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Sponsorship Opportunities – 2017 Sustainability in Business Conference

The 2017 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane from the 23-24 March and will address the need for sustainable business practices, and what this means in today’s ever-changing world. 2017 Conference Topics Include: Renewable Energy Systems and Sources – Biofuel, Biomass, Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, Hydropower, Solar Energy, Geothermal Energy, Wave Energy, Tidal energy, Energy Storage and Wind Power. This can also include energy transformation from renewable energy system to grid. Think Local First –  development of the local economy and community, urban agriculture, Buy Local. Innovative Business Opportunities – Incubators, Start Ups, Venture Capital / Entrepreneurs. The Energy …

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2017 Program Now Available

The 2017 National Sustainability in Business Conference Program is now available. The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane from the 23-24 March 2017 and will address the need for sustainable business practices, and what this means in today’s ever-changing world. The exceptional lineup of speakers includes: Ms Anne-Marie Birkill, Partner and Executive Director, One Ventures presenting “What Does it Take to Move Beyond Innovation? It Takes Ruthless Execution and Resilience” Mr Stan Krpan, CEO, Sustainability Victoria presenting “TAKE2: Victoria’s Climate Change Pledge Program and the Role of Collective Business Action to Reach a Net Zero Emissions Future” …

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Queensland worm farmer invents solar powered compost machine

A Queensland worm farmer believes she has invented the world’s first commercially-produced solar powered compost machine. “It certainly is, yes, and we are happy to say it has been designed here in Australia and running entirely on solar,” said Penny Mitchell, from Palmwoods on the Sunshine Coast. Waste material is put into two bins that rotate with the power of the sun, breaking down the matter with time. Ms Mitchell said the market for solar powered compost bins was environmentally conscious businesses that wanted to reduce their carbon footprint. “We are getting quite a bit of interest, we have had …

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Sprout Stack: Shipping containers provide farm-free vegies

Shipping containers could bring farming to the heart of the city as hydroponics and mobile phone apps are harnessed for large-scale urban food production. A Sydney start-up company Sprout Stack has perfected the commercial production of large volumes of leafy greens in shipping containers, producing as much lettuce, herbs or spinach leaves in eight weeks as a hectare of fertile farmland. The containers, filled with towers for growing vegetables, tomatoes and strawberries hydroponically, require only electricity and water. Sprout Stack founder Francisco Caffarena says the farming containers, which can be leased or bought outright, can be stacked on top of …

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Australian innovation has to be about more than start-ups and tech

There is absolutely no doubt that the global economy is more competitive than ever, and for Australia to remain productive and prosperous it is vital for business to continue to change and evolve. But when we talk about “innovation”, what exactly do we mean? Put simply, it’s about challenging the norm and doing things differently. It’s not only coming up with new products and services, but improving on what we already do and make. Innovation isn’t something that only applies to start-ups or tech companies. It applies right across the economy, to both established and new businesses. Innovation matters as much to …

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Is It Time We Upgrade Our Energy Network?

Australia is an exciting place to be right now – changes that previously took 25 years to happen are now happening in five years, and with a customer-led shift in the utility sector to a market in terms with transition. In response, we must find ways to coordinate all the complexity in the market. On the generation side and on the low side, the grids are the glue behind it all. We need grid extension, transitional lines for power transfer, and examples of reinforcement of our distribution grids with a lot of the centralised generations embedded. Increased efficiency in our …

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Farmer working to make teff the next big thing in ancient grains

Ancient grains have found a place as part of the modern diet, with options like quinoa becoming common on supermarket shelves and cafe menus. But a southern New South Wales farmer is hoping Australian consumers will develop a taste for another ancient grain: teff. Wakool farmer Fraser McNaul is growing the crop and working on a system to package and market the product from paddock to plate. He said he believed consumers would be excited by the grain, if they could be informed about what it was. “Teff is an ancient grain from Ethiopia, it’s gluten free and its main …

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Consumers are demanding sustainable business practices

Sustainability is top of the agenda for consumer goods companies as customer attitudes evolve. Business has a key role to play in meeting global carbon agreements through sustainable practices throughout the entire value chain. Climate change is not just a risk for the energy industry or heavy polluters but consumer goods industries as well. Despite this, research shows consumers do not have much faith in big business playing their role. How can companies convince the public their intentions are genuine? There are three basic principles to consider. Resource efficiency Resource efficiency is a win-win scenario. Companies can cut costs and …

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Compost could be harnessed for clean energy production

A 2015 Churchill Fellowship recipient says his research has shown there is huge potential to generate clean energy from compost. Gippsland Water agribusiness manager Jono Craven has just completed his fellowship report, titled ‘The Investigation of Effective Recycling of Urban and Agricultural Waste to Provide Positive Outcomes for Agriculture’. Mr Craven said he adopted the topic to try and work out how to get better agricultural results out of compost. He travelled to Israel, the UK, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the US and Canada to research best practice compost production. “Before I left I saw varying results through the use …

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Investors keen to back Western Australia’s largest solar farm

The company behind a proposed $160 million solar farm in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt says it has been spoilt for choice when it comes to investors. Sun Brilliance Power plans to start building a 100 megawatt solar farm, the largest in Western Australia, early next year and will be finalising financial agreements at the end of October. What was originally designed as a 25 megawatt facility has been expanded four-fold after the company purchased what it described as an ideal location two kilometres east of Cunderdin in May this year. Spokesman for the company, Ray Wills said it would be the …

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