Author Archives: sustain

By Dr Alan March, Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne, Sara Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer in Property and Real Estate at Deakin University Given the increased importance of action to mitigate global warming and climate change, and the acknowledgement of the significant contribution made by buildings, there is a move to adapt existing stock (Stern 2006, Garnaut 2008). Buildings contribute around half of all greenhouse gas emissions suggesting the potential for substantial reductions (UNEP 2006, Ngowi 2000). Whilst residential buildings contribute around 25%, offices contribute 12% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Australia.  Adaptation is inherently sustainable as the process involves use …

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 By Mr Lindsay Walker, Director,Department of Local Government & Planning The Queensland Government leads the way in improving sustainability in the built environment and has made a substantial contribution to the global fight against climate change. Tackling climate change continues to be a fundamental challenge and a core priority of governments both within Australia and across the world. The energy used by our buildings accounts for almost a quarter of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and opportunities for transforming this sector are readily available at little or no cost. This Sustainability Business Conference (May 2012) presentation discusses how Building Codes Queensland (BCQ), …

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By Brooke Donnelly Commercial sustainability aims to achieve the balance between economic, environmental and social impacts through the effective management of resources whilst maximising organisational profitability. Strategy should not exist at the extremes of the sustainability tangent. Business must position itself at the centre of the bell curve, moving too far right or left will fail to satisfy the totality of the three elements of the triple bottom line. Sustainability is at its core the desire to ensure the longevity of the planet and in turn the quality of our human existence, as such we all have an innate interest …

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by Freddy Sharpe CEO, Climate Friendly November 16, 2011 Now it is real. Early in the afternoon on Tuesday 8 November, 2011, the Australian Senate passed the Clean Energy Future legislation.  For the first time in its history, Australia now has a legislated price on carbon. Congratulations to the Prime Minister and her colleagues, particularly the members of the Multi Party Committee on Climate Change, for designing and shepherding this remarkably good legislation through Parliament, in the face of increasingly hysterical political opposition.  This shows the power of minority government to deliver robust policy.  And there is no prospect of …

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By Tracey Rodwell When I started investigating LEDs I was surprised to find that many on the market do not appear to meet Australian Standards. Generally, consumers rely on the seller to provide safe products, but some importers are either oblivious to their legal obligations or do not want to spend money to test these products for safety. Their tends to be an overreliance on CE & RoHS Certificates (European and American), but this does not mean that they are safe and legal for sale and use in Australia. When I recently tested my T8 tubes for Australian Standards – …

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By Matthew Weller – Sustainability Advisor, MJC Sustainability – [email protected] and www.mjcsustainability.com In the last blog post, we had a detailed look at three of the six key components of the fresh approach to sustainability given by Dr Matthew Tueth (PhD) from Aquinas College.  If you missed the last blog, make sure you read it over here.  As a worldwide business community part of the responsibility to ensure the future of our operating environments lies with us, and through a refreshed attempt at sustainability we can be well on the way to making some great changes.  In this article we …

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By Matthew Weller – Sustainability Advisor, MJC Sustainability [email protected] www.mjcsustainability.com With 2011 we have seen numerous natural disasters and world conflicts, coupled with political stalemate around climate change and the appropriate actions, where does the future of sustainability lie?  Will the distraction of politics and the waiting for direction cause the push for world sustainability to stall and fall?  Or will a strong collective world and corporate community take community action and change the face of sustainability as it is today?  It is impossible to predict, but one thing is for certain, how we view sustainability within our homes, communities …

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  By John Cameron Director – John Cameron Architects Pty Ltd Question: Is it more sustainable for a company to build a brand new but eco-friendly office building, or to purchase an existing but not so eco-friendly property? My Answer: This is an apparently simple question that unfortunately requires a complex answer. Same deal for most of the questions being asked in the sustainability space. Unfortunately there are very few simple answers, but there are some simple principles, such as: Thoroughly explore all options by taking an holistic view (breaking down the thought silos and compartmentalisation that tends to solve …

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