29 March, 2011

Safe Air hot on the trail of sustainability

Sustainability for Safe Air means far more than choosing greener technologies.

To General Manager Heather Deacon sustainability means establishing long-term viability – for the environment, of course, but also for the business operating in that environment, and the people affected both directly and indirectly.

 “Sustainability is often thought of as being just about green issues but that is just one strand of the three fundamentals commonly referred to as People, Planet and Profit,” says Heather.

“Addressing sustainability actually means addressing your long-term viability and the sooner you get the fundamentals right the better.”

As a core element of her business strategy Heather created the new role of Sustainability Manager in early 2009, appointing Dean Greenhill to the position. Dean says the first targets on his hit list were environment and safety issues captured in previous environmental audits. In 2008 Safe Air had 14 adverse findings, eight of them high risk.

Dean developed the company’s first Environmental Management Plan adopting the principles of ISO 14001 Environmental Management. Dean then enrolled Safe Air into the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority-sponsored 12-month programme to reduce energy use.

To reduce carbon emissions, Safe Air investigated and instigated the use of B20 biodiesel blend (20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum-based diesel) for vehicles and ground-based machinery.  Since September, through the use of biodiesel, Safe Air has reduced its CO2 emissions by over 2000 kg.  Safe Air is leading Marlborough with this initiative.

Waste management is another work stream and the company began recording waste streams in early 2010 and separating them soon after. Since July 2010, 6.2 tonnes of waste have been recycled, resulting in a 2.3 tonne reduction in landfill waste. Safe Air has set a goal to recycle 40% of waste before the end of 2011.

Safe Air has entered its biodiesel and waste management programs in the Marlborough District Council’s environmental awards competition in the category of Innovation and Efficiency.

The sustainability focus on people and profit came into sharp focus during last year leading into the company restructure. As part of his sustainability management role Dean carried out a detailed skills analysis and initiated the appropriate training, development and succession planning to ensure the right mix of skills, knowledge and expertise in the business over the longer term.

Dean says staff have welcomed the company focus on sustainability but says it’s not surprising. The people of Marlborough are already tuned into planetary environmental issues and the business challenges have sharpened their focus on people – and profit.

“Clearly the appointment of a sustainability manager has shown the company’s commitment to this direction and this has been picked up by staff,” says Dean. “It’s the drive and the new way of thinking coming from staff that is making the real difference.”

Safe Air holds EASA, FAA, NZCAA approvals and is certified ISO9001 and AS9100 compliant.

Safe Air also holds approved maintenance organisation status with the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force and is the primary heavy maintenance provider to the RNZAF.

The scope of its operations includes airframe, propeller, engine and component maintenance, repair and overhaul. Safe Air operates the aircraft maintenance facilities at Blenheim Airport, formerly the Royal New Zealand Air Force main aircraft repair depot.

ENDS

Issued by Safe Air

Further media enquires can be directed to Heather Deacon ph 64 (0) 3 572 8416 or email info@safeair.co.nz