December 2010 – A lack of funding can often stand in the way of much-needed building upgrades, frustratingly delaying the adoption of more efficient operations. PAUL MARSH from Watersave Australia explains how his company is overcoming such problems with new finance options.
Facilities managers are now required to ‘think green’ when amenities are in need of an upgrade. A lack of capital funding, however, is often the one thing preventing building improvements – even when it is evident that in the long run an upgrade would save money, water, energy and our environment.
One of the key aspects of good bathroom design is the blending of quality fixtures and fittings with environmental considerations. As building owners, facility managers and corporate tenants work to create ‘green facilities’, the capital outlay to create a sustainable workplace frequently becomes the issue.
Paul Marsh.
In response to this problem, Watersave Australia has developed Green Facilities Finance, enabling customers to immediately upgrade facilities that will make a difference to our environment without waiting for capital funding approval. Green Facilities Finance means the funding for the upgrade can be paid in instalments over several years and can be accounted for as an operating expense rather than a capital expenditure.
The most obvious advantage of Watersave Australia’s Green Facilities Finance is that capital expenditure is not required, enabling refurbishments to proceed more quickly. Equally, a good portion of the ensuing monthly expense is already being paid in current operating costs. The finance option is merely another way of paying current operating expenses while gaining new assets that reduce water consumption and therefore lower costs.
Furthermore, savings that are achieved through the upgrade (e.g. water and operating cost savings) mean that costs may not increase at all!
Green Facilities Finance aims to make the refurbishment of amenities a more cost-effective exercise, delivering lower long-term operating costs, lower water consumption and a cleaner and more hygienic environment for landlords and tenants. This, in turn, translates into reduced carbon emissions.
ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility for Green Facilities Finance will require that organisations make changes to their amenities that will provide measurable water and carbon dioxide savings. Retrofitting flushing urinals with Uridan waterless urinals and installing other water-saving sanitary fixtures can achieve this objective.
A recent example, where 60 flushing urinals were to be replaced with 60 Uridan waterless urinals (with a fixed term of five years), showed remarkable results, as seen in the table below:
Green Facilities Finance enables an organisation to clearly understand and forecast operating costs in advance, as finance terms are fixed for a defined period. Using the above example, operating costs were fixed for a five-year term with the installation of 60 Uridan waterless urinals. Previously, flushing urinals were subject to cost increases for water, replacement parts and labour rates.
With water costs set to continue to rise, investment in water management seems likely to become a key feature in any building portfolio.
Many organisations, whether acting voluntarily or under market and regulatory pressures, introduce water-saving measures to assist them to meet their sustainability objectives. Green Facilities Finance delivers numerous benefits:
- refurbishments can proceed more quickly
- water consumption is reduced significantly
- operating costs are fixed for the term
- asset value is increased due to refurbishment and ‘greener’ buildings
- an organisation gains brand integrity and good corporate image
- there is improved capital management, and
- there is good corporate governance.
“Watersave’s Green Facilities Finance makes sense both environmentally and commercially,” says Paul Marsh, managing director of Watersave Australia. “Our customers are realising that resources are not unlimited and they are taking the right steps to improve facilities to save water and reduce carbon dioxide. Our Green Facilities Finance will assist businesses with the cost of implementing positive change for business and our environment.”
Paul Marsh is the founder and managing director of Watersave Australia. Since 2003 Watersave Australia has helped Australian business to achieve effective sustainable solutions saving millions of litres of water, reducing costs and the overall carbon footprint of Australian enterprises. Watersave Australia delivers solutions including smart water metering, water management reporting, leak detection, Green Facilities Finance, Uridan waterless urinals, facilities servicing and maintenance and sustainable hygiene solutions, including DrainFresh.
More information
Watersave Australia www.watersave.com.au