The Lazy Shag backpackers is located in Kaikoura, New Zealand.  Lazy Shag owner David Stanford has been mucking around with biofuels for the last five years before hitting on the idea of adapting water heating and installing a clean-burning multi-oil burner. The fuel for the boiler is waste cooking oil obtained cheaply from local restaurants and fast food outlets. The Lazy Shag has around five years of used cooking oil stockpiled in case his suppliers run out. David Stanford has decreased the amount of electricity used to heat water from 52,000 kilowatts per year to only 3,000 kilowatts per year. By installing the clean-burning multi-oil burner he has saved thousands of dollars per year as he uses 92% less electricity for hot water and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The drop in carbon dioxide emissions for the backpackers has been estimated at over 10 tonnes per year. Saving power is a top priority for the Lazy Shag, and David Stanford is already planning how he can utilise more renewable energy in the hostel. He intends to use the boiler to preheat air for the driers there.

Here is a Link for more information

Flight Plan

Flying tourists around New Zealand may be the best job in the world but is very expensive. Tourist flight operators typically spend at least half their operating budget on fuel. This makes them particularly susceptible (as are all transport operators) to volatile fuel prices. To help operators reduce fuel costs the Tourism Industry Association, in partnership with EECA, has commissioned a stocktake report on flight operators’ fuel efficiency.  The study, released in March, outlines a range of ways to improve efficiency. Having a system to measure and monitor fuel use was shown to be key. One company that took part in the study, Queenstown-based Real Journeys, had started recording fuel consumption manually and posting results on a noticeboard. This alone brought fuel savings of 2% or 4,000 litres, saving the company $6,800 annually. Other recommendations included building a company culture of fuel efficiency, ensuring aircraft are regularly washed and polished (this alone saves 2% of fuel).

Here is a Link for more information

For more than ten years the Sky Tower at SkyCity has been lighting up the city of Auckland with amazing displays of colour and patterns. Since 2007 it has been done 50% cheaper thanks to Jonathan Woodbridge (an energy and environmental engineer) and SKYCITY Auckland’s facility management team. He achieved this by planning then testing the areas of biggest spend and looking at what areas could benefit with best returns. Key features in the project included:

• $1.3 million investment in SkyCity Auckland’s Energy Efficient Lighting Project.
• All hotel corridor and lift lobby lights upgraded from halogen to CFL.
• Expected payback in just over three years.

After an ongoing process over the previous few years SkyCity has achieved great results with an estimated savings of up to 80 % on certain areas such as energy saving by replacing 12V halogen lamps with CFLs in corridor, lobby and lift areas. This project has been proved as a great success.

What: One of the largest entertainment complexes in the Southern Hemisphere, SKYCITYAuckland includes a casino, 700 seat theatre, several large convention halls, 19 bars and restaurants, and two large hotels as well as the iconic Sky Tower. It is not surprising that the energy bill is significant – with lighting and power consuming more than 40 million kWh of electricity a year.

Where: Cnr Federal & Victoria Streets, Auckland

When & Why: Jonathan saw huge potential for immediate improvement, particularly with SKYCITY’s inefficient lighting. Around 1,600 high intensity halogen lamps were used in the corridors in the SKYCITY’s two hotels. Jonathan observed that the corridors were very warm, due to old 12V halogen technology – which generates more heat than light. Now, by making energy management a priority,the Sky Tower shines as brightly for less than half the cost.

The company was wanting to have a reduction on energy consumption from lighting, so they hired Jonathon Wood Bridge-Buys an energy and environmental engineer to help assist in achieving their goal.

• Before the project they were using 40million kWh’s per year
• 1.3 million was spent on the lighting project, they have saved 4.5 million in two years from the implementation of this plan.
• They have also saved between 50-80% on electricity due to an upgrade of all lighting from, halogen to CFL in their corridors, lifts and lobby’s. As well as using light tubes in the carpark, and the use of LED technology for the tower.
• The project was completed in 2009
• Qualmark enviro gold was awarded in early 2010

Since the completion of that project Sky City has also begun to look into more energy efficient ways for heating and cooling.

• Solar panels installed to preheat water during the day.
• They have also placed a wind turbine on top of the tower, with the help from Vector.

Link  - Sky City environmental statement
Link- Sky City case study

Hassle Free Tours, Canterbury

Has been run by Mark and Nikki Gilbert since 2003, they operate day long; Alpine Safari, Jet Boat adventures and Lord Of The Rings location tours.
The owners have always shared a passion for conservation, so when they began their business they immediately looked into other options other than the use of diesel to fuel their vehicles. So they came across Bio fuel to help reduce their carbon footprint.
So they Contacted Toyota in regards to changing their vehicles to Bio fuel and received no support in Toyota.
They then took it upon themselves to trial out the Bio fuel on their on personal vehicle a Toyota Prado, and had a great success. In 2007 they done the change over of all their company vehicles to Bio fuel, which cost the company $5000.
Since the change over they have:

• Reduced their companies green house emissions by 15-18%
• Gained free marketing of their business through newspaper and television interviews

They are currently aiming to change their vechiles  from Bio fuel 20 to Bio fuel 100 during the summer.

Link - Case Study
Link – Company website

It is a backpacker hostel which has 3 levels and can accommodate 52 people at one time.

It uses water radiators for heating and before the multi oil boiler was installed, heated water was supplied using electrically powered hot water cylinders.Waste cooking  oil from local restaurants and fast food outlets in the township is being reused for boiler.The efficiency of this heating system was calculated at 57%. It uses less electricity as it only operates the compresor, boiler and circulation pumps.

Using this method to heat the backpackers has slashed their electricity bill for hot water by 92%!

The Lazy Shag owner David Stanford had mucked around with biofuels for the last five eyars before thinking of the idea to install a clean burning multi oil burner to heat the water.He was motivated by this idea by the cost savings and the environmental factors of the whale watching town.

Now that the boiler is installed, David says it is easy to run and maintain, all it needs is refuelling and a cleaning every month.This idea is saving The Lazy Shag thousands of dollars per year!

Here is the link for more information:

http://www.eecabusiness.govt.nz/sites/all/files/cooking-up-savings-at-backpackers-lazy-shag-case-study-12-09.pdf

In 2003 they returned to Christchurch and started their own tourism business.

Hassle Free Tours travels through Canterburys scenic high country, specialising in day long alpine safaris, jet boat adventures and Lord of the Rings location tours. Customers travel in custom built vehicles through rough terrain to see the sights.

Because of the problem that the Gilberts business uses a lot of diesel, they began looking for ways to reduce the effect the diesel was having on the enviroment. This is when they found that they could reduce the the effect by using biodiesel.

The couple fuelled their personal Toyota Landcruiser on biodiesel for a month, with no problems. It has worked out to be more cost effective to run and better for the environment.

Here are some benefits of using biodiesel:

• Reduction in greenhouse gas of 15-18%
• International customers are impressed that the business is as clean and green as the countryside they are visiting
• Promoting the use of biodiesel has landed newspaper and TV interviews about Hassle Free tours.
• Saves time on refuelling

Hassle Free tours are working on moving to use pure biodiesel but at the moment it is more financially secure to remain with what they are using.

For more information regarding the Hassle Free Tours visit this website:

http://www.eecabusiness.govt.nz/sites/all/files/hassle-free-tours-biodiesel-case-study-06-10.pdf

What: Backpacker accommodation that has three levels and can accomodate up to 52 people at a time.  It has sustainable practises, some of the key features being multi boil boilers and it runs on waste oil cooking. Motivated by the cost savings he stood to gain through increased energy efficiency and to fit in more as part of an increasingly sustainable “whale watching”  town.

Where: Kaikoura, 37 Beach Road, New Zealand

When/Why: David Stanford, the owner of The Lazy Shag has been mucking around with biofuels for the last five years and has just recently installed the key features which produce key benefits like a 92% reduction in his hot water bill. This saves his thousands of dollars per year. The electricty saved also relates to reduced greenhouse gasses in over ten tonnes per year in reduced carbon dioxide emmisions.

Here is a link to futher info!