Home Archive by category "Sustainability" (Page 3)

Category Archives: Sustainability

Success in Sustainability Combines These 3 Ingredients

Commit. Collaborate. Communicate. That seems to be the mantra these days when it comes to tackling the complexity of sustainability challenges. Whether the topic is carbon removal, renewable energy procurement, transforming supply chains or creating a circular economy, inevitably the road to success is paved with these three ingredients … The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, organised by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and U.N. Environment, sets forth a set of broad targets, including eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging, increasing reusable packaging and making all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable. It’s a bold and audacious set of commitments, and the …

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Opera House Goes Carbon Neutral Five Years Ahead of Schedule

The Sydney Opera House was notoriously behind schedule on most things during the 14 years it took to build but will be five years ahead of schedule when it meets its target to reduce emissions and become carbon neutral. This move puts it up there with New York’s Empire State building and Paris’s Eiffel Tower as global architectural icons which are actively working to become world symbols of energy efficiency, its Environmental Sustainability Manager Emma Bombonato said. … Officials at the Sydney Opera House have been working to increase its energy efficiency and decrease its waste for the past decade. In 2014 it replaced incandescent bulbs …

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Sustainable House Day 2018

BASSENDEAN building designer Romona Sandon will be opening up her sustainable home for the first time for Sustainable House Day on September 16. The day is part of an Australia-wide event where about 250 houses across the country are opened to the public. Ms Sandon’s James Street house is one of three which will be displayed on a bus tour organised by Environment House in Bayswater and guided by Alternative Technology Association WA committee member Kim Wilkinson. The bus will leave Environment House at 9am and visit each house for 45 minutes, where the features, building materials, sustainability features and …

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New developments in Victoria to harness photovoltaic glass, battery power

Melbourne will be home to not one but two Australia-first initiatives to make living in an apartment cheaper and more environmentally sustainable. Tenants in apartment buildings could soon have access to solar power and battery storage if a new government-funded initiative is successful. Energy company Ovida will use $980,000 from the state government to retrofit three yet-to-be-selected buildings with solar panels on their roofs and connect extra power-infrastructure like batteries. That would produce power they would sell back to residents for a cheaper rate than grid power. The service would have no upfront cost, and the body corporate could buy the …

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Strawberry Grower’s Despair Over Mass Dumping of Fruit Amid Demand for Extra Large Sizes

A Queensland strawberry grower has posted an emotional video to social media, despairing about throwing away drum loads of edible fruit because they do not meet retailers’ demand for extra-large berries as the season reaches its peak. A spike in winter temperatures brought fields to peak production late last week. In response, Coles dropped prices to as low as $1.00 per 250-gram punnet in New South Wales over the weekend to help suppliers move tonnes of excess produce. The glut may be great news for strawberry lovers, but growers are counting the cost. On Friday, Wamuran grower Mandy Schultz received …

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Present at the 2019 National Sustainability Conference!

Your Opportunity to Present at the 2019 National Sustainability Conference Awaits! The 2019 National Sustainability Conference will be held at Hotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane on Monday 1 – Tuesday 2 April. The educational program will include sustainability research, participation from diverse industry sectors and topics of integration, technology, automation, climate risk, procurement, renewable energy and sustainable construction. The conference will be looking at current topics and also looking forward to emerging sustainability considerations. Join the discussion on current challenges, successes and what the future holds for sustainable practices within business at the 2019 National Sustainability Conference. Invited Featured Speakers for 2019 …

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What’s wrong with big solar in cities? Nothing, if it’s done right

Many of us are familiar with developments of big solar farms in rural and regional areas. These are often welcomed as a positive sign of our transition towards a low-carbon economy. But do large-scale solar installations have a place in our cities? The City of Fremantle in Western Australia is considering a proposal to use a former landfill site for a large-scale solar farm. The reportedly 4.9 megawatt solar power station on an eight-hectare site would be, it’s said, Australia’s largest urban solar farm. The initiative is part of Fremantle’s ambition to be powered by 100% clean energy within a decade. The proposal is facing some community …

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If Your Business Is Not Sustainable Pretty Soon It Won’t Exist

During the American President’s recent visit to Nigeria, he spoke of “taking down the trade barriers” between the two countries and of becoming the economic partner of choice for nations across the African continent. This is not what African countries need. Trade is no longer the key to economic growth. The world needs to focus on mutually beneficial partnerships, fostering sustainable development across the continent, targeting the continent’s inhabitants as its primary consumers – in Nigeria, this requires much higher levels of private-sector investment and economic participation. Reports such as one published recently by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, show …

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Sustainable Technology: Q&A with TODAY App Creator

Born from a desire to bring big changes to the world via our ever increasing reliance on technology, Seb Berry created the TODAY App, offering users the chance to take on small sustainable challenges that have big impacts on our planet. We got the chance to speak with Seb about sustainability, solutions and the big challenges in today’s society. Q: What inspired you to create the TODAY App? A: For me, the first thing was to try and figure out how to bring the world’s most monumental challenges into some kind of framework that feels personal and relevant. We live with one …

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What will freight and supply chains look like 20 years from now? Experts ponder the scenarios

The Australian government is developing a national freight and supply chain strategy. As part of that effort, we created a set of scenarios describing what Australia’s future might look like 20 years from now. In evaluations by a large number of experts of all the future drivers of change we identified, two emerged as the most powerful and uncertain: widespread use of automation, and increased pressure to become environmentally sustainable. We also explored what Australia should do to remain successful in each of these possible futures. Each scenario was crafted as a rich description of the future, full of elements relevant …

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