The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and KMH Environmental are working together to offer ten audits a month from March to June at $5,000 each.

APAL Industry Services Manager, Annie Farrow, said businesses in NSW thinking about undergoing an audit should take up this opportunity. “In NSW the audit subsidy is currently 50 per cent and an audit can cost anywhere up to $30,000 depending on the scope. “This cost is reduced to just $5,000 for successful applicants and OEH is offering forty of these over the next four months.”

The audits are being offered to businesses in agriculture and include:

• Agribusiness and irrigation;
• Manufacturing (including food and timber manufacturing);
• Warehousing with cold storage.

Energy and materials are high cost centres within the orchard, packing shed and cool store. The audits are technology targeted, wide ranging and include: Compressed air systems; Industrial and commercial refrigeration; Gas boilers and heat recovery systems; HVAC systems; Pumps, motors and drives; Sub-metering; and Voltage optimisation.

Through their strong association with APAL, (initially through the Watts in Your Business program) energy and environmental experts, KMH Environmental, are offering assistance to all interested NSW based apple and pear industry businesses to have the opportunity to participate in the program.

“An apple and pear growers’ bottom line could be improved by identifying how to make behavioural changes and adopting newer technologies with a short payback period. Only a site specific detailed audit can identify what will help an individual business meet their needs,” Farrow said. 

For more information, contact KMH Environmental on 02 9468 9300 to discuss options for reducing energy bills and improving business productivity and profitability.