Hobsons Bay City Council held a Business Breakfast on 16 April, attended by more than 150 business leaders from the municipality. Andreas Kammel, Environment Policy Manager for Toyota Australia, was an inspiring guest speaker. He spoke of how the ‘Toyota Way’ drives sustainability at his company.
One element in the Toyota way is to take on challenge. The installation in 2014 of a 500 KW solar panel plant at Toyota’s Altona North site is a great example. The project, co-funded by the Clean Technology Investment Fund (a program since discontinued by the Australian Government), provides power for the factory’s engine plant. It’s the largest solar roof installation in Victoria, the third largest in Australia.
Another important element is teamwork. This concept underpins Toyota’s partnerships on sustainability initiatives with suppliers, dealers, government and even competitors. To this end, the company has joined forces with Hobsons Bay City Council and City West Water to provide free water and energy audits to small and medium-sized businesses and schools in the Hobsons Bay area. This program utilises skilled personnel from each of the partners to identify opportunities for environmental efficiencies for their customers. Indications are that the program is already showing participants how to make useful cost savings.
For further information on the free water and energy audits in Hobsons Bay and funding assistance for small business sustainability, please visit Hobsons Bay City Council’s website here.
(Posted by the Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action)
