Ventia’s passion for sustainability is delivering service excellence for Defence Australia

Ventia aims to minimise their environmental impact and are always trying to find new and innovative ways to create a healthier planet. They recognise that every decision and action they take is an opportunity to make a positive impact on the people and the world around them. Their approach encompasses the social impact they have with people and communities, their environmental footprint and the way they conduct business.

In their Defence business, their passionate people collaborate to come up with innovative ways to make that positive impact, and it has led to a number of great initiatives in recent months. 

Charging ahead with electric mowing

Promising environmental benefits and improved efficiencies, the new electric mower Ventia introduced at Simpson Barracks has the capacity to cut 20 - 30 acres of grassy area on just a single battery charge.

Following a successful trial by Ventia’s Defence Base Services (DBS) team in 2021, which demonstrated the electric mower’s cutting quality was on par, if not better, than traditional diesel models, the mowers are gradually being introduced at other bases.

Using one fixed lithium battery that runs for up to eight hours on a single charge, the ride-on electric mower also delivers superior safety for operators compared to that offered by diesel mowers.

“There’s no need to check fuel levels, decant fuel or transport it in containers from a petrol station back to the site,” says Michael O’Meara, Operational Services Manager at Simpson Barracks.

“After a day’s work, you just plug the mower into the charger and it’s ready to go the very next day. It certainly doesn’t require the same downtime for repairs as the older diesel mowers either.”

The electric mower’s emissions-free status means that it has a low carbon footprint, plus impacts to air quality are eliminated for both operators and the community. With low-noise engineering offering quieter operations, the electric mower promises improved environmental amenity for personnel at Simpson Barracks and other future roll-out sites.  

John Parisella, Project Director Defence Base Services South East, says that introducing sustainability initiatives and technologies to Australian Defence Force sites is a key priority for Ventia, as it strives to embed its Sustainability Strategy.

“We’ve been working to understand the full footprint of emissions from our operations. Transitioning to electric vehicle technology, where possible, is just one way we’re reducing that footprint,” John explains.  

There’s no doubt though that sustainability investments are accelerating, and electric mowers provide an impressive array of benefits. If these trends continue, mowers may well become exclusively electric across the diversity of models, which would be a welcome development.

Supporting revegetation and improving resource use at HMAS Cerberus

Land management at HMAS Cerberus plays an important role in maintaining the Commonwealth heritage values of the site whilst allowing for the site to develop in line with its evolving needs. 

Ventia’s Grounds Maintenance Supervisor Justin Ridgeway has worked at the base for the past 17 years, originally joining the then-Transfield Services team in a hands-on role. Over the years, his role has evolved to encompass all the elements of land management in a holistic approach encompassing flora and fauna, pest management, sustainability and landscaping. 

Following redevelopment at the base in April 2018, a stockpile of tree mulch accumulated that Justin and his team were keen to repurpose.

The 6000m3 pile was a result of an extensive base development across the site. The pile was becoming a host for invasive weeds to thrive and Justin knew there was a much better use for it.

“I wanted this mulch to be seen as a resource, not a burden,” Justin says. 

The Ventia environmental team partnered with the Defence Security and Estate Group to find a solution. 

“The first step was to identify a revegetation site on the 1500-hectare base that wouldn’t interfere with bushfire management or future development,” Justin explains. 

“This zone is a way to increase the population of eucalyptus trees, which had declined due to competition with weed species and overgrazing by native animals.” 

Justin explained that the chosen zone would benefit from the mulch as it would condition the soil in preparation for tree planting that was to follow, help retain moisture, encourage microbial activity and address compaction to rehabilitate the soil and suppress weeds.

Over two days, the team utilised 50-tonne trucks and a 13-tonne excavator to move the mulch. 

Justin is passionate about effective land management and is always seeking ways to do things better than they’ve been done before. 

Innovation diverts 100% of textiles from landfill

When it comes to environmental benefits of their innovations, it’s not only about land management and reducing emissions through fleet and equipment at Ventia. 

The organisation has collaborated with Veolia to deliver an innovative solution for textile destruction using a recycling system that converts textiles to biofuel. The system was first trialed at six Ventia managed Clothing Store sites - CICKS Darwin, Townsville, Enoggera, RAAF Base Edinburgh, HMAS Cerberus and Bandiana and has now been rolled out nationally.  

Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are required to return combat clothing for disposal to prevent access by unauthorised personnel. Historically a National Clothing Store employee would cut items into strips with scissors by hand. This manual process was both time-consuming and posed a safety risk, particularly when hand-cutting combat boots. The strips were then used as rags or taken to local animal shelters but unfortunately often ended up in landfill. 

Ventia collaborated with Veolia to find a solution that would divert the uniforms from landfill, ensure certainty of destruction and support Ventia’s and ADF’s sustainability targets. 

In the trial Veolia provided secure 600 litre and 240 litre tamper proof disposal bins at each clothing store. Once full, the Veolia sub-contracted Shred-X collected the bins and the uniforms were machine shredded, incinerated, and converted to biofuel. The biofuel is sent to a facility that uses it for electricity. 

Across the three-month trial, nearly 7 tonnes (6,894 kg) of combat uniform were diverted from landfill and converted to approximately 700 litres of biofuel. That is the equivalent of the fuel required for approx. 10 car trips from Albury to Canberra.  

Phillip McIntosh, Ventia’s Efficiency and Improvement Program Manager says: “The environmental and sustainability benefits of this initiative support Defence’s environmental and sustainability targets by diverting a significant volume of waste from landfill.” 

More information on the way Ventia’s passion for sustainability is delivering service excellence can be found here.