Online tool to help reduce environmental footprint

SURF Coast residents can now easily assess their environmental footprint and learn tips on how to act more sustainably through a locally developed online calculator.

The Surf Coast Energy Group’s (SCEG) Ecological Footprint Planner was created over 12 months with backing from the Surf Coast Shire and a Geelong developer, and was designed with the coast in mind.

Starting with an assessment covering home energy and transportation use, waste production, food and water consumption, the tool then calculates the sources of greenhouse gas emissions and reports the main challenges before suggesting action “pathways” to lessen people’s impact.

SCEG vice-president Stephen Prendergast said the planner had been tailored to the region and was inspired by the strong environmental attitude of Surf Coast residents.

SURF Coast residents can now easily assess their environmental footprint and learn tips on how to act more sustainably through a locally developed online calculator.

The Surf Coast Energy Group’s (SCEG) Ecological Footprint Planner was created over 12 months with backing from the Surf Coast Shire and a Geelong developer, and was designed with the coast in mind.

Starting with an assessment covering home energy and transportation use, waste production, food and water consumption, the tool then calculates the sources of greenhouse gas emissions and reports the main challenges before suggesting action “pathways” to lessen people’s impact.

SCEG vice-president Stephen Prendergast said the planner had been tailored to the region and was inspired by the strong environmental attitude of Surf Coast residents.

“There’s a huge number of people who want to do something but don’t know where to start. It’s such a big problem that it can be overwhelming,” he said.

“Our aim was to make it easy and fun for people to see where their biggest impacts are and to do something about it. We wanted to provide a tool that helped people to start with actions that make sense to them personally.”

Together with Geelong Media’s Jonathan Wright the planner was designed and built knowing each household is different and individuals need choice.

“We have different working and household circumstances. We also have different environmental goals and ambitions,” he said.

“Some people want to do more in relation to energy use, to reduce their electricity bill, to minimise water use, or to encourage more birds and animals to live in the local area. Our aim is to enable each person’s individual journey to a more sustainable life.”

SCEG chair Graeme Stockton said the planner will be extended into areas that are traditionally not included in tools of its kind, like environmental volunteering and donations.

“We also wanted to enable personal action that is hard to measure impact; such as volunteering on land regeneration, or donations to local groups working on such projects” he said.

Shire mayor Liz Pattison said the SCEG calculator showed the community is “passionate about protecting our precious environment”.

“This is a great, practical initiative that will help people learn more about their impact on the environment and localised solutions to lessen their footprint,” she said.

For more, head to sceg.org.au