GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AT LYNNMALL

At LynnMall, sustainability is about way more than reducing plastic bag usage.

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved on the sustainability front, and excited about our ongoing endeavours. So much so, that this month we’re celebrating… and you get a wee treat as part of that, after all what’s a celebration without a gift (see below for more information.)

We have success stories to share with you as we stop to take note of what our centre has already achieved as a whole. In addition, we’re thrilled to note plenty of individual sustainability-related efforts being taken by our stores.

What’s happening?

You’ll notice displays throughout our centre this month pointing out key areas we are working on. Stop and have a read and discover: what we’re doing to save energy (and what you can do at home too), how we’re composting our coffee beans, and how we’re reducing plastic waste through our water-filling stations – no need to keep buying bottled water (our water filling stations are in the foodcourt and near Rodney Wayne). You may notice our “green people” made from plastic bottles collected within the mall.

Sustainable success so far

So how impactful are our sustainability efforts? Check this out for starters:

• Over the past four years LynnMall has saved over 870,000KW of energy, which equates to 85 average NZ homes’ annual energy use. Major contributors to these savings have been the introduction of LED light bulbs, and an air conditioning plant upgrade
• Organic waste from LynnMall’s foodcourt is diverted away from landfill to a composting facility. We create enough compost each year to grow nearly 11,000 punnets of strawberries – yum
• At LynnMall if you took the cardboard we recycle annually, you could make 1,700 houses
• On average LynnMall recycles 1,300kg of coffee grinds each month – that’s the equivalent of nearly 21 trailer loads per year
• We’ve saved the use of more than 9,500 plastic water bottles by installing free water filling stations
• At LynnMall we recycle more than 667 bins of glass per annum – that’s the equivalent of over 67,000 wine bottles
• The soft plastics we recycle at LynnMall each year are enough to build 109 Green houses
• At LynnMall we recycle enough polystyrene to insulate 106 houses.

That’s but a taste of it all.

Shout out to our stores

Our stores’ individual sustainability stories often involve environmentally aware products as well as packaging. The examples are impressive.

Take Acquisitions for example, where product includes bamboo clothes pegs and all sorts of reusable bags including long-life Zero Bags made from recycled plastic bottles. Pop into Just Jeans and check out the Lyocell shirts (made from wood cellulose or pulp with very little waste product). And, it’s hard not to be impressed by Cotton On, given the Cotton On Group’s goal is to have 100 percent sustainable cotton through their supply chain by 2021. We’re embracing The Body Shop’s “enrich not exploit” mantra. Their targets include ensuring 100 percent of their natural ingredients are traceable and sustainably sourced.

Other stores have their own initiatives as the sustainability drive is widely embraced at LynnMall.

We were banking on our banks and calling on our communications companies too.  Did you know BNZ started on a sustainability journey years ago, becoming the first bank to become carbon neutral (back in 2010). This bank can lay claim to the Kauri Bond Initiative, which, to date, has involved the planting of more than 7,700 Kaura seedlings. Vodafone, meanwhile, aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent and plans to purchase 100 percent of the electricity it uses from renewable sources, both by 2025. Once again, but two examples within those sectors.

And here’s something to think about over a drink. Tank accepts reusable cups too, just like coffee shops – and has its own reusable cup option available for purchase.

Speaking of drinks…let’s talk about our treat to you.

Have a coffee on us!

We know reuse, reduce and recycle is done better together so… have a coffee on us. Bring in your reusable cup to the customer service desk (located near Noel Leeming) to receive a free coffee (or medium hot drink) voucher.

Shouting you a drink is part of our sustainability efforts as we want to treat our customers who help reduce the number of takeaway cups New Zealanders use in a year – an alarming figure of more than 180 million cups.

By the way, your voucher is redeemable this month at Bodrum Kitchen, Cleaver and Co, Espresso Caffe, Goode Brothers, Jamie’s Café, Kage, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and The Coffee Club.

So, enjoy your drink and let’s toast on-going sustainable success stories.