Smash repairer Alan Willmot states the business benefits for sustainable workshops, and is campaigning for higher environmental levies from insurance companies for repairers who run their business sustainably.
Alan Willmot of Willmot Smash Repair Specialist, Cairns, winner of the DuPont/Paint and Panel sustainability, says that every repairer can benefit from running a sustainable business and enjoy the cost and time savings it brings.
“My journey towards having a business that has sustainable processes has taught me a lot about how environmentally damaging our industry can be," said Willmot. "With everything I achieved, most of it I chased up myself. There has not been a lot of awareness of environmental sustainability for our industry over the years."
Environmental vandals
While our industry has even been tagged as an environmental vandal, I believe there is increasing awareness of what help is available to us to create environmentally sustainable work practices. Our industry must not be left behind in the trend towards sustainable practices.
Step up and be counted
Most repairers and their staff are wary of change, but now is a great period in our industry to step up and be counted. There are a number of bodies involved in sustainability programs that cater specifically for the needs in our industry.
Green stamp available to all
It’s great to see more awareness through magazines like Paint and Panel, paint manufacturers and also MTAs. Repairers need to know that they don’t have to belong to a repairers' association to get going on an environmental sustainability program. But if you are more sustainable in your approach to keeping down costs and being more time-effective, you will save energy and down time, and enjoy efficient storage, disposal, recycle and reuse of waste, once set up.
With the joint initiatives between state MTA’s and the Australian government in your state, green stamp program audits are available to members and non-members. It is a great stepping stone for you to use, build on and market to customers. This process is just the beginning of your commitment, participation and acknowledgement to fuel an environmentally sustainable industry.
To start off you can contact your state's MTA association and enrol in a green stamp audit program. These aren’t the only programs - you can visit other sustainability websites or talk to your paint suppliers, who may have a sustainability program.
You will need staff awareness, participation and initiatives to support it. You will need to incorporate a wide range of practices, namely personal responsibilities, innovation, collaboration, leadership, waste management, analysis, transparency, compliance auditing, reports, conservation and also the will to see it through. It sounds daunting, costly and time consuming but it's not.
Attack one module at a time
Most of you will already have 60-70% of these procedures already in place:
- Containment & storage practises (liquid)
- Waste water management
- Spill management
- Waste disposal management
- Air quality
- Energy use
- Environmental management
To implement the environmental audits finding, do the following:
- Review the audit to ensure that the information is accurate and correct.
- Determine who is going to be responsible for addressing and implementing the issues.
- Set completion dates for each and review the outcomes after that time.
Overall compliance and implementation of the procedures involved is not expensive and will save you time and money in the long term. Once all procedures are set in place and you have delegated people responsible for ongoing compliance, logs and maintenance programs, you will receive accreditation into a green stamp program (or other accreditation programs) with a binding deed of agreement, signed off by your company and the Australian government.
You will have a more efficient and sustainable workplace and most importantly, recognition, personal gratification and pride.
While not specific to the autobody repair industry, the Industry Skills Councils Australia (ISC) has a great website for ongoing environmental sustainability in and outside of the workplace www.isc.org.au.
We should be rewarded for our sustainable approach
Autobody repair facilities who have achieved a green stamp program or other environmental sustainability accreditation should be given a decent allowance for each repair from the insurance companies to support ongoing sustainable practices and procedures. This should at least around the $10 mark. It is the insurer's responsibility to the environment to dispose, reuse and recycle the waste created, as they are the major stakeholders in the repair process. This cannot be eaten up in the hourly rate.
In a fast-changing industry where incentives to employees are a necessity as a reward to their good work and their abilities to accept change, employers also should receive incentives for their participation, time, monetary contributions and compliance to sustainability.
Local councils should waive the trade waste permit (approximately $500 per shop per year) to body shops who have gained a sustainability accreditation.
I would like to congratulate the body shops that have already incorporated sustainability programs and their continued ongoing participation and ethics, to help our industry to becomone recognised as a sustainable force rather than environmental vandals.