Bass Coast Roundtable

Contact

Jane Jobe, Convenor, Bass Coast Roundtable
m| 0409 530 898
e| jane@southernsustainable.com.au

Reports

For roundtable annual reports, please refer to the annual reports of the Biosphere Foundation.

Business Environmental Sustainability Recognition Program

Overview

The Business Environmental Sustainability Recognition Program was a pilot project developed in the Bass Coast region for potential application across the biosphere reserve in future.

It aimed to encourage businesses to adopt environmentally sustainable practices, particularly businesses which had not considered these issues before. The program was intended to provide an entry-level step to encourage businesses to think further about sustainability and achieve further accreditation, and to promote the biosphere reserve to local businesses and their customers.

The program involved a simple self-assessment by participating businesses in the Bass Coast Shire — see information and self-assessment kit. A biosphere reserve decal was awarded to those demonstrating environmentally sustainable practices covering:

• Energy use
• Recycling
• Water use
• Greenhouse emissions
• Business planning
• Pollution
• Community awareness

Evaluation

Outcomes are discussed in the program evaluation report. Key lessons learned included:

• Awareness of the biosphere reserve was low — 68% of respondents were not previously aware of the biosphere reserve.
• Interest in the biosphere reserve was strong — 50% of respondents were interested in joining the foundation.
• Interest in accreditation services was strong — 42% of respondents were interested in being contacted by businesses offering assistance in environmental accreditation, management systems and audit services.

Where & when

Remaining 2011 meetings will be held at 8pm on the following dates at Phillip Island Information Centre, Newhaven:

20 Jul – Notice of meeting and agenda
17 Oct
12 Dec