C-Res is encouraging other small businesses to take the sustainability leap

Growing up in Mackay, Naomi Hawkins has seen first-hand how important small businesses are to regional communities. Now as Operations Manager of C-Res, she’s contributing to the sustainability of local businesses in the region too.

C-Res signed up to ecoBiz in 2021, and since then the team has made significant strides in reducing their environmental impact, earning an ecoBiz 2-Star Rating for energy and waste efficiency. And now they’re encouraging other businesses in their community to make the leap.

The ripple effects

“For many small businesses, making the leap to running a more sustainable operation can seem daunting and expensive,” says Naomi.

“That’s how we came to join ecoBiz – we knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know where to start. ecoBiz helps you make simple changes that don’t cost an arm and a leg. But collectively, these changes have a big impact.”

C-Res manages miner BHP’s Local Buying Program, which helps small businesses in regional areas participate in procurement opportunities with the company. Sustainability has become a natural extension of C-Res’s mission. By sharing their ecoBiz journey as a template for small businesses within their supplier network, C-Res is demonstrating how small, incremental changes can lead to significant impacts.

C-Res’s own sustainability journey started small.

“We used to print absolutely everything. We moved to an online system and reduced our waste as well as our printing costs. And it made us think – ok, what else can we do?,” Naomi said.

Since then, the C-Res team has continued to expand their efforts, achieving a 30% reduction in their energy intensity compared with their 2021 baseline, and implementing a range of measures to reduce waste.

“ecoBiz helped us think of simple things we’d never considered before – right down to the kind of paper we buy. Even something as simple as changing all our lights from the standard fluorescence to LEDs had a significant impact on our power bill each month,” Naomi said.

“When it’s time to replace equipment, we choose the most energy-efficient models. We’ve also created an e-waste system and policy.”

With ecoBiz’s help, C-Res has introduced tools to track and measure their energy, water and waste performance. This proactive approach also positions C-Res to adapt to future requirements, ensuring its practices remain relevant and impactful.

“Data speaks a world of worth and we wanted to be proactive and get on top of it before it gets to a point where we are required to measure and report.”

Noami says they’re now actively encouraging their network of suppliers to “get on board with ecoBiz”.

“We want our network to see what’s possible and feel inspired to start their own sustainability journey. We want to show them that making even small changes can have a big impact overall,” she said.

Shifting mindsets

Naomi admits that as with any change, it took time to get everyone in the team on board.

“Some employees were a bit taken aback when we introduced the idea of tracking our waste – it meant weighing it and tracking it in a spreadsheet. So, we were adding new steps into our processes.

“But once people understood the ‘why’ and could see the results for themselves, it made them more mindful of their own behaviour – like bringing their own cup when they go to grab a coffee.”

For C-Res, joining ecoBiz has been both rewarding and transformative.

“We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but we’re also excited to see where this journey takes us,” says Naomi. “Right now we’re working on our first-ever carbon sustainability strategy.

“We are setting the foundation for the future – not just for our company, but for the next generation.”

The ecoBiz program is proudly supported through the Queensland Government’s Recycling and Jobs Fund