In an on-going commitment to reduce its ecological footprint, International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) in Australia has announced, 23 July, more than a million plastic water bottles have been saved through its partnership with Sydney Water.
By promoting the use of Sydney’s tap water at events and using co-branded, reusable glass bottles in all meeting rooms, the initiative has significantly decreased bottled water consumption on site and saved the equivalent of 12,900 kg of plastic from being produced.
CEO of ICC Sydney, Geoff Donaghy said: “We follow a mantra of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ and as a harbourside venue, we are very conscious of our environmental impact and particularly the potential harm of plastic to aquatic life.
“It’s imperative for large scale venues to operate in a sustainable manner for the sake of the environment,” Donaghy added.
“When you consider that saving a million plastic water bottles is the equivalent of filling 2,900 wheelie bins, the outcome is substantial. However, our work here is not done. We are constantly looking for ways to minimise our environmental impact and what else we can be doing to drive change,” Donaghy said.
Managing director of Sydney Water, Kevin Young, said: “ICC Sydney is a great example of how organisations and their operations can deliver positive environmental outcomes through the use and promotion of tap water.”
Since launching, the partnership between ICC Sydney and Sydney Water has also:
- Saved more than 700,000 kW of electricity;
- Saved 1.5 million litres of water and an estimated 150,000 litres of oil from associated activities in manufacturing the plastic bottles;
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 500 tonnes, the equivalent of keeping 110 cars off the road for a year.
To find out more about ICC Sydney, visit www.iccsydney.com
Image caption: Sydney Water bottles at ICC Sydney
