Archived News for Green Sector Professionals
The Building Products Innovation Council is Australia’s peak body representing the building materials sector. It aims to provide a unified and coordinated approach to the rapid pace and expanding scope of regulatory change in the Australian building industry and the need for better environmental outcomes.
The Building Products Life Cycle Inventory will assist life cycle assessment practitioners, architects, designers, engineers, builders, developers and regulators to more accurately assess the impact building products and buildings have on the environment.
It is freely available to all industry stakeholders from BPIC.
For further information go to www.bpic.asn.au
ASBEC calls for coordinated approach to urban management policy
Australia needs a federal Minister and Department for Cities and Urban Development to ensure the nation meets its urban challenges, according to the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC).
Romily Madew appointed as new World Green Building Council standards committee chair
“Our immediate priority is to provide guidance on the Common Carbon Metric project, which is working towards a globally-accepted and consistent methodology for measuring the carbon performance of our building stock,” Ms Madew says.
“With Australia moving towards a price on carbon, robust carbon accounting within the built environment will become increasingly critical.
“We will also be complementing the work commenced by the South African Green Building Council on socio-economic criteria for green building rating systems.”
“I’m delighted to take on the role of Chair of this new committee. Australia’s property and construction industry should take this as further evidence of our leadership role in the formation and delivery of green building rating tools,” Ms Madew says.
“Being part of this new committee enables us to continue to play an active role in the evolution of the global green building movement,”
Amendments to NSW Coastal Protection Act come into force
The Regulation that supports the 2010 amendments to the Coastal Protection Act 1979 has come into force.
Updated estimates of Australia's emissions released
The Quarterly Estimates of Australia’s National Inventory: September Quarter 2010 has been released by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
National Greenhouse and Energy Report data released
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting data has been released, capturing 2009-10 greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption data of approximately 300 Australian corporations.
Local urban sustainability indicators toolkit being developed
RMIT University researchers are developing a participatory toolkit for establishing local urban sustainability indicators.
The toolkit, Circles of Sustainability, is being developed in partnership with the UN Global Compact Cities Programme, which is based at RMIT.
It brings together city leaders, citizens groups and businesses to identify and debate critical issues and to set targets for progress towards sustainable development.
Developed through pilot projects in cities worldwide, the Circles of Sustainability method has been adopted as part of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme approach to resolving intractable urban development issues.
The pilot projects addressed issues such as sustainable tourism in French cities, sustainable urban planning in Mongolia and infrastructure for clean water in cities in India and the United States.
Professor Paul James, Director of RMIT's Global Cities Research Institute, said the last decade had seen enormous growth in the use of sustainability indicators.
"There are corporate-sustainability indices, city-liveability indices, community-sustainability indices, waste-disposal indices … the list goes on."
He said that developing an adequate indicator set had become a difficult task. The size, scope and number of indicator sets could cause an organisation to lose focus and not use available local resources that could support sustainable practices.
The Circles of Sustainability toolkit supports local communities in developing a means to track sustainable practices in relation to a global framework while encouraging the use of locally relevant quantitative with qualitative measures of sustainability.
It aims to balance economic and environmental sustainability concerns with the political and cultural dimensions of the issue.
When completed in 2013, the toolkit will be an open-access resource for governments, non-government organisations and businesses debating issues and actions required for sustainable urban development.
The Circles of Sustainability project team is led by Professor Paul James and includes contributions by Professor Lin Padgham and Associate Professor James Thom from RMIT's School of Computer Science and Information technology, Professor Hepu Deng from the School of Business IT and Logistics, and Research Fellows Dr Andy Scerri, Dr Liam Magee and Dr Sarah Hickmott.
The project is supported by industry partners FujiXerox Australia, Cambridge International College, Microsoft Australia, Angusta Systems and the City of Melbourne.
Qantas investigates viability of using algae-based sustainable fuel
Australian-based airline Qantas will collaborate with Solazyme, one of the USA’s leading renewable energy companies, to investigate opportunities for sustainable, algae-based aviation fuel.
Qantas and Solazyme will develop a business case for the introduction of the fuel technology in Australia during the next year.
Qantas also has an agreement with the US-based Solena Group for research into waste-based aviation fuel.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the both projects are part of the airline’s strategy to accelerate the commercialisation of ‘drop-in’ alternative jet fuels to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The costs and environmental impacts associated with traditional jet fuel mean it is imperative that we push hard now for the commercialisation of alternative fuel sources,” Mr Joyce said.
“We want to be at the forefront of this growing sector.”
The Qantas Group is one of the largest fuel users in Australia, consuming 4.6 billion litres of jet kerosene in the last two years, at a cost of $3.3 billion.
Austrade’s Regional Director for The Americas, Grame Barty said, “Austrade has been working with the top US biofuels companies for the past three years as part of a strategy to attract investment and grow the advanced biofuels industry in Australia.
“These agreements highlight both the US market as a leader in this space and Australia as a high-potential, key investment target for international companies,” Mr Barty said.
Qantas said cleaner fuel sources are sought to ensure the company’s long-term sustainability.
Sustainable Population Strategy submission period coming to a close
The opportunity to comment on a sustainable population strategy for Australia is coming to a close.
Carbon price mechanism plan announced
The Prime Minister Julia Gillard has outlined the Government’s carbon price mechanism, which it plans to establish mid next year.
Opposition calls for inquiry into Renewable Energy Target scheme
The federal opposition has called for an urgent inquiry into the Renewable Energy Target scheme after authorities were forced to cancel permits worth approximately $113 million because of compliance problems.
New Research info Farmers’ Decision Making and Climate Change
A new report by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation has focused on how farmers are responding to the outlook predicted by climate change science.
WA E-waste program gets $1.5 million boost
The WA Government has increased funding for recycling and safe disposal of ‘e-waste’, or electronic/electrical waste, by an additional $1.5 million through the Western Australian Transitional E-Waste Program.
Clean Energy Council welcomes solar flagship program negotiations
Australia's peak renewable energy body, the Clean Energy Council, has welcomed negotiations that will salvage $100 million for the Solar Flagships Program, which was to be redirected to the Gillard Government's flood program.
ACT Feed-in tariff extended to include medium scale generation
The ACT has passed legislation to allow for medium-scale solar installations to access the ACT's feed-in tariff. The ACT Feed-in Tariff Scheme commenced on 1 March 2009 and pays a Premium Price for renewable energy generation in the ACT.
Tasmanian councils to plan for climate change
The Tasmanian Government has announced a Future Proofing Tasmania’s Councils project, which will bring together climate change research and projections to be integrated into council policies and procedures.
Urban Water panel meets in Adelaide
The Urban Water Stakeholder Reference Panel, which advises the Australian Government on urban water policies and programs, has met in Adelaide to discuss urban water management and the future of stormwater harvesting and reuse.
Review criticises functioning of Victorian EPA
Victorians have lost confidence in the ability of the state's Environment Protection Authority to do its job, according to a highly critical internal review.
Climate Commission announced
The Federal Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet has announced an independent Climate Commission, appointing a leading science communicator, Professor Tim Flannery, as Chief Commissioner.
Climate change adaptation research funding announced
The Australian Government has announced funding for priority adaptation research into preparing Australia for the impacts of climate change.
Built Environment Supplier Advocate appointed
The Federal government has appointed a Built Environment Supplier Advocate, Mr John Gaskin, who will help Australian companies identify opportunities and promote their interests in making major building projects and procurements more sustainable.