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Category Archives: Sustainable Building Practices

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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Lessons from Sweden in Sustainable Business

There is an increasing trend among companies across the globe to report on their sustainability. As well as information on the company’s economic performance, this includes information on how it is handling social, ethical and environmental concerns. It is a trend driven by customers, suppliers, employees and banks in recognition that these are just as important elements of any business. Often, the level of information provided by companies is criticised for being inadequate. But my recent research into Swedish companies shows that the quality of information does appear to be increasing. It also shows what areas are in need of further improvements …

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Sustainable Building Practices Using the Green Star Certification Tool

The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane from the 23-24 March 2017. Mr Adriaan Window, Sustainable Consulting Engineer at the University of Queensland and Umow Lai QLD Pty Ltd joins us to discuss ‘A Social and Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis of Sustainable Building Practices Using the Green Star Certification Tool’. This research aims to create a cost-benefit analysis framework for evaluating the social and environmental factors that result from the implementation of the Australian Green Star certification scheme. Specifically, the framework is used to evaluate economic efficiency as a net present value of the marginal costs and benefits derived …

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