Our achievements
Integrated Ecological Sustainability
To make our ecological sustainability goals meaningful and achievable for our staff and our students we have identified the need to embed ecological sustainability practice through policy, curriculum, promotion and reward. We are undertaking a process of integrating ecological sustainability, where 4 project teams address each of these focus areas. These teams bring together a range of staff from different roles, areas and levels of management to ensure the approach has infiltration throughout the organisation.
Already these teams have made significant achievements, with substantial benchmarking of our progress to date, development of Action Plans and the endorsement of an Institute Ecological Sustainability Policy. Our Institute has been recognised for this commitment through a ‘Commitment to Quality’ Award at the 2006 TAFE NSW Quality Awards. Edited November 2006.
Download 
TAFE NSW Quality Awards Project Nomination (PDF, 3.52MB)
Communications Overhaul
In response to the need to make information on ecological sustainability issues more accessible to staff and students, the Ecological Sustainability Communication and Promotion Project Team has guided the redevelopment of our primary ecological sustainability communication tools.
To provide information to staff, the ecological sustainability content on our Intranet has been revised and is now located on SharePoint. This format gives our Ecological Sustainability Project Teams a place to collaborate and share documents. There is faculty specific sections, which provide central storage spaces for environmental resources and information relevant to each of our teaching sections.
Over the past couple of years we have developed a range of posters, newsletters and stickers to communicate ecological sustainability messages across the Institute. Some of these have evolved separately, with different designs and messages – these have now been overhauled to create a unified look for all our ecological sustainability communications. The original poster designs were created by a North Coast Institute student on behalf of TAFE NSW. Copies of the A3 posters and Student Green Guides are available for purchase. Email our Project Manager, Ecological Sustainability Initiatives for more information. Edited November 2006
Curriculum Scan
Our Ecological Sustainability Curriculum Project Team identified the need to scan our coursework and identify the status of ecological sustainability in TAFE NSW and North Coast Institute coursework. Positively frameworks are now in place for the inclusion of ecological sustainability in the development of new training packages, courses and units. Having said this, there is significant scope for us to increase the number and diversity of environmentally focused courses we offer and increase the capacity of all our teaching staff to integrate ecological sustainability into the coursework they deliver, no matter what the vocation.
Edited October 2006.
Download 
Ecological Sustainability Curriculum snapshot (PowerPoint, 1.35MB)
Lighting retrofit
In early 2006, over 800 light fittings were retrofitted with energy efficient fixtures. By simply retrofitting a traditional twin fluorescent tube fitting with a SRS reflector and single tube, we achieved energy savings of up to 60%, reducing our Institute's annual electricity costs by $20 000. Edited July 2006
Download Lighting Retrofit project report (PDF, 1.96MB)
Showerhead/lightbulb giveaway
North Coast Institute Student Association Members were eligible to receive FREE AAA-rated showerheads and energy saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs saving up to:
- $220 on electricity and water bills
- 77 000L of water and
- 810kg of greenhouse gas emissions every year!
Launched in celebration of World Environment Day 2006, the giveaways were undertaken with the assistance of LESS (Low Energy Supplies and Solutions) and the Australian Government's Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme. Edited June 2006.
Download Showerhead & Lightbulb Giveaway project report (PDF, 1.68MB)
Wollongbar Energy Project
Wollongbar Campus has undertaken an energy efficiency project that has achieved a 12% reduction in energy use & a decrease of 121 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum.
Beginning in 2002, Country Energy’s Energy Answers was commissioned to complete an audit and make recommendations on where the campuses energy efficiency could be improved.
Initiatives actioned include:
- replacing older light fittings (PDF, 1.27MB) with T5 fluorescent lamps and installing motion sensors (PDF, 807KB)
- replacing the electric storage hot water systems with more efficient hot water heat pumps (PDF, 440KB),
- installing timers on all instantaneous boiling water units (PDF, 824KB),
- fitting ceiling installation
- works to improve the efficiency of the air-conditioning system,
- enabling Energy Star on office equipment
- turning off pilot lights on gas heaters during summer
- installing water flow restrictors (PDF, 607KB) in all the hot and cold water taps, and
- an upgrade of all the campuses street lighting (PDF, 1.02MB).
In addition Power Factor Correction (PDF, 1.05MB) was installed to better manage the campuses electricity consumption and costs. The added benefit of projects such as this is that the cost of the project is paid back in, at most, 7 years through reduced electricity costs. Edited January 2006.
