16 July 2021
Heritage Bank is taking extra steps to address climate change, with the bank’s Head Office building in Toowoomba now running on 100% renewable energy.
Heritage has subscribed to Ergon Energy’s Clean Energy Program to run the multi-level office complex on Ruthven Street, effective from 1 July.
Under the program, Heritage plays a slightly higher premium on its power bill for Head Office, which enables Ergon to purchase more renewable energy certificates from renewable energy generators.
Heritage’s Head Office complex uses about 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
Generating this amount of electricity through renewable sources rather than fossil fuels will save around 1200 tonnes of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere. That’s the equivalent of taking 260 cars off the road.
The Clean Energy Program is fully accredited by GreenPower, the government program that sets accreditation and reporting standards for renewable energy products in Australia.
CEO Peter Lock said sourcing renewable energy was only one of a number of actions Heritage Bank was taking to reduce its environmental impacts.
“Taking a more sustainable approach is increasingly important in everything we do, and that applies both to how we operate our business as a whole and to how we use our natural resources,” Mr Lock said.
“We’re actively looking for ways to reduce the impact we have on our environment.
“By signing up to the Clean Energy program, we are promoting the use of renewable energy and helping reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
“We recently adopted an Environmental, Social and Governance Policy framework that sets out a range of ways we are working to minimise waste and reduce our consumption of natural resources.
“We’re absolutely committed to operating in a more sustainable way.”
Heritage’s more sustainable activities include initiatives such as fitting low energy lighting in its buildings, fitting quick-boil hot water systems, weekly collection of recyclables, and recycling outdated IT equipment.
Learn more about our Environmental, Social and Governance Policy.