Posted by Sustainability Editor

Join us at the 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference!

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane. 

The 2nd annual conference will explore sustainability best practice within organisations, creating resilience in business and ways to implement change. The conference speakers and partners will provide insight into how they are interweaving sustainability practices within their organisations, navigating change and the differences they are making within national and multinational companies and small business.

2018 Topics Include:

  • Integration
  • Politics
  • Technology automation
  • Future of renewables
  • Procurement
  • Food security
  • Sustainable construction
  • Waste as a resource

Click here to download the conference program.

Visit the 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference website for further information and to register today!

Mr David Collins, Associate at Cundall to join us at #NSBC in March

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane.

Mr David Collins, Associate at Cundall, Fortitude Valley QLD joins us to discuss ‘Cundall’s One Planet Journey’.

Cundall’s global sustainability policy sets out a clear statement of intent. We will act to help achieve a world in which people enjoy happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the earth’s resources, leaving space for wildlife and wilderness.

In 2012, Cundall recognised that they could not only offer a service of sustainable design they also needed to embed sustainability into everything they do.  Practicing what we preached was integral to not only to secure work but to create a business that has a positive impact on the environment.  Cundall is the first consultancy in the world to be endorsed as a One Planet Company by environmental charity BioRegional. We have set ourselves challenging targets against each of the ten One Planet principles across our four sustainability cornerstones.
These targets mean everyone in our business has clear tangible targets which are clearly communicated to staff globally.  Although we do have in-house sustainability consultants, we wanted everyone in our business to be more sustainable across the four cornerstones of our business; in our community, in our projects, in our workplace and by industry leadership.  Through initiatives such as a Cundall Diploma and an induction this has resulted in staff increased awareness, knowledge and buy in to our various initiatives. Our monthly reporting enables Cundall to track and incentivise good environmental practices, showcasing how offices across our 21 locations are performing.  Monthly dashboards celebrate achievements and share case studies to inspire others.

In this talk, David will share the journey Cundall has embarked, from materiality reviews, stakeholder engagement, to reporting and beyond.  He will share the obstacles and lessons learnt from Cundall, that companies both large and small can apply.

For more information on the 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference and to secure your spot today, please visit the conference website.

 

Mr Simon Carter, Managing Director at Morphosis to join us at #NSBC18

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane.

Mr Simon Carter, Managing Director at Morphosis will join us at the conference to discuss ‘Digitalised – Rethinking Sustainability in Real Estate’.

While the application of digital technology, from AI, AR and AVs to big data, BIM and blockchain, is accelerating in the real estate sector there has been very little exploration into what it means in terms of sustainability and responsibility.

Morphosis has been researching the sustainability implications of digitalisation in real estate and cities. It offers tremendous benefits, including environmental solutions, but it is a doubled-edged sword and presents some very serious ESG risks if not used responsibly and wisely.

For example, how will the public’s privacy in the built environment be managed as we deploy sensors and recognition technology? With construction having very high levels of susceptibility to job automation, how should the industry be preparing to transition its workforce? How should we be shaping autonomous vehicle policy for the greatest long-term benefit of our cities and society?

Simon Carter will introduce the research project, provide an overarching narrative for the digitalisation of real estate and provide a framework for organisations to begin to examine the many sustainability issues emerging and establish strategy. This approach has been developed for real estate but translates well to other sectors.

For more information on the 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference and to secure your spot today, please visit the conference website.

 

2018 Program Available for Download

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference Program is now available online.

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane.  The sustainability topics that will be embraced include integration, politics, technology, automation, future of renewables, procurement, food security, sustainable construction and waste as a resource.

Featured Speakers for 2018 include:

  • Mr Lucas Cullen, Board Member, Blockchain Association of Australia
  • Dr Helen Lewis, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney & Environmental Consultant, Helen Lewis Research
  • Mr Chris Nunn, Head of Sustainability, Real Estate, AMP Capital
  • Mr Tony Roberts, Deputy Director-General, Environmental Policy and Planning, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
  • Ms Kate Wakeling, State Community Manager – Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited
  • Ms Simone Looi-Britton, Sustainability & Public Policy General Manager, Veolia Australia and New Zealand
  • Mr Jon Westover, Managing Director – Global Operations, Jurlique International
  • Dr Kate Ringvall, Sustainability Manager, IKEA Australia
  • Ms Emma Herd, CEO, Investor Group for Climate Change

Click here to download the conference program.

Visit the 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference website for further information and to register today!

In Australian first, two schools powered solely by green energy.

Two schools’ classrooms in NSW will be powered solely by renewable energy, taking them off the grid and teaching students about sustainability.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and federal government are providing $370,000 in funding to St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School in Holsworthy and Dapto High School to trial a 100 per cent renewable power and smart technology program in their new classrooms.

Known as the Hivve, the modular classrooms – which are fully air-conditioned – integrate solar photovoltaic panels and real-time energy and air quality monitoring to generate energy and control their own usage.

These classrooms will have a potential net energy generation of 7,600-kilowatts per year. Photo: Janie Barrett

According to ARENA, these classrooms will have a potential net energy generation of 7600-kilowatts per year,  producing enough to also power other classrooms.

The data from the classrooms, which will be collected from a range of meters and sensors installed in the rooms, allows the school to manage their own energy demand and usage via dashboards.

St Christopher’s Principal Tony Boyd said the school and the students are excited about the program.

“It’s an exciting prospect where schools can be a generator of electricity,” Mr Boyd told Fairfax Media.

“We hope it’s self-sustaining in its power usage and an effective learning space, more so, we hope to use it to tie-in with the kid’s science education and learning about sustainability.”

Published by The Sydney Morning Herald, continue reading here.