At the 2022 Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF Tasmanian Branch) Delegates’ Conference, nurse and midwife members challenged the Branch to explore ways to improve its sustainability footprint.

Taking the resolution as a “green light” to do more, the Branch, which has under 30 full-time staff working across two offices, one in Hobart and the other in Launceston, quickly established a Sustainability Working Group (SWG) to lead initiatives.

The Branch also became a member of CitySwitch’s national program that helps office-based businesses reduce their emissions by mapping pathways to net zero.

Sustainability projects

The SWG, which holds regular meetings to research and discuss practical sustainability initiatives, has implemented several projects along its journey towards meaningful change.

These include:

• A waste audit which helped the Branch understand what was contributing most to its waste streams (Following the audit, rubbish bins were removed from staff desks and replaced with one central rubbish bin, located in the staff kitchen, and one larger recycling bin)
• An audit of printer usage, which found that simply repositioning one office’s 11 printers could reduce the total number used, while paper and toner use was also slashed)
• Challenging staff to come dressed in an Op Shop outfit which met office attire guidelines yet cost no more than $25, in an effort to get them to think about their clothing consumption
• The SWG writing articles on a wide range of topics, including climate consciousness and green waste and recycling in health, for the Branch’s quarterly Infusion magazine
  
  

SWG member and ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) Organiser Nicki Hood says the small, yet important initiatives have helped foster a culture of sustainability within the Branch that has extended to broader membership working across the health system.

“It’s really important to have those small wins and celebrate them along the way,” says Nicki.

“We’re all highly passionate about trying to bring change into the Branch but we have to do it on the side of our desk. We meet fortnightly over lunch and there’s only five of us to take on a research project.

“We do research then bring it back to the team and discuss whether it’s something that will be foreseeably used in the Branch, or whether it’s not foreseeable. It’s certainly a challenge to bring those initiatives to life.”

Making a difference

Earlier this month, the ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) received was named a CitySwitch Champion for 2025 for its progress in reducing its waste, getting staff on board, and ongoing efforts to achieve net zero.

Nicki described the award as wonderful recognition of the Branch’s sustainability initiatives.

Her advice to other ANMF Branches or frontline nurses and midwives who want to achieve the same is simple: You don’t have to start with big projects. Even something like cutting down on bins can make a difference.

“We removed seven waste bins with seven plastic liners once every day. If that’s taken out every day, that’s a massive amount of plastic, that was single-use plastic, that was going to landfill. So, it can be simple things. You don’t need a massive goal.”

New targets

Spurred on by the CitySwitch award, the ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) is continually looking at ways to increase its sustainability initiatives.

At its southern offices, it is investigating using solar energy, and is encouraging people to ride to work, already common up north.

The other big-ticket item is cutting down the significant carbon footprint from travelling across the state by introducing electric vehicles.

“We really want to get it off the ground soon,” says Nicki.