HOW WE INCREASED RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
'...providing environmentally sustainable healthcare.'
Mr MICHAEL MCDOWELL Executive Director Infrastructure and Commercial Services Austin Health

We helped save Victoria’s resources
We continued to promote Environment and Resource Efficiency Plans (EREPs) – an innovative regulatory program to help Victorian businesses meet climate change and resource scarcity challenges.

What we did
We advised you of the opportunities to achieve solid economic gains by participating in our EREP program.
EREPs build on the successful industry greenhouse program that delivered you annual greenhouse gas cuts of 1.23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents and savings of $38.2 million each year. The average payback period for these efficiency actions was 20 months.

In the past 12 months, Victorian businesses have committed to huge energy, water and waste savings through the EREP program. Two hundred and forty Victorian companies submitted EREPs and have already committed to actions set to achieve annual savings of 5000 megalitres of water, 4500 terajoules of energy and 100,000 tonnes of waste. An added bonus is that these actions will also deliver savings of around $70 million per year to these businesses once implemented.

The Austin Hospital in Heidelberg, for example, has the potential to achieve significant financial savings and reduce carbon emissions. By investing $39,000 to optimise the efficiency of motors in the boiler and plant equipment, the hospital will save more than $23,000 in annual energy costs.

What you said
“The hospital is committed to providing environmentally sustainable healthcare. Under its EREP, it is expected to save more than six million black balloons. Through EREP, and its own internal programs, the hospital is continually investigating sustainable initiatives.
Further opportunities are currently being explored and we look forward to participating in an energy efficiency pilot program as Austin Health strives to become an industry leader in environmental management.”
Mr Michael McDowell
Executive Director
Infrastructure and Commercial Services Austin Health