Decarbonising a business could help address staff scarcity as well as energy costs. 

This will be the message delivered by the Australian Industry Group’s policy and project lead in Queensland, Mel Ireland, at the North West MPX conference and expo in Mount Isa on July 12-14.

Decarbonisation had suddenly come into the mainstream said Ms Ireland, with business owners faced with energy bills accounting for 60 per cent of their costs of operation, in some cases.

Jumping on the decarbonisation train would help strapped businesses attract and retain staff, she said.

“What we’re finding now is this next generation of kids coming through, our Alpha Gens and Gen Zeds, the number one major concern they have is around the sustainability of the planet. 

“So, when we are talking to manufacturers about this massive skill shortage we’re seeing, we’re trying to help them, what’s their unique selling proposition as an employer of choice. 

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“We’ve had some really great examples at some recent events of many of the businesses that are starting to be very conscious and having the employee engagement around this. 

“And the feedback they’ve had from their own staff is that they like to be part of that, ‘we’re doing good’ concept for the environment.”

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The effectiveness of adopting a conservation culture was tied in with new smart operations processes, she said. 

“When it comes to emerging tech, it just needs to be something as simple as how do we measure our energy consumption? How do we measure our energy efficiencies and inefficiencies?

“Energy efficiency mechanisms in a business is less headline-grabbing than the rise of solar panels and electric vehicles. Yet it is a cost effective and immediate way start to decarbonise.

“And there’s now technologies around predictive maintenance, where we can use hardware on legacy pieces of equipment that will monitor vibration, speed, temperature, and they can be the initial indicators when you see anomalies in whatever your baseline might be.”

Presentations 

Ms Ireland is scheduled to make two presentations at the North West MPX. 

The first on July 13 addresses ‘Using emerging technologies to decarbonise your site’. Ms Ireland then facilitates a forum on July 14 on women in manufacturing. 

That would include new and effective strategies in business to assist with achieving greater workforce diversification and equality to support further innovation and growth, she said.