Monday 5 March 2012

Think Big Act Small- wrap up #2

As promised, here's a list of all of the great ideas that came about at last week's Think Big, Act Small sustainability event. (You can read the first wrap up summary post here.)

Also, Sonja from the ALIA Sustainable Libraries Group has uploaded some great notes form the evening on their Facebook page.
 
We broke up into groups and brainstormed some big ideas (with no barriers) and some small ideas related to sustainability.

We're so pleased to be blogging all of these wonderful ideas that came out of the brainstorming activity, we hope that you get some great ideas to take back to your own workplaces and communities. And please keep the discussion and ideas flowing via the comments thread or via Twitter, using the #aliasydgreen hashtag! We're keen to hear all about the projects you initiate as a result.

Please note: we have transcribed all of the brainstormed ideas as we could make out from the butchers paper brainstorms we collected on the night- if you're reading this, and we haven't got your idea quite right, or you'd like to clarify something, please feel free to comment in the comments thread below.

Big ideas
  • subsidised bike scheme
  • banning bottled water sales
  • new computers
  • energy efficient equipment 
  • sustainability commitments from all staff
  • life cycle assessment for technology
  • creating a 'green librarian' (in a similar vein to the 'Green Ninja' that Kristen Woodward of City of Sydney Council created- see our first wrap up post)
  • gamification app for sustainability- eg create an app that awards points for each sustainable task you complete 
  • create an app that aggregates local information about sustainability eg the dates for council white goods pick up days etc
  • build a new sustainable library 
  • solar powered computers
  • organic biodome/roof/wall/garden (use books as mulch)
  • have NO library (have an integrated library where: everyone works form home, it's digital only, collaborative spaces or roving librarians
  • motion sensors on everything
  • culture change- retrain your brain!
  • re-purpose everything
  • redesigning spaces- buildings eg air conditioning, light- more natural light, air-flow, solar energy, ventilation)
  • EMS- environmental management systems
  • making buildings smaller> smaller footprint
  • update resources to more efficient resources eg computers 
  • gardens on every single library building roof

Small ideas
  • worm farms 
  • workplace composting
  • flexible work spaces 
  • flexible work hours
  • patching for computers that turn computers on as required (as opposed to leaving computers on overnight all the time)
  • ecoboxes (see the initiatives Mal Booth implemented at UTS library in the first wrap up post.)
  • increase knowledge of technology to improve future purchasing models
  • creating a food co-op with co-workers
  • think about the food life cycle (carbon footprint, food mileage etc)
  • recycling bins only at desks
  • reuse/recycle weeded books/serials
  • use recycled paper
  • double-sided paper as a default setting
  • awareness- raising of costs of printing- competition
  • no more handouts in IL classes
  • auto shutdown mechanism/reminder on public and staff computers
  • buy Keep cups/take away containers for staff as part of staff induction
  • re-write procedures with sustainability in mind
  • limit waste and stuff (financial savings and waste saving)
  • keep your crap initiative (see UTS initiative) - keep rubbish and packaging so you can see it
  • flick the switch stickers
  • hold sustainable activities with the community (sharing information and linking people)
  • sharing information- collaboration and group work to make sustainable decisions
  • electronic usage- go paperless, energy awareness
  • using energy efficiently eg standby mode
  • online paper submission
- ALIA Sydney Committee

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