Certain Rate or Level Victoria for the Environment - Assignment Example

Sustainability Victoria-Who we are Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Sustainability Victoria The Sustainability Victoria’s statuary goal is to promote as well as facilitate environmental sustainability in relation to the use of resources. The Sustainability Victoria (SV)was established under the Act 2005 as a statutory authority that consist of a board that is appointed by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change. The statutory authority has obligations as stated under the environment Protection Act 1970 for State wide Strategy and Management of waste and the Management of Sustainability Fund. The priorities of Sustainability Victoria are to restore the state of Victoria as a leading state in the environment and climate change sustainability. Sustainability Victoria aims at integrating resource efficiency and waste management. It focuses on developing a five-year strategic plan that aims to build a foundation in resource recovery and state wide waste. Sustainability Victoria is dedicated to help the Victorian community and businesses in responding to the climate changes at the same time improving the manner in which the state manages energy and resources for a sustainable and thriving future (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Sustainability Victoria provides several services and information to be able to achieve their objectives and deliver their priorities. The services and information is provided to schools, businesses, and community and to the householders. This services aim at providing better ways of managing resources and the environment by educating them on the best ways to save energy, manage and save natural resources, manage waste and ensure resources are used efficiently. The organisation also provides grants and funds that are meant to build on projects that are focused on resource use and environmental sustainability within the state. SV also provides practical support to communities and schools and encourages the community to recycle. The authority also rewards excellent leadership in environmental sustainability. The following is a snapshot of Sustainability Victoria website (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Sustainability Victoria’s Strategy of Practicing Sustainability and its Success Sustainability Victoria’s focus is on promoting and facilitating the use of resources and environmental sustainability. A reflection on the SV portfolio indicates several strategies that authority considers to ensure that their priorities and objectives are achieved. One of the strategy is the focus on waste and resource recovery. This is a plan that focuses on the development of resource recovery and waste delivery planning and programs that are aimed at supporting the government in improving Victoria’s environment, community, economy and liveability. The first priority of this program is to ensure that the need for infrastructure identified in the state are achieved by developing a 30 year State wide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan that includes a number of solutions and priority actions for environmental sustainability(State Government of Victoria, 2015). Once implemented, the plan will ensure effective resource use by assisting Victoria in gaining an integrated first class resource and waste recovery system. The system will help in minimising the amount of materials that are valuable but are going to the landfill and reducing the environment, public health and community impacts. It will also support the resource recovery industry to boost the economy and provide job opportunities. The plan will also help in effective management of volumes and mix of waste. The development of the above plan is based on the waste policy at both the national and the state level. The national policy advocates for less waste and more resources while the Victoria’s waste policy advocates for a foundation on which Victoria gains the best value from waste at the same time protecting the environment and the health of the society. This policy focuses on acquiring the right infrastructure mix at the right places to reduce the challenges on the environment and health and increase resource recovery (State Government of Victoria, 2015). SV also practices sustainability through it services and information provision to households, investments, businesses, schools, and the state’s community. The organisation provides household with information on where and how to recycle materials that can be recycled such as TVs and batteries. This ensures effective use of resources that leads to a sustainable environment. The organisation also provides households with advice on the best way to save energy, which helps reduce energy consumption and reduces the bills. In addition, household are provided with tips on the best ways to use heating, insulation, windows, cooling and other energy consuming appliances to save energy and maintain a sustainable environment. This assistance ensuring that household are on the forefront of building development in relation to the use of resources and waste management and competent enough to create a sustainable environment (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Under business and investments, SV ensures sustainability is practiced by collaborating with the commercial building owners, construction industries, small business owners and other partners to improve the inefficient environmental practices, enhance sustainability and save money. One of the strategies that SV advocate for to sustain the environment and manage the use of resources is encouraging businesses and investors to invest in resource and waste recovery infrastructure to help manage waste. It also encourages the construction of buildings that are resource efficient in cutting cost of construction and energy use, saving materials and enhancing their efficiency in energy consumption. Additionally, SV ensures environmental sustainability in businesses by encouraging business to learn how to recycle by providing recycling bins at their business premises to be able to reuse the reusable waste. SV has also developed recycled organic markets that market recycled organic material such as food and gardening waste to mulches, composts and soil conditioner products. This market is an establishment under the Victorian Organic Resource Recovery Strategy that focuses on providing a strategy with a long-term framework to guide the community, government and industries on better ways of managing organic waste (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Besides recycling waste, the recycling organic market and the construction of resource efficient buildings, SV also guides businesses on the storage of waste tires to protect the state against the risk of fire. The involves promoting greater tyre recovery and encouraging the demand for products derived from waste tires, which encourages the use of waste tires in a more productive way protecting the environment from fire risks and hep recover more resources. Consequently, the competence of the industries and businesses in protecting the environment and enhancing sustainability is increased. Paint stewardship is also another way that SV is practicing sustainability. This involves a scheme that allows households and trade painters a reliable, environmentally friendly and safe way of dealing with decorative and architectural waste paint, which helps protect the environment against the chemicals within the paints, consequently enhancing environmental sustainability (State Government of Victoria, 2015). SV also involves the community in enhancing and practicing sustainability by encouraging them to contribute to the environmental sustainability program through volunteering and being conscious of the health of the environment. The organisation ensures that it recognises and supports the community members who offer their effort, time and resources to enhance environmental sustainability. This way, the community is encouraged and trained to practice environmentally friendly activities, increase their competence and helps build development towards a sustainable environment. the efforts of involving the community’s contribution has been a success for SV since it has been able to encourage individuals as well as groups within the community to embrace practices that increase the recovery of waste and resources, which enhances the success of the environmental sustainability (State Government of Victoria, 2015). SV through the Resource Smart Schools assists schools so that they benefit from considering sustainability in their daily activities. The Resource Smart Schools programs encourages and trains schools to take action in reducing the amount of waste, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, promoting biodiversity and saving water and energy. This program also provides teachers and student the platform on which they can show and gain leadership skills on climate change and environment management through practicing of achievable actions and practical activities of environmental sustainability. Through this program, the students and their teachers are able to learn and understand the importance of having a healthy environment, which makes them more competent in developing sustainable actions that will ensure sustainability and efficient use of waste and resources (State Government of Victoria, 2015). In addition, SV provides a platform on which networks, research and professional learning in relation to environmental sustainability can take place. It also has a Premier’s Sustainability Award that celebrates and recognises individuals and groups of people in the Victorian community who are dedicated in building and achieving a future with a sustainable environment. This encourages others within the communities to join creating a sustainable environment for the present and future generation (State Government of Victoria, 2015). SV uses research as a guide to practicing environmental sustainability to ensure there is sound evidence on issue relating to environmental sustainability. The organisation carries out research that is provided in form of surveys and reports. The research reports include recycling and recovery reports, industry reports, Litter Report and Local Government Annual survey on the environment. The report provides evidence that is used as a guide to developing the best practices for a sustainable environment. SV also has knowledge achieve that contains information related to programs, activities, and projects ran by the organisation in the past to be able to trace the progress of the organisation. Most of these archives provide a clear picture of the successes and the milestones that SV has made in enhancing sustainability and the use and recovery of waste and resources (State Government of Victoria, 2015). A reflection on the sustainability policies and plans that SV has put in place shows evidence of success for the organisation. The State wide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure plan is one SV’s plan that indicates success. The plan, which is already underway, aims at constructing new infrastructure that will be able to manage the anticipated increase in waste material due to the high rate at which the population is increasing. Some other plans that indicate the success of the organisation include the Regional Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation plans, which focuses on setting out the infrastructural needs related to waste and resource recovery. Other plans include the Victorian Organic Resource Recovery Strategy, Collaborative Procurement Framework and the Victorian Community and Business Waste Education (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Evidence of success can also be identified from the achievements of SV between 2012 and 2015. These achievements included a rise in the recovery of priority, material and products that present a risk to the environment or are valuable for recycle and the development of the expanded and new markets for products that have been recycled. Other achievements that indicate success include the development of waste infrastructure that enhanced the standards and the development of waste and resources recovery infrastructure, waste minimisation that helped increase the adoption of the practice of waste minimisation within the sectors targeted and the reduced littering behaviour, which reduced litter within Victoria. These achievements and the plans underway are an indication the fact that Sustainability Victoria is not failing in its responsibilities. Additionally, the media release and the news in the newsletters are an indication of the commitment that SV has on it roles of ensuring that they promote and facilitate environmental sustainability in relation to the use of resources. One such indication is a media release that identified Victoria State as the least littered state in Australia in August 2015. Another indication of SV’s success is the report on the construction of the Zero waste Home as well as how the roadmap on waste planning would lead to better outcomes in relation to the environment. Other media releases report on the plans that SV has and is successfully carrying out to ensure the sustainability of the environment (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Generally, SV has been committed and competent in its role and has done its best to ensure that Victoria State has strategies, plans and policies that guide it towards achieving a sustainable and healthy environment. It has also created ways such as awarding those who are committed and dedicating in protecting and maintaining a sustainable environment by awarding and appreciating their efforts. SV is also dedicated in providing funds to any effective projects meant to sustain the environment and enhance resources and waste recovery. Reflecting on all the achievements, plans, strategies and policies that SV has developed and has been able to achieve, it is evidence enough that the organisation is succeeding in its roles and responsibilities (State Government of Victoria, 2015). Reference State Government of Victoria. (2015). Sustainability Victoria. Retrieved from www.sustainability.vic.gov.au Read More