KEY POINTS:
Steven Ellingford, operations manager at Tauranga's Bayfair shopping centre, owned by AMP Capital Shopping Centres, says it is the only shopping centre whose food court waste is completely recycled.
With an energy management programme, the centre has cut its power use by 1.4 million kilowatt-hours, a saving of $220,000. In the last five years the centre's waste bill has also dropped, from $62,000 a year to $36,000. It's all about energy management, recycling and education, says Ellingford.
"We tell customers what we are doing - it is quite important to us.
"We collect all our data on water, waste, recycling and energy monthly and I have data going back five years.
"I think you need the reporting. You can all say you are doing it, but you need to be able to quantify it.
"Some people just pay lip-service but without a doubt if you are doing it, really doing it, it becomes a passion."
