Thinking For The Future – 3 Reasons Why Sustainable Goals Are Important, And 4 Ways You Can Help Meet Them…

For New Zealand’s care providers and rest homes, sustainability measures are thought of in much the same way as everywhere else in modern society. Some organisations will be early adopters and innovators. Others may begrudgingly move forward when shown pragmatic approaches. And others will still ignore the reasons and the gains to be made.

Except in the care industry these sustainability initiatives can deliver far more than achieved targets and bragging rights as positive outcomes. Many forward-thinking changes result not just in greater efficiency but also with an improved overall quality of care. There are other significant reasons too…

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1. A sense of purpose and a sense of place.

For those under your care an overall sense of usefulness and positive impact is always important. After all, they’re thinking of the next generation too.

Be it with recycling, waste minimisation, planting, nature appreciation, or any other sustainable process, an environmental focus helps ensure everyone can make small changes and feel good about this positive impact. Ongoing initiatives and one-off measures can be built into the everyday fabric of your centre too, ensuring there’s always something new on the horizon.

These measures are not just restricted to various waste minimisation or nature focuses either. With building design, product choice and room aesthetics a major impact can be made on a patient’s wellbeing.

2. Less waste, less cost, more smiles.

Any organisation that regularly focuses on waste reduction not only uses resources more efficiently but also creates savings in operating costs and those associated with waste disposal. Yet some businesses are just now catching on to the idea that small waste every now and then can equal big costs in the long term.

Diligently planned and effectively measured sustainability goals for New Zealand rest homes and care providers is an idea whose time has come. In everything from smart lighting to menu adjustments these organisations doing more with less, and making more go further.

3. A good reputation is hard to earn (and often easy to lose)

It’s not just residents and patients that respond positively to sustainability measures. Their loved ones and support networks will appreciate the obvious care given to their overall experience.

Professionalism and expertise are often shown with how attention to small details makes a difference. A holistic, well-focused approach communicates that a company places value in making things better – that it won’t settle for ‘things as they always were’.

This level of brand awareness is always important to care providers in New Zealand. Sustainability awareness is no longer a fad either. There’s a very good reason why more and more companies are appointing Sustainability Managers.

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There are plenty of ways to help cut your carbon footprint and reduce the impact on the planet, particularly with carpooling arrangements, recycling and reusing and in building design. Some other ‘low hanging fruit’ includes…

One. Prepare your planting.

It’s not just that gardens are good to stroll through for mental health reasons. Planting a range of natives helps boost New Zealand’s important biodiversity. It also ensures there are plenty of birdlife for residents and patients to look for.

There are also plenty of ways that planting can affect heating and cooling specific areas and a good landscape architect can be worth their weight in gold here. So too is air quality a considerable factor in creating a healthy environment inside. Plants act as natural air purifiers, ensuring a more nourishing and relaxing building for everyone.

Two. Plan your purchase.

The Ministry of Health has identified procurement as a major way the health sector can make significant improvements in their sustainability gains. Here it makes sense to be rigorous in your purchasing decisions as sometimes small changes can make big differences.

Sometimes your purchases can literally put trees in the ground too. For every 8 ‘Dream 900’ pillows sold we fund the planting of a native seedling. Since 2017 the initiative has funded the planting of close to 5,000 native trees throughout New Zealand. Other product lines help to reduce waste from cotton and plastic – you can read all about it here.

So too has our Compost Me range has been growing in popularity over the last year. Indeed our entire Sustainably Sourced line of products is going from strength to strength. If you’d like advice on environmentally sourced products – get in touch today. We can help you meet (and surpass) your sustainability targets.

Three. Get serious with solar power.

While battery capability is improving all the time the cost for storing solar energy can still be prohibitive. Thankfully healthcare providers and rest homes use a lot of power during the day, when the best energy savings can be made.

Used alongside timers, smart lighting and other energy saving processes solar energy can quickly provide a strong ROI for the future-focused organisation.

Four. Partner with companies that share your goals.

One unexpected offshoot from Vendella’s efforts sponsoring Keep New Zealand Beautiful is the amount of like-minded businesses that have shared their own good work with us. We really appreciate the number of Kiwi businesses that are focused on helping minimise the impact we collectively have on the environment.

That’s why we’re always ready to talk through how we can help you. After all, care for people should go hand-in-hand with care for the planet.