Eco-ness

The crew at EcoDepot love discovering the wonderful, quirky and artistic eco-friendly goods being created by clever people around the country and the planet. They are also passionate about discovering the balance between running a business and caring for the environment.

It is definitely the challenge of the age and one that needs constant vigilance.

At present, EcoDepot are practicing a number of strategies aimed at minimising their impact on the planet and they know that there will always be new ways of doing this, but you have to start somewhere and this is what they have done.

The office sources its electricity through Origin’s Green Earth Electricity program until the grid connected solar panels are installed. Of course the lights are all low wattage CFLs (compact fluorescents) and all appliances are not only switched off when not in use, they are turned off at the wall to avoid phantom power issues. The office policy for winter is blankets and beanies instead of heaters and t-shirts. The staff are powered by yummy organic food delivered weekly by Doorstep Organics. Printing of documents is avoided wherever possible and information is backed up electronically. All office furniture and fittings have been sourced second hand.

All printed materials such as catalogues and business cards are created through Planet Press’ EnviroPrint scheme. This system utilises paper that would otherwise be off-cuts sent to paper manufacturers as pre-consumer waste to be recycled. Planet Press uses vegetable based inks and has excelled standards for the health and wellbeing of their employees.

Since the majority of business is mail order received through both the website and phone calls, packaging is the major logistical challenge. All reusable packaging received from suppliers is stored for reuse when shipping out orders to clients. At this stage only two new products have been purchased for use in packaging; cellulose tape to seal boxes and 100% post consumer recycled paper for when goods need to be wrapped. All other materials (and there have not been many) are sourced second hand.

For the delivery of small orders and those out of the region, Australia Post is used. The theory is that their infrastructure already exists and is in motion regardless.

When delivering large orders or picking up stock from suppliers the EcoDepot delivery van kicks into action. This diesel van runs on biodiesel and is fitted with a second fuel tank, which allows waste vegetable oil to be used as an alternative fuel.

Short car trips are avoided because this is when engines (especially diesels) are most inefficient. If a car must be used for a short trip, the office car (a 2004 Toyota Prius Electric-petrol hybrid) is used.

When interstate travel is required, staff offset their emissions using Climate Friendly and all staff are regularly involved in local Bushcare initiatives, helping to maintain local biodiversity and to create new areas of forest in under utilised parcels of urban land. Any waste generated by staff or business activities are composted, put in the worm farm or sent off for recycling. Almost nothing gets put into the general waste.

Most of these actions are simple and cost nothing to implement. Individually they may seem small, yet their collective impact has created a business that is truly low impact. As the business continues to grow the staff are committed to ensuring that planet will always come before profit.