Establishing a well-thought-out environmental programme can help your business by:

• Reducing your waste disposal costs
• Reducing the amount of money spent on consumables
• Reducing the cost of power, water and gas bills
• Improving employee motivation through environmental targets
• Improving your brand through promoting yourself as environmentally aware
• Improving the image of your business on a competitive international market

Each of these issues can be addressed individually when you find the time, but to maximise the collective outcome it’s advised that you set up a clear environmental management system for your business. This will help to establish a culture of environmental awareness and help you and your employees to stay on track with your environmental targets in the workplace.

To speak to companies that can help you to set up an environmental management system that is custom-made to fit the needs of your business, take a look at the Environmental Consultants within the NZS.com directory.

Flickr image credit: emagic

The event is designed to draw focus on climate change and the environment through encouraging people across the world to turn off lights and reduce power use for one hour.

Earth Hour 2010 will take place on 27th March at 8:30pm. The event is supported by many businesses and local councils that mark Earth Hour by turning off lights to signs, buildings and monuments across New Zealand.

Lights are dimmed for famous large Kiwiana icons , such as Te Puke’s giant Kiwi fruit, as well as for buildings such as the Beehive, the Christchurch Cathedral and Auckland’s Sky Tower.

Occasions include bars and restaurants turning off lights and dining by candlelight, ten pin bowling halls using glow-in-the-dark pins and bowling balls and a range of festivities and events to mark the occasion.

Each year, the percentage drop in power consumption for each city is reported in the media giving a competitive edge to the event.

Check out our article for more about Earth Hour in New Zealand.

Tis the season for giving, so join givealinkforchristmas.org.nz in helping out New Zealand causes.

While it’s great to give a donation, hard working New Zealand charities also need your help in raising awareness. So what does that mean for website owners?

Links drive traffic, and traffic equals attention!

So we’re calling on you to help out a good cause this year by giving them a link on your website.

We’ve chosen to give a Christmas link to Greenpeace because we love all the great work they for the environment throughout the year, but there are plenty of worthy charities suggested on givealinkforchristmas.org.nz.

Link to as many charities as you’d link from your website, including any good cause you’d like to help out.

And be sure to spread the word! Post a message about the movement on Facebook or Twitter, or email a friend.

Young and old alike are becoming more concerned with environmental issues, and keeping in step with environment news has become an increasingly important part of feeling informed for many New Zealanders.

From large scale awareness events like World Environment Day to smaller, more frequent community initiatives and a focus on ‘going green’ each and every day, enviro-conscious Kiwis are making the move toward a more sustainable future.

For more information about environmental issues and initiatives visit the environment category in the NZS.com directory.

eDay is a free computer recycling event being held in over 40 centres throughout New Zealand on Saturday, September 12. The event is expected to divert more than 1,000 tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) from New Zealand landfills.

The event was launched in Wellington in 2006, when 54 tonnes of unused computer hardware was collected. The event has grown exponentially over the past three years, with communities jumping on board to dispose of their e-waste sustainably.

Recycling e-waste enables the recovery and reuse of valuable materials and ensures toxic materials are not buried in landfills.

E-waste items that can be disposed of include computer hardware, monitors, networking equipment such as modems and routers, scanners, keyboards, mice, speakers, laptops, printers, game consoles, toner and ink jet cartridges, mobile phones, fax machines, and digital cameras.

For more information on eDay and to find your nearest eDay drop off point visit the eDay website.

While Easter is a fun time for kids, adults can indulge in a little chocolate too. Check out the chocolate shops on NZS.com for some inspiration!

If are keen on making your own Easter eggs (it’s easier than it sounds) check out our Easter egg recipes. For those who want to enjoy Easter without the super-sweet tooth, how about some homemade hot cross buns? Easter baking

isn’t restricted to chocolate, so get the oven firing this weekend.

Image from Flickr

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The first Earth Hour saw 2.2 million homes and businesses switch off their lights in Sydney, and this year’s event hopes to reach 1 billion people over the globe. Last year, landmarks such as the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca-Cola billboard in Time Square all stood in darkness for the hour in mention.

By switching off your lights on Saturday night, your household can help take control of the future of our planet by combating climate change. Make sure you join Earth Hour between 8.30 – 9.30pm tomorrow night!

Summertime is blissful isn’t it? Many Kiwis are still lapping up sun rays on their summer beach holidays this week – but for everyone back at work it’s great to know that the New Zealand summer has only really just begun. It’s still light until after 9pm at the moment, meaning every night after work can be filled with BBQ dinners, late night walks and meet-ups at local bars and pubs

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The weather is looking better than ever this week, with temperatures predicted to go over 30 degrees in several parts of the country. Keep tabs on the main centres’ weather and temperatures by regularly visiting our Auckland weather

, Wellington weather and Christchurch weather

pages, or if you’re in a smaller city or town find your location on the New Zealand weather map.

The answer to your question is next Sunday, September 28, when 2am becomes 3am.

We first experienced the much appreciated extended daylight savings (an extra three weeks!) last September, amidst a little confusion from many of our computers. While we’re all hoping these issues have been fixed this time around, make sure you read up on the background of how your computer and daylight savings interact, and what you may still need to do manually.

Bring on the 27 coming weeks of extended daylight! For more info on stat holidays

in New Zealand and when they begin (daylight savings signifies the beginning of the public holiday season!), check out the article on NZS.com.

The most interesting for me and relevant to NZS.com was, of course, the panel discussion about blogging.The session featured legendary Los Angelino lit-blogger Mark Sarvas, whose blog The Elegant Variation has been named one of the best on the Web by publications Forbes and Entertainment Weekly.

Sarvas had a very interesting take on the importance of blogging for self-promotion, as he blogged of the process of his last novel whist writing it. Upon the book’s completion, he contacted several publishing agents (some of whom had been keeping up with his blog) and just minutes after first contact, he had sold his novel. The agent who acquired the novel’s rights had been regularly visiting Sarvas’ blog and knew he was about to contact potential publishers, so was eager to jump on the rights as soon as Sarvas let the world know he had finished it.

Blogging for business

isn’t just restricted for self-promotion, so make sure your company regularly contributes to the blogosphere – you might find your next client is a regular visitor!