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Each day, businesses across Sydney use enough water to fill 300 Olympic sized swimming pools. This amount is
almost one-third of Sydney's total water use. The Sydney Water Corporation is working to actively reduce the amount
of water entering the environment and conserve our water supply with initiatives to save water, save money and save
the environment.
One of these initiatives is the Every Drop Counts Business Water Conservation Program which helps industry save 20
million litres of water daily. Boral has been praised for its active participation in the program, in particular Boral Quarries
at Emu Plains - reducing their water consumption by 84 per cent since joining the program in October 2004 from 6.6
litres per tonne of production to 1.2 litres per tonne in December 2005. “This is an outstanding effort and in a time of
severe drought it is excellent to see industry playing its part in saving water.” David Campbell, Water Utilities Minister,
NSW. |
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The Every Drop Counts Business Water Conservation Program was
launched in 2001 by Sydney Water to help businesses and
government organisations identify and implement water-saving
opportunities. The Program works by approaching water
management as a business imperative rather than a technical issue,
encouraging businesses to incorporate water efficiency into their
existing management systems. After obtaining commitment from
senior management, Sydney Water then conducts a water audit that
examines where and how much water the organisation is using. A
customised water-saving plan is then developed and implemented,
with ongoing progress reviews to ensure the organisation is
achieving optimum results. Joining the program is free. While various
levels of capacity outlay may be required, the long-term benefits
typically outweigh the costs, with the objective of achieving a
sustainable reduction in water consumption. |
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Boral Quarries is making ‘Every Drop Count’
Boral is Australia’s largest building and construction materials supplier and recognises the importance of managing its
businesses in an environmentally sustainable manner. Boral Quarries is Australia’s leading quarry operator with the
Emu Plains site producing up to 3.8 million tonnes of sand and river gravel, which is washed, crushed and processed
in two on-site plants. It is at the quarries where the greatest improvements have been made. According to Emu Plains
Quarry Manager, Michael Walton, a series of carefully implemented initiatives have helped including: “saving water with
recycled pond and dam water, using bore water for wheel washing and dust suppression sprays to reduce water
use, trialling water saving showers and re-engineering drains to capture roadside and rooftop run-off for reuse. Boral
has also installed sub-metering to identify where water is most used across the site. With continual monitoring and
improvement, this allows for more regular and detailed analysis of water use to predict trends and set goals.”
“Through our involvement with Sydney Water we have identified our key water consumption areas across the Emu
Plains business units and together Boral Quarries, Boral Transport and Boral Montoro Roof Tiles are achieving
substantial savings at Emu Plains.” Boral Roofing manufactures concrete roof tiles using water for concrete production
and has reduced water use by up to 220 litres for every 1,000 tiles produced – a 40 per cent saving. |
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“Boral Quarries got on board the Program (EDC) early
and have realised results much better than we originally
anticipated. We were aiming for water consumption
reduction of 15% and have achieved closer to 85%.
We have made a significant improvement in our utilisation
of potable water consumed across our sites to benefit the
environment, water conservation, the community and the
business financially.” Boral Quarries Emu Plains has also
been nominated for their contribution to Environment &
Community in the Boral Awards for Excellence 2006. |
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Boral - committed to protecting regional water resources.
In her speech to the Legislative Assembly, Mrs Karyn Paluzzano, local member for Penrith congratulated Sydney Water
Corporation and all the businesses involved in the Every Drop Counts Water Conservation Program on winning the
prestigious 2006 Stockholm Industry Water Award. Boral received special mention. ”I commend Mick Walton, Quarry
Manager, Boral Emu Plains, Tony Ingram, General Manager, Metro Quarries, Sydney, and Tony Kirsten from Sydney
Water, the project officer for the Every Drop Counts Business Water Conservation Program.” “…quarrying has been
going on in the Penrith area for more than 100 years, and Boral is one of the many companies that quarry in the region.
There are many active quarries in the Penrith area, and Penrith Lakes will be a wonderful development that occurs post
quarrying. It is good to know that a business in Emu Plains has made a commitment to this program.” “I spoke to a
number of people who work at Boral Quarries at Emu Plains and it was pleasing to know that they were keen and
eager to participate in the program in their workplace and in water saving measures in their homes.” “The people of
Penrith have responded fantastically to the call to conserve water so it is great to see businesses also playing their
part in protecting the region’s water supply.” Mrs Paluzzano said. |
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Stockholm Industry Water Award
The Stockholm Industry Water Award recognises innovative corporate
development of water and waste water process technologies,
contributions to environmental improvements through improved
performance in production processes, and new products and other
significant contributions by businesses and industries that help improve
the world water situation.
Selected from a pool of international nominees, Sydney Water is the first
Australian organisation to win the award. Previous recipients of the award
include Proctor and Gamble, the staple fibre division of Grasim Industries
Limited, India, and the General Motors de Mexico Ramos Arizpe complex,
Mexico.
Sources:
Private Members Statement, Karyn Paluzzano, NSW Legislative Assembly
Hansard, 6 June 2006, Pages 54 -, article 35.
Sydney Water, The Conserver, Issue 10, 10 May 2006
Sydney Water, Media Release, 24 May 2006 & 6 June 2006
Penrith Press, 6 June 2006
Penrith Star, 6 June 2006
David Campbell MP Media Release, 24 May 2006 |
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