There is no denying that implementing sustainable practices is pivotal to the quality of our lives, protecting our ecosystem, and preserving natural resources for future generations.
“We all need to do our bit,” says David Van Rooy, CEO of Vanrooy Machinery. “It’s not just for the government, and sadly, most people talk about wanting to be sustainable but don’t want to actively do anything about it”.
At Vanrooy, we have always looked to implement practices that contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly way of working. First and foremost is our Carbon-Neutral Test Kitchen, which is actually the first and only one of its kind in the country.
Then, there is our Enrich 360 Bio Dehydrator, which converts all of the waste that would otherwise be thrown away (from activities such as customer demonstrations, product testing and trials) to nutrient-rich soil. We also encourage our staff to bring in their personal food waste and compost bins to contribute as well. We then distribute the soil onto our gardens, where our staff have been producing some amazing fresh produce such as potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and more.
Other smaller contributions include using recyclable packaging, plastics and paper in the company.
In terms of the bigger steps we are taking to increase our sustainability, we recently completed the installation of our Lean Lift Vertical Spare Parts Storage System. Overall, the system provides 128m2 of storage space for spare parts, yet only occupies 9m2 of floor space! This improved utilisation of space means that our growing company doesn’t need to move to a larger premises, and therefore all of the energy increases that come with operating out of a larger space. The Storage System also has a green operating system whereby it automatically goes into sleep mode after 5 minutes of inactivity; and whilst it does consume power when the carrier is going up, it generates electricity when going down.
However, perhaps our biggest environmental step is the instalment of a 33kw Solar System. Solar electricity is a fantastic way to safely and kindly power a business. There are no direct greenhouse gas emissions because the electricity is made from sunlight rather than burning fossil fuels.
“Installing the solar system is a very high-profile way of showing that we are willing to invest in our sustainable future”, says David, “putting our money where our mouth is so to speak”. “In a country like Australia, solar is an obvious choice and it’s a good investment. Our system will reduce our current power bills by half and has a payback of 3.8 years therefore on pure financial numbers it still makes sense”.
We installed our solar panels on the roof of our Dandenong South Warehouse in April, just in time for Earth Day, and it is expected to generate impressive environmental benefits.
“Our solar system will reduce our operating costs so that’s the simple benefit”, says David. “The bigger benefit is that our Test Kitchen will be run purely on self-generated power so all of our customers can come into the kitchen knowing they are using our fabulous equipment to make their tasty products and all powered by the sun. Now that is a benefit you can feel”.
Other benefits include:
Enough energy for half of the company’s entire needs.
The equivalent of 806 trees planted per year.
Avoided the equivalent of 13,400lt of petrol consumed per year.
Avoided the equivalent of 15.3 tonnes of coal being burnt per year.
So, what other plans do we have in store to keep playing our part in a greener way of working?
“We will continue on with our recycling program, which includes recycling all our timber crates, separate cardboard and soft plastic collections; and our Enrich 360 Food Recycling machine in the test kitchen”, says David. “We will also install an electric car charger for free use by our visiting clients. And we are looking at electrification of the next generation of company cars and service vans. In fact, we have just ordered our first electric company vehicle!”
We look forward to continuing our sustainability journey here at Vanrooy.
