First held in 1974, World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the June 5 every year, and is a United Nation’s event to encourage awareness and action for the protection of our environment.
This World Environment Day the Australian Museum (AM) is encouraging the local community to come together and take small actions to ensure a clean, green and more secure future for themselves and their children.
Professor Tim Flannery, the Australian Museum’s Distinguished Fellow in Climate Change says small changes are how we start making a big difference. ’Taking public transport, doing errands on your own two feet, growing more trees and plants, turning off lights and electrical appliances – these are actions we can all take which will collectively make a difference to the air that we breathe,’ said Flannery.
In 2019, the WED theme is ‘Beat Air Pollution’, and communities across the globe will come together to help minimise emissions to strive for cleaner air.
Long-time environmental campaigner, AM Director and CEO, Kim McKay AO says that when it comes to air pollution, we can all play our part.
‘Whether you’re an individual, a business organisation or large multinational, there are things we can all do to improve air quality,’ she said.
Energy-saving practices
McKay, who co-founded Clean Up Australia with the late Ian Kiernan some 30 years ago, said that over the past five years, the Australian Museum has implemented energy-saving practices across the institution including to its air-conditioning systems, installing LED lights and minimising waste to reduce consumption and air pollution.
‘The initiatives to reduce our energy consumption without compromising the care of precious collections have been remarkable. Not only have we saved money, but the fall in energy consumption is equivalent to taking 130 Sydney households off the grid,’ said McKay.
As part of its sustainability commitment, the AM has already achieved significant energy savings including a 23% reduction in electricity consumption through mechanical upgrades, new energy efficient LED lighting across the building and better recycling and waste management processes.
The AM is continuing to upgrade its air-conditioning plant and progressively become more energy efficient, while sharing this knowledge with smaller regional galleries and other museums across the nation.
‘By joining together on World Environment Day and committing to make changes to our behaviour, we can help reduce emissions and create a more sustainable environment for our community.’
For more information on how you can make a difference, visit the Australian Museum website.
