Carbon footprints and the economics of mitigating climate change are predicted to become as important for business as balance sheets and the bottom line, as world leaders discuss introducing laws to force companies to become more environmentally friendly.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he expected a raft of changes to climate change policy in the short-term, after the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Copenhagen in December this year. He said, with this in mind, that companies of every size need to start considering what they can do to improve their carbon footprint.

In September, a medium-sized organisation, the Law Institute of Victoria, launched the Green Practice Guide which outlines steps firms and practitioners can take to improve environmental outcomes. Guide spokesperson Melanie Szydzik said the advice could be applied to any workplace.

Tips include switching computers and lights off when not in use and installing fluorescent and halogen lights, saving water by reducing use of dishwashers, purchasing sustainable office products, reusing paper, printing double-sided, recycling and reducing catering to minimise waste.

Embracing technology is another way to reduce environmental impact. For example, car pooling, cycling to work and using teleconferencing and video-conferencing instead of travelling to meetings all help to reduce the size of our carbon footprint.

A recent study by the UK-based Managing Partners’ Forum found travel accounted for 90 per cent of the carbon output of some professional firms, primarily due to air travel.

Many companies already offer employees incentives to improve their personal carbon footprint which, in turn, improves the companies’.

Larger projects undertaken by some businesses include retrofitting offices to achieve green ratings and installing solar panels and water saving devices.

A simple audit of your workplace will identify areas of waste and areas of potential change.

Deakin University workplace and company law lecturer Victoria Lambropoulos predicts collective bargaining agreements will soon encourage the inclusion of clauses that require employees to participate in recycling strategies and other green practices in the workplace.

For more information, see www.epa.vic.gov.au/bus or to conduct your own audit, see www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/calculators.

More information
From the LIV Bookshop: Guide to Environmental Performance Clauses and Greening Make Good Australia, RICS Oceania, $35 each