Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility

Canberra Furnished Accommodation take great pride in the enduring commitment we have made to a sustainable future through the environmental principles we implement in all of our business decisions.

Our commitment to a socially responsible business ensures that the needs of the guest are met without compromising the ability of future generations to live in a clean green world.

We live this ethos throughout our business.  Some examples of our initiatives are below.  Can you suggest an initiative for us?  We would love to hear from you, please email us your ideas.

Cyclic Food
We have recently a “cyclic food system”.  Guests can drop off any leftover raw foods for inclusion into our composting system in our onsite vegetable garden.

Our guests are also welcome to make use of the fresh herbs and vegetables growing in the garden.  Our onsite staff also regularly enjoy salads for lunch from our garden.

Would you like to start your own compost in your vegetable garden?  More information can be found here http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/In-the-Garden/Dons-Compost-Recipe/6114

 Earth hour
Canberra Furnished Accommodation are committed to Earth Hour and invite all our guests staying with us on 31 March each year to participate by “switching off” at 8.30pm.  All properties are equipped with candles on the dining table and for Earth Hour extra supplies are available from our office at no cost.

Further information on Earth Hour can be found here http://www.earthhour.org/

ACTSmart Accreditation
Through ACTSmart, the ACT Government is helping households, businesses, schools and community groups contribute to a more sustainable future and to reduce the ACT’s carbon footprint.

Canberra Furnished Accommodation worked hard to gain this accreditation by reducing our our waste by a massive 60%.  We have been able to reduce our environmental footprint impact by relocating our office to our largest onsite accommodation reducing the need for travel by staff, guests and suppliers therefore reducing our impact on the environment.

Further information on the ACTSmart Program can be found here http://www.actsmart.act.gov.au/home

Environmentally Sustainable Products
85% of property items are sourced from Ikea.  Canberra Furnished Accommodation are inspired by Ikea’s Corporate Social Responsibbility initiatives.  They are a company of excellence in their corporate approach to making responsibility for people and the environment a prerequisite for doing good business.  Ikea works to ensure that products and materials are adapted to minimise any negative impact on the environment, and are safe for customers from a health perspective and always try to use resources wisely when designing their products.

Information on Ikea’s Corporate Responsibility Initiatives is available here
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_AU/about_ikea/our_responsibility/index.html

Unclaimed Items
Unclaimed items left behind by guests are stored on site for a period of 2 weeks.  If they remain unclaimed we then donate them to charity.  We are careful to ensure that the items donated are in good clean working order so as not to burden local charities with fees for waste disposal.

Pillows and Linens
Canberra Furnished Accommodation recently undertook a project to see where we could make changes to reduce our carbon footprint in our product.  A place that would make a difference was reducing our bed pillows from 4 to 2.  To balance the needs of our guests with our sustainability commitments, we decided to leave the pillows in place so our guests are still able to select their pillow comfort level and leave the choice with our guests as to their environmental impact.  We have placed a sign in each of our properties inviting our guests to consider their impact on the environment by using only what they need.  We ask guests to store excess pillows, towels etc in the cupboards to limit the need for unnecessary washing and reduce the amount of water and products needed to clean unused items.

Future Initiatives
Canberra Furnished Accommodation plan to further reduce the carbon foot print of our company by introducing the following future initiatives to adhere to our social and corporate responsibilities and commitments.  Some of our future plans include:

 Targeted bins, recycling and waste disposal
Currently our office has a segregated waste disposal and recycling system. In the future we aim to have all our apartments upgraded to segregated kitchen bins and guests encouraged  separate and recycle garbage and contribute food scraps to our CFA community garden.

Environmentally sustainable products
We are researching products made from natural materials that pose no threat to our country’s ecology and fauna from companies that have a commitment to the future well being of our world. We are aiming to introduce such products in all areas of our business from cleaning products to shampoos and conditioners to washing powders.

Good things come in small packages
We have recently reviewed our amenities range and have chosen to introduce the socially responsible Natural Earths Range to align with our own beliefs about contributing to a sustainable future for our world.

Natural Earth products are made in New Zealand of salon quality formulations that are presented in recycled and recyclable packaging to produce an environmentally conscious range of items. Active Manuka Honey is sourced from New Zealand’s remote, pollution free native forests and is world renowned for its unique properties.

The products are made from a biodegradable formulation and along with the packaging, will naturally break down when exposed to the elements. The ingredients are free from genetic engineering and are not tested on animals. Our range will include Natural Earth shampoo, conditioner, bath and shower gel and body soap.