The new two-year contract with Synergy came into effect on February 3 following a tender that was issued in January and called for submissions for greener energy sources.
“Our evaluation process considered both financial impacts, such as the unit rate and total cost of electricity, and the impact on the environment,” MercyCare Manager of Property and Procurement Martin Dodge said.
“In our tenders, we asked for submissions to include options for green energy.”
The new contract utilising renewable energy aligns with MercyCare’s Mission Ethos which champions ecological awareness and showcases the organisation’s efforts to reduce our carbon footprint through developing ways to reduce the negative impact of our operations on the environment.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total annual electricity usage from Australian businesses equates to around 154,439 GWh per year.
Signing the new contract with Synergy translates to MercyCare converting its electricity usage of 1.676 mil kw/hour, which is equivalent to 1140 tonnes of CO2 emissions, to natural power.
According to Synergy, purchasing green energy — part of which comes from the Albany Grasmere Wind Farm — is a great way to reduce a business’s impact on the environment while also supporting the growth of renewable energy in Australia.
The nine meters that fall under the green energy contract comprise all five of MercyCare’s Residential Aged Care Homes, an additional site at Wembley, the offices in West Perth and Cannington and the Bedford Early Learning Centre.
Martin added that acquiring the new contract is an efficient way for the organisation to reduce our impact on the environment as a business.
“When we were tendering for a new contract, we could have simply looked at ways we could cut costs but we decided we would keep our costs on a par with current rates but instead include the green energy component,” Martin said.
“We believe this is a good balance which aligns with MercyCare’s Mission Ethos to reduce our ecological footprint.”
