$11.5 million boost for Victoria’s recycling and resource recovery infrastructure

The Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith is continuing to drive improvement in Victoria’s recycling efforts announcing an $11.5 million funding package to improve recycling infrastructure across the state. It follows $13.8 million of infrastructure funding already announced this year as part of the Victorian Coalition Government’s Conserve Invest and Save strategy. This latest funding package includes: • $5 million for Round 2 of the Driving Investment in New Recycling (DINR) fund through grants and; • $6.5 million for Resource Recovery Infrastructure (RRI) at landfills, which will target large scale projects. “We are continuing our reinvestment of the …

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ACSI ready to name and shame Half of listed companies provide no ESG disclosure

By Tony Featherstone: The Investor Daily More than half of Australia’s largest listed companies do not provide meaningful sustainability disclosure around environmental, social and governance risks. The sustainability reporting debate has gone up several notches, with the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) warning it might publicly name listed companies that ignore calls from the investment community for better disclosure in this area. ACSI, which represents about 40 industry funds with a total of more than $300 billion in funds under management, this month released its fifth annual analysis of sustainability reporting practices and disclosure of companies in the S&P/ASX …

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Sustainability Business to hold 2013 event in conjunction with the Australian Making Cities Liveable Conference

The ‘Taking Care of Business: Sustainable Transformation’ Conference in 2013 will be held in Melbourne,  in Conjunction with the Australian Making Cities Liveable Conference. Our event will bring together ‘green economy’ leaders and sustainabilty practitioners from Australia and New Zealand along with the opportunity to network with others who are building profitable and sustainable business models, services and products. The conference will update delegates on a range of effective sustainable business practises including energy saving and carbon pricing. We will examine Governments’ sustainability plans  while finding business opportunities and trends in the sector. The Conference will include presentations on: Green …

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The 2012 Sustainability Business Association – Conference Special Interest Group (SIG)

This year’s conference will see the formation of a Special Interest Group (SIG) to identify issues of importance to members and delegates for further examination and debate in 2012/13. All delegates can register for this open discussion on the conference website. “Taking Care of Business: Sustainable   Transformation” 21 – 22 May 2012, Radisson Resort,  Gold Coast, Australia The conference will update delegates on a range of issues including; Climbing the mountain: issues for business and society in the “Necessary Transition” Redefining CSR Post-GFC It’s all about me! Personalising Corporate Sustainability The Sustainable Australian CEO: transformation of Australia’s business leadership in …

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The 2012 Association Conference – Taking Care of Business: Sustainable Transformation will be held on the Gold Coast in May.

The Association for Sustainability in Business Inc. is a Non Government, Not-For-Profit Organisation (IA 38885). The Association is not a lobby group, we aim to educate, and keep our members up to date with the latest trends, information, training and B2B opportunities while encouraging profitability and competitiveness. The conference program is available on the website and will feature over fifty (50) presenters. Ian Berry, Sparkenator will open the Conference A sparkenation is a spark that ignites passion that leads to action that changes what’s normal. The author of Changing What’s Normal, Ian will ignite this conference before, during, and after …

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Australian Road Authority Tenders: constructing sustainability comparison tools

By Prof Russell Kenley, Professor of Mangement, Swinburne University of Technology, Dr Toby Harfield, Research Fellow – Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre, Swinburne University of Technology, Dr Palaneeswaran Ekambaram, Senior Lecturer – Faculty of Engineering & Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology Australian state road authorities plan, manage and oversee the delivery of safe, efficient and integrated transport systems for sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes in Australia. However, each state has unique administrative structures, guidelines and requirements for implementing the principles of environmental and ecological sustainability. This diversity means that standard methodologies to enable comparison of construction tenders in relation to …

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The crucial role of negotiation skills in addressing sustainability issues

By Dr Judith Morrison, Trainer and Honorary Research Associate, Murdoch University, Mr Matthew Coxhill (Aquaculture, Publishing and Education.) Failed negotiations around complex sustainability issues often involve high and counter-productive costs in time, money, reputation and trust.  Negotiations that don’t deliver mutually satisfactory outcomes leave communities, organisations and businesses cynical and unconvinced about the possibility of working together when sustainable solutions are needed. Many organisations, public and private, are now required to negotiate around sustainability issues as part of their decision-making processes.  One advantage of open negotiation is its flexibility when stakeholders have to jointly look for solutions to problems in …

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Our built environment: sustainable and affordable housing

By Mr Adrian Just, Director, Archicology Architects PL This paper firstly makes an historical comparison between living patterns of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and secondly considers where people will live in the future and what they will live in. For over 50 years, people have been migrating to South East Queensland, and this has affected the rate of development and the spread of housing that people choose to live in. There are divergent stories between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, with differing planning and housing vernaculars. We are on the cusp of a new range of housing typologies which …

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Creating a cultural change in sustainable business practices

By Ms Suzette Jackson, Senior Associate, HASSELL Creating a cultural change in sustainable business practices requires a broader, more holistic approach then simply adopting a sustainability policy or reporting.  It requires affecting sustainable behaviour as a basis for operating not only within the workplace, but within our communities. Organisational sustainability is a journey not an end point. On this journey there are numerous international principles and references to guide our process. In recent years we have also witnessed the emergence of organisational sustainability as a mainstream requirement for not only publicly listed companies, but for all companies who operate globally. In …

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Market based approaches to nutrient pollution and potential for application in the Peel-Harvey Catchment

By Ms Ophelia Cowell, Masters  student, Murdoch University The Peel-Harvey Estuary, located in the South West of Western Australia, has long term and acute water quality problems. With its significant phosphorus load and sandy soils, periodic incidents include algal blooms and fish kills. Previous research findings confirm that the main source of P is nutrient discharges from the catchments that feed into the estuary.  Nutrient management is essential for maintaining drinking water quality and primary industries but also aquatic ecosystem health; aquaculture; human recreation and cultural values. A range of approaches (regulatory, community education, engineering) have been applied but reducing …

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