Walker, a Professor of Business Enterprise at Edith Cowan University.  “Even when a free energy audit is offered, a lot of companies are not interested.”

However, mid-sized companies like Craft Fibreglass Composites are keenly aware of the pressures that trickle down to small businesses.  Marketing Director Elio Nobrega says it was obvious the extra costs of old machines in their electricity bill.  “When we started looking at alternatives, we realized there was a new generation of equipment that is energy efficient and cost-competitive. That's good for us and also good for the environment. You have to look at the life of the machinery, not just the purchase cost."

A small company that has already gained some sustainability experience is Ferguson Plarre Bakehouse, which won the 2009 Origin Gold Banksia Award for excellence in sustainability and the 2009 NAB Agribusiness Award for Environment and Energy Management.  The company did take advantage of the free energy audits, and looking past the short-term costs added Victoria’s first diesel- hybrid truck to the company, established a program to plant native trees as an offset, and set up a ‘real time’ energy consumption monitor in a high-traffic corridor. 

“We highlight our approach in our marketing, and I believe it gives us an edge” says Plarre. “And we believe that eventually governments will increase the regulatory burden, so all companies will have to take up these practices.  By doing it now, we are building in a competitive advantage.”

Professor Walker agrees: “"Maybe as a business owner you don't accept global warming, maybe you can't stand the Greens. It doesn't matter.  But making environmentally better changes improves your bottom line. It makes good business sense."