WINGHAM Whiddon Group has a hand in a more sustainable future after going green and reducing its carbon footprint through a range of improvements made at the facility.
In fact, its improvements have been so successful it encourages other businesses to consider doing the same.
The Wingham Whiddon Group, known as Wingham Court, provides residential and aged care for 106 senior residents.
In 2010 the facility conducted an internal water efficiency audit through Havenhand and Mather architects who identified opportunities to save the site 19.03 kilolitres a day.
Wingham Whiddon Group applied for a federal government climate change fund grant and was successful in receiving $38,683 to go towards water saving systems.
“We now have an ozone laundry, kitchen pre-rinse nozzle, flow restriction adaptors on taps, high pressure hose and are about to add water saving toilet flushes. We have already noticed a reduction in energy costs,” director of care services, Annette Barrett said.
The laundry is where the greatest difference has been seen. The state-of-the-art ozone treatment system has dramatically slashed the facility’s water and power consumption since the installation of more efficient technology.
Wingham Court has two industrial washing machines and two large dryers which launder 83 residents’ personal items each day.
This means the laundry is running nonstop for eight hours each day.
Annette encourages other businesses and facilities to look at their power and water consumption and consider applying for grants. Not only has the new project reduced their carbon footprint but has saved the facility money in electricity and water bills.
In total $3.6 million from the NSW Climate Change Fund has been allocated to 164 projects, which together will save 92 million litres of water and 3600 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
On top of the successful grant application, Wingham Court has recently passed its accreditation with flying colours, successfully meeting 44 standards set by the Federal government.
The areas under review were in management systems, health and personal care, lifestyle of residents and the physical environment of the facility.
“We were absolutely thrilled to hear there were no areas in need of improvement,” Annette said.
The facility provides freshly cooked meals on site and has a busy activity program that keeps residents active and mentally challenged.
It is also soon to launch a new program at the end of the month called “Play up” which is designed under the philosophy that play is a powerful tool in building optimism and happiness.
Annette also puts the facility’s success down to the dedicated and caring staff.
“We have some beautiful staff here, and without their support we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Annette said.
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