Did you know that an average of 50kg of high-grade paper per office worker is thrown out every year? And that this generally goes straight to landfill? It’s a shocking statistic. Luckily, there are many ways to reduce the waste and, as a result, the impact of white-collar work on the environment.

Viatek is a company that takes waste seriously. This comes partly from a genuine commitment to reducing waste, and partly from a pragmatic approach to business. It’s simple really: efficiency equals profit, waste doesn’t. This is why Viatek’s systems solutions always include environmentally sound equipment, always consider ways to reduce excess consumption, and always look at broader issues of responsible resource management (e.g. water wastage and social factors in the supply chain).

In Victoria, three of Viatek’s regional offices have partnered with Fifteen Trees to plant trees in 2020. The Geelong office sent 120 trees to the Bellarine Peninsula, the Warragul office sent 180 trees to Mt Worth, and the Bendigo office sent 165 trees to the Northern Bendigo Landcare Group.

That’s just under 500 trees, all forming part of much needed regeneration and habitat projects. They will grow to stabilise soil, provide shade and food to native fauna, and encourage biodiversity.

Unable to hold our usual community planting days due to COVID-19, we found a solution, accessing a Drought Employment Program crew through the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

With only a three-day window, six of our members assisted the crew over two days to get all trees planted, guarded and watered.

What an effort and just in the nick of time – in more ways than one! It turned out two days after the planting that we had 24hrs of gentle soaking rain to give the plants the perfect start they needed. Big thank you to Viatek Bendigo.

Nicole Howie | Secretary | Northern Bendigo Landcare Group

 

It’s perhaps not surprising that a company specialising in efficient systems should understand that it is, in itself, part of a system. A social, economic, and human system, one that ultimately needs to recognise its environmental stewardship role in order to prosper. We are glad that Viatek takes its responsibilities seriously and applies them to its own business practices, and more than happy to help it reduce its impact by planting trees.

If you would like to know more about sponsoring community tree planting projects and how we can assist you in becoming a more sustainable business, please Contact Melinda at <[email protected]>.

Writer – Sarah Hart.

Sarah is an artist whose passions include the stories and experiences of women and narrative driven creative work. Her aim is to delight, to reveal glimpses of everyday beauty, and to celebrate flights of the ordinary. Sarah works across a range of media, with an abiding interest in pen and ink, mixed media and the human form. You can find Sarah here.