Environmental Sustainability Monitoring

Your role as an employee within the animal care industry comes with several responsibilities. You are responsible for the animals you care for and how your actions impact the environment.

Your environmental responsibilities include a duty of care to:

1. Follow any legal or reasonable directives of management relating to environmental sustainability that may be communicated in written or verbal form.
2. Reduce and/or improve your use of consumables such as energy, water, transportation, hazardous materials and disposable (waste) products.
3. Conduct regular monitoring audits of your immediate work area and practices (or the wider organisation if you have access) to determine if more efficient equipment or processes could be implemented.
4. Report any broken or inefficient equipment, appliances or practices.
5. Encourage others to be environmentally conscious.

As your experience and knowledge develop, so will your confidence and ability to recognise environmental issues and implement sustainable practices. While management is responsible for implementing changes and delivering the appropriate training, it is important for you to stay on top of any changes to environmental sustainability practices that occur within your industry.

Below is an extract from Happy Paws Position Description for staff in relation to Sustainable Practices.

Video

The next video is about an Animal Care Attendant explaining their role about cleaning at work.

You can improve the amount and number of resources you consume in the workplace, even if your place of employment doesn't have any official environmental sustainability policies or procedures. Once you have identified the environmental and resource issues within your workplace and gained some insight into their scope, you can assess the resources used in your role and your approach to environmental efficiency.

It is important to review the consumption of and any inefficiencies regarding using all resources used in your workplace. Careful measuring, correct dilution rates, and good storage practices are also important to remain conscious of minimising waste. For example, paper is one of the most commonly used resources in almost all workplaces. Think about how you could reduce paper waste or look at the ‘Simple changes to make your workplace resource efficient’ (pdf) factsheet from Sustainability Victoria.

Common resources that are used in animal care workplaces include, but are not limited to:

• animal shampoo
• animal food
• kitty litter
• medications for animals
• flea and tick control products
• disinfectants and antiseptics
• printer ink and cartridges
• paper towel
• washing up liquids and other cleaning products
• bandaging materials and other single-use disposables
• clipper blades, scissors, combs and brushes
• bags for customer purchases
• poo bags.

Once you have identified the resources you use in your role, ask yourself some questions such as:

1. How often do you use these resources?
2. Could the resources be replaced with recycled materials or environmentally sustainable resources?
3. Could you change your work practices to reduce the use of materials and resources?

Once you have identified the resources you use in your work role you can then begin to work out your current usage to estimate the reduction that could occur if you changed some of your processes and procedures. Once you have identified the resources and how much of them you use in your role, you can then estimate the reductions that could occur if you changed some of your processes and procedures.

The following table outlines some common considerations for each of the five main areas of environmental sustainability.

Area of sustainability	Considerations: Ask the questions
Energy	Do you turn off your computer, machinery or other electrical equipment each night? Do you switch lights off as you leave a room?
Water	Do you use the half-flush option on the toilet when applicable? Do you only run the washing machine when it is full?
Transportation	How do you travel to work? Is a more sustainable method available, such as walking, cycling or public transport?
Hazardous Materials	Do you follow workplace and legislative recommendations for using and disposing of hazardous materials?
Waste Management	Do you use single-use items such as paper towels, latex gloves, and sanitising wipes? Are there any reusable options available? Do you recycle items such as paper and aluminium cans?

By being aware of your resource use and making even small improvements, you will make a difference and set a good example for others regarding environmental sustainability.

Let's look into this in some more detail: 

Monitoring Resource Use 

Resource	Usage in the Animal Shelter	Examples of how to capture data/ document usage
Water	Used for cleaning cages, bathing animals, providing drinking water, and laundry.	- Record daily water meter readings. - Track water usage for specific tasks (e.g., cleaning vs. drinking water). - Monitor water usage reports from utility bills.
Electricity	Used for lighting, heating/cooling, operating equipment (washing machines, medical devices), and powering appliances.	- Track monthly electricity meter readings. - Monitor usage through smart meters. - Keep records of high-power devices (e.g., heaters, dryers) and their operational times.
Kitty Litter	Used daily for cat litter boxes in the shelter.	- Maintain inventory records of kitty litter bags. - Log how many bags are used per day/week. - Record litter box cleaning schedules.ning schedules.t litter boxes in the shelter.
Dog Food	Used to feed dogs based on their size, breed, and dietary requirements.	- Keep a feeding log for each dog (how much food given, time of feeding). - Track dog food inventory (monitor stock levels, usage, and reordering schedules).
Grooming Supplies	Used for washing, trimming, and maintaining hygiene for animals (shampoo, brushes, nail clippers).	- Maintain inventory of grooming supplies. - Record the number of grooming sessions per week and the supplies used. - Log usage patterns for specific animals (e.g., types of shampoos used per grooming session).

 

Examples of Data Capturing Methods 

Data Capturing Methods	Examples of Data/ Documentation Collection
Manual Tracking and Logs	Create logbooks or digital spreadsheets to record daily/weekly/monthly usage. Keep detailed records of individual tasks, like water used during cleaning or food consumed by each animal.
Inventory Management	Use an inventory management system to track the purchase and usage of consumables like kitty litter, dog food, and grooming supplies. Document when items are restocked and how much is used within a specific time frame.
Utility Bills and Meter Readings	Document monthly water and electricity bills to compare usage over time. Record meter readings at regular intervals to track daily consumption and identify patterns or spikes in usage.
Automated Monitoring Tools	Smart meters or sensors can be used to capture real-time data on electricity and water consumption. Use apps or software that track supply usage and generate reports to analyse trends.

 

 

Workplace environmental sustainability audits are larger versions of personal resource monitoring and can be conducted internally or externally. They may be preventative, as a means of improving operations, efficiency and safety, or reactionary due to an incident. Preventative audits are the best option, as reactionary audits may be too late to avoid fines or legal consequences for the business.

Internal audits

Internal audits are often undertaken by a committee of workplace representatives or, if the business is large enough, by a specific department or person dedicated to environmental sustainability. During the internal audit process, environmental hazards and their associated risks should be identified and evaluated. The environmental sustainability audit process may be combined with a workplace, health and safety audit.

Internal audits often follow pre-determined checklists of things to inspect and monitor. For example:

Internal sustainability checklist	Yes (Y)	No (N)	Comments
Type of lighting equipment is used in the workplace (incandescent, fluorescent, halogen or LED)
Lights left on in the workplace unnecessarily (after hours, at weekends or on public holidays)
Timing or motion control devices to limit the use of unnecessary lighting
Opportunities to increase the use of natural light (more windows and skylights)
Computers and other electrical equipment are switched off at the wall each night
Check the energy efficiency rating of appliances like refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers
Run full wash cycles only
Controls in place to minimise printing and toner use
Recycling programs utilised for paper and toner cartridges
Low-flow taps/showerheads in use
Toilet cisterns feature dual flush buttons
Recycled water or rainwater tanks are used to supply water for hoses and other high-water use appliances, like hydro-baths
Recycling bins available
Food waste tracker used to monitor and eliminate unnecessary food waste at the facility
Rotation of stock
Expiry dates check and/or only long expiry dated stock accepted in orders

There are many different factors that lead to food wastage in animal care facilities, including incorrect ordering levels, failure to rotate stock, poor storage techniques or the nature of the business.

The following are some easy ways to reduce wastage of food within animal care facilities:

• Use correct storage temperatures
• Ensure animals aren’t being overfed
• Correctly store leftover food to prevent pest infestations, moulds, spoiling or other damage
• Find an alternative supplier if their minimum order is too high for your facility
• Rotate stock and check expiry dates often
• Use an alternative product such as dry food instead of wet food or vice versa
• Donate excess stock to charities or give to staff with animals
• Discount stock that is close to expiry
• The label opened items with the date opened
• Store and seal leftover food in airtight containers
• Freeze and defrost food as needed.

Watch

The next video is an explanation from Best Practice explaining the importance and how they conduct internal audits.

External audits

External audits are carried out by personnel who do not work in the same workplace. There are a variety of private external audit companies that provide preventative consulting services for workplaces. Your workplace may use such a company, requiring you to participate in their audits. This may include being interviewed about your work practices or having someone observe you working for a period of time.

Regulatory audits that result from an incident are often conducted by government employees from the relevant State or Territory environmental protection department (or similar). Full compliance with these types of audits is required and management will likely be present in the proceedings.

If you were involved in or are responsible for the incident in question, you may be required to undertake further training, face disciplinary action, or may terminate your employment. This is why you must be aware of your responsibilities and always comply with them.

Outcomes of audits

Informal personal resource use monitoring may result in you identifying certain environmental hazards, risks, or inefficiencies. Part of your duty of care is to notify your supervisor and/or applicable environmental sustainability officer or team of these issues.

Reporting may be:

• Informal, such as a face-to-face conversation, telephone call or basic email.
• Formal, such as via a hazard identification or incident notification form, which may be paper-based or electronic. Another example of a formal reporting method would be adding the issue to the agenda of the next formal staff meeting.

A report is usually generated for management's consideration after authorised staff members have conducted a formal internal audit. The report will outline the audit results and provide recommendations for improvements.

Management will determine if any of the following is to occur:

• policy or procedural implementation or amendment
• repair existing equipment
• purchase new equipment or resources
• conduct training for staff.

Some changes may be initiated immediately. However, other changes may be phased in due to their complexity or cost. Remember, replacing products or equipment that have already been purchased is not necessarily the best option because they are not the most environmentally efficient option. Management may wait until items run out or break down and need to be replaced before considering environmentally sustainable products or equipment.

Measurement is critical to improving performance for most areas within an organisation. This is also prevalent in resource use and sustainability.

Common techniques for measuring resource usage may include the examination of:

• invoices from suppliers to compare the volumes of orders and per-unit cost of a product or service
• examining data provided in utility bills, such as water and electricity bills.

Measurement 101

Before we delve into this in more detail, let's quickly recap on the measurement concept and what it is.

There are two types of units of measurement.

1. Metric: uses units such as metre, litre and gram to measure length, liquid volume and mass.
2. Imperial: uses units such as inches, feet, ounces, pounds and miles to measure length, liquid volume and mass. Also called imperial units, the British Imperial or Exchequer Standards. The name "imperial" references the British Empire from which it was developed.

The metric system (SI) is the most widely used measurement system globally, especially in science, industry, and medicine. The imperial system is still used in the United States and some other countries for everyday measurements, though metric is also recognised.

Length

Metric	Imperial
Millimeter (mm): 1/1,000 of a meter. Centimeter (cm): 1/100 of a meter. Meter (m): The base unit of length in the metric system. Kilometer (km): 1,000 meters	Inch (in): 1/12 of a foot. Foot (ft): 12 inches. Yard (yd): 3 feet or 36 inches. Mile: 5,280 feet.

Mass

Metric	Imperial
Milligram (mg): 1/1,000 of a gram. Gram (g): The base unit of mass in the metric system. Kilogram (kg): 1,000 grams. Metric Ton: 1,000 kilograms.	Ounce (oz): 1/16 of a pound. Pound (lb): 16 ounces. Ton: 2,000 pounds (in the US, called a short ton) or 2,240 pounds (long ton in the UK).

Volume

Metric	Imperial
Milliliter (mL): 1/1,000 of a liter. Litre (L): The base unit of volume in the metric system. Cubic Meter (m³): 1,000 litres.	Fluid Ounce (fl oz): 1/20 of a pint. Pint (pt): 20 fluid ounces (UK) or 16 fluid ounces (US). Quart (qt): 2 pints. Gallon (gal): 4 quarts (US gallon) or 4.546 litres (UK gallon).

Temperature

Celsius (°C): Used in the metric system, water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C. Fahrenheit (°F): Used in the imperial system, mainly in the US; water freezes at 32°F and boils at 212°F. Kelvin (K): The SI unit for temperature; 0 K is absolute zero, and the increments are the same as Celsius (K = °C + 273.15).

Time

Second (s): The base unit of time in both metric and imperial systems. Minute (min): 60 seconds. Hour (h): 60 minutes. Day: 24 hours.

Area

Metric	Imperial
Square Meter (m²): The base unit of area in the metric system. Hectare (ha): 10,000 square meters. Square Kilometer (km²): 1,000,000 square meters.	Square Inch (sq in): 1 inch by 1 inch. Square Foot (sq ft): 1 foot by 1 foot. Acre: 43,560 square feet. Square Mile: 640 acr

Speed

Metric	Imperial
Meters per Second (m/s): The base unit of speed in the metric system. Kilometers per Hour (km/h): Commonly used for vehicle speeds.	Miles per Hour (mph): Commonly used in the US and UK for vehicle speeds.

Energy

Metric	Imperial
Joule (J): The base unit of energy in the metric system. Kilojoule (kJ): 1,000 joules. Calorie (cal): 4.184 joules (often used in food energy).	British Thermal Unit (BTU): The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

Pressure

Metric	Imperial
Pascal (Pa): The base unit of pressure in the metric system. Kilopascal (kPa): 1,000 pascals. Bar: 100,000 pascals.	Pounds per Square Inch (psi): The pressure resulting from a force of one pound-force applied to an area of one square inch.

Why measure and document resource usage?

Most environmental sustainability policies and procedures aim to get organisations to use their resources more efficiently and, as a result, create less waste. You will be able to determine how effective a policy or procedure is by measuring the resource usage of the facility.

The measurement of resource usage will also inform you of where to focus your efforts. In other words, if you find several areas where you can improve, you will want to find the most important couple of areas and focus on those first before starting on the others. By doing this, you are increasing the chances of success for the improvements to environmental sustainability.

You can also use data and best practice information about your resource usage to understand how your facility compares to others. You can obtain information on best practices for resource usage from an environmental group or your industry body. For instance, you may have measured your facility’s resource usage and discovered that although there are some additional wastes that could be recycled, the electricity usage is much higher than the industry's best practice. As such, you may suggest some initiatives to reduce the usage of electricity before the waste reduction ones.

Calculations and formulas

When collecting data on resource usage, you will need to understand how to calculate the usage as well as the appropriate units of measurement. Let’s look at some common methods and examples for calculating the use of water and electricity (or energy).

Measuring water use

Water usage is measured in kilolitres (kL). 1 kL is 1 000 litres. Every residence and business place has a water meter that measures the amount of water that is used by the premises. To calculate water usage, you need to know how to read the water meter. The following video, How to read your water meter and check for leaks (2:06 min), is an easy guide to help you measure water use.

Three methods can be used when measuring water in the workplace.

Method 1: Water bill

Read your water bill. The water bill will tell you exactly how much water has been used within a specific period.

Method 2: Calculator tools

You can calculate your daily average water usage using an online calculator tool, such as those provided by Sydney Water. The tool allows you to enter calendar dates or number of days in a period, total water usage amount or water bill information to calculate the average amount of water used each day in the period you are looking at. You can also do these calculations yourself.

For example, assume that your total water usage for a billing period of 30 days was 5.25 kL, and you want to know what your average daily use is. Simply divide the total usage by the number of days in the billing period. Remember that 1 kL = 1 000 L!

Method 3: Meter measurements

First, read the water meter to calculate the volume of water used each day in the period you wish to calculate. You should read the meter at the same time each day during this period.

To document your measurements, it is best to create a table. You may wish to do this digitally or with pen and paper. Make sure to plan the number of columns and rows you will need and include appropriate headings and units.

The following table is an example of a record of water meter readings over a period of four days. The first day you record the reading is Day 0 because you can’t calculate the usage for this day. It just gives you a starting point for the measured usage.

Day	Time	Water meter reading (kL)
Day 0	8 am	5 250
Day 1	8 am	5 500
Day 2	8 am	6 012
Day 3	8 am	6 020
Day 6	8 am	6 040

Next, calculate the difference between consecutive days to get the total usage for the previous day. Then, add all the daily usage amounts to calculate the total usage for the period. Examples of these calculations have been demonstrated in the following table, using the data collected in the previous table.

Day	Calculation	Total daily water use
Day 1	(Day 1 reading)-(Day 0 reading) 5 550 - 5 250 kL	= 250 kL
Day 2	(Day 2)-(Day 1) 6 012 - 5 550 kL	= 462 kL
Day 3	(Day 3)-(Day 2) 6 020 - 6 012 kL	= 8 kL
Day 4	(Day 4)-(Day 3) 6 040 - 6 020 kL	= 20 kL
Total usage for this period		250 + 462 + 8 + 20 = 790 kL

Finally, now that you have the total water usage for the period, you can calculate the average daily usage using the same equation from Method 2.

While this method takes longer, it allows you to determine the days you are using the most amount of water. From these calculations, you can see that the most amount of water used was on day two.

Now that you have begun to get some metrics/ data around water usage, the next step would be to identify where/ what is using the water and then strategies on how to decrease usage and then be sustainable.

Water Usage
To feed animals To wash down animal care facility Grooming area of the facility Staff and Workers- personal Staff and Workers- Handwashing and hygiene Laundry Toileting and Waste Management

Now there has been some identification on where the water is being used, let's look at some practical steps we can take to help minimise water use and conservation.

Identified Usage	Strategies to help with Sustainability
Feeding animals	using automated water dispensers monitoring and adjusting feeding/ water schedules, looking at the individual needs of the animal reusing leftover water for green spaces
Washing and cleaning	Looking at the cleaning and washing schedule, can we streamline this better Using high-pressure/low-volume washers for cleaning Using grey water recycling water to help water certain things around the facility
Grooming and cleaning animals	Looking at technology, the use of hydro baths, that are water-efficient Using dry shampoo and waterless products for animal care and grooming Reusing rinse water
Staff and Workers Personal	Water Saving Incentives Encouraging short showers Education and Awareness
Staff and Workers Professional	Timed Faucets Water Saving Incentives Education and Awareness
Laundry	Looking at the machines being used, do we need to look at water-efficient machines Only using the washing machines for full loads only Cleaning techniques that may not require a washing machine, like handwashing
Toileting and Waste Management	Low flush toilets Waterless urinals Composting toilets Leak detections

Measuring electricity

Electricity is measured in Watts (W). The equivalent three methods can be used to measure electricity as to measure water usage:

Method 1: Electricity bill

Reading your electricity bill. The electricity bill will tell you exactly how much electricity has been used within a specific time.

Method 2: Calculator tools and devices

Calculate the energy use or annual running cost of any appliance within the workplace using an online appliance electricity cost calculator, such as the one provided by Reduction Revolution. The electrical cost calculator allows you to work out how much electricity is being used by one appliance over a year.

You can also buy an appliance power meter. A power meter is a device that plugs into the wall socket, and the appliance is then plugged into the power meter. The power meter measures the amount of electricity (energy) used by the plugged appliance.

Method 3: Meter measurements

First, read the electricity meter to calculate the amount of energy used each day in the period you wish to calculate. You should read the meter at the same time each day during this period.

To document your measurements, create a table with the appropriate number of columns and rows. Don’t forget to include headings and units where necessary.

The following table is an example of a record of electricity meter readings over a period of four days. Remember that Day 0 is to work out the starting point for the measured usage.

Day	Time	Electrical meter reading
Day 0	8 am	2 500 W
Day 1	8 am	3 500 W
Day 2	8 am	3 750 W
Day 3	8 am	4 080 W
Day 4	8 am	5 000 W

Next, calculate the difference between consecutive days to get the total usage for the previous day. Then, add all the daily usage amounts to calculate the total usage for the period. Examples of these calculations have been demonstrated in the following table, using the data collected in the previous table.

Day	Calculation	Total daily energy use
Day 1	(Day 1 reading) - (Day 0 reading) 3 500 – 2 500 W	= 1 000 W
Day 2	(Day 2) - (Day 1) 3 750 – 3 500 W	= 250 W
Day 3	(Day 3) - (Day 2) 4 080 – 3 750 W	= 330 W
Day 4	(Day 4) - (Day 3) 5 000 – 4 080 W	= 920 W
Total usage for this period		1 000 + 250 + 330 + 920 = 2 500 W

Finally, now that you have the total electrical usage for the period, you can calculate the average daily usage using the following formula.

As with calculating water usage, this method of measuring usage provides more detail around differences in usage across the period being looked at.

Measuring finite resource usage

To measure water and energy usage, you measure the flow of the resource into the workplace as a whole or to a specific appliance. However, many resources are used in discrete units, such as reams of paper, cans of dog food or packets of kitty litter.

To measure the usage of these types of resources, it can be easier to examine ordering invoices or record every time a new packet is opened.

For example, to calculate the average amount of paper used per person per day, you will want to find out the total amount of paper used during a certain period. You can do this by finding out how much paper is used over a period, say a month, and then dividing this number by the number of days in the period. This will give you the daily average usage of the resources. Then, divide the daily average usage by the number of personnel who use that resource to calculate the average amount per person per day. You can then use figures like these to compare work areas or compare efficiencies of different procedures.

Methods for documenting the usage of resources

Sometimes, reading and interpreting numerical information and data can be overwhelming. Presenting data and information in graphs and tables tends to make it much easier to understand. Graphs make it easy to see any trends that are present and have an easy way to show this data to others who may need to know. There may be specific systems that are in place within your workplace that are used to generate the data and present it in a readable format. It is up to senior staff and management to ensure their staff have been trained on how to read and interpret these documents to ensure the team is across resource usage. The following images are some examples of how documentation of resources can be displayed.