Virgin Starts Brisbane Biofuel Trial

Brisbane airport will become one of the first airports in the world to use biofuel, with Virgin Australia trialling the sustainable fuel source. Virgin has partnered with US-based renewable fuel supplier Gevo Inc to supply “biojet” fuel to Virgin planes out of Brisbane for the next two years. Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti said the airline wanted to test whether the renewable fuel was a viable alternative to straight jet fuel. “The project announced today is critical to testing the fuel supply chain infrastructure in Australia to ensure that Virgin and Brisbane Airport are ready for the commercial supply of …

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Plastic Bag Ban in Queensland Gets Green Light as Cash-for-Cans Scheme Introduced

Queensland shoppers will no longer be able to get plastic bags at the supermarket but will be able to cash in their cans and bottles under laws passed overnight. The ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, including degradable and biodegradable bags, will take effect from mid-next year. The bill was passed with bipartisan support, with the Opposition saying it had initially proposed the changes. Environment Minister Steven Miles said some retailers were proactively banning the supply of lightweight plastic shopping bags in advance of the ban. Retailers who flout the laws face up to a $3,000 fine. Designated container refund …

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Greening the Concrete Jungle: How to Make Environmentally Friendly Cement

Cement is the world’s most widely used material apart from water, largely because it is the key ingredient in concrete, the world’s favourite building material. But with cement’s success comes a huge amount of greenhouse emissions. For every tonne of cement produced in Australia, 0.82 tonnes of CO₂ is released. That might not sound like much, especially when compared with the 1.8 tonnes emitted in making a tonne of steel. But with a global production of more than 4 billion tonnes a year, cement accounts for about 8% of the world’s CO₂ emissions. The electricity and heat demands of cement production are responsible for …

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Germ-Zapping Plant Tackles Antarctic Waste

The Australian Antarctic Division has unveiled a wastewater cleaning plant that will help lessen the environmental impact of remote researchers. A million dollar germ-zapping machine will purify the wastewater of Australian researchers in Antarctica. Built in two shipping containers, the technology was unveiled in Hobart on Tuesday following a two-year trial. It will set sail this summer on icebreaker Aurora Australis en route to Davis research station. “Once installed, this will be the best treatment system in Antarctica,” Australian Antarctic Division engineer Michael Packer said. The plant puts kitchen and human wastewater through a process of ozone and ultraviolet disinfection, …

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Urban Runoff and Water Sustainability in Urban Design

The issue of conserving our environment is a complex one. While reducing our material usage, reusing what already exists and recycling other products are all valuable steps towards reducing the impacts of climate change, they cannot be the only strategies adopted in an integrated approach. Sustainability is not just a matter of products. A holistic approach must also encompass how the built environment responds to its context and to its inherent natural processes. This is more important than ever, as extreme weather events become more frequent, placing extra stress on – and accelerating the degradation of – both our natural …

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Hobart City Council To Phase Out Plastic Takeaway Food Containers

Plastic food containers and utensils used by takeaway stores are set to be phased out by the Hobart City Council in what it is calling a nation-leading move. The council voted 10-12 to amend draft environmental health bylaws, banning single use, petroleum-based plastic containers and utensils by 2020. The architect of the change, Greens Alderman Bill Harvey, said they would be replaced by compostable items. He said the proposal had attracted broad public support. “People are aware now; so many Australians watched War on Waste on the ABC and that’s influenced their understanding of plastic pollution, so this is something …

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Liberated Leaders: Leading Through Growth, Change and Disruption

Are you an ‘already’ successful business leader with a strong vision for the future, experiencing challenges in the current business environment, spurred on by growth, change and disruption? If you want to build a future-ready workforce, Liberated Leaders would love to help.  Liberated Leaders is an applied Leadership Program with a special focus on skills, practices and capabilities to navigate change and disruption. We offer leaders greater confidence and skills to lead through change and disruption, to foster an aligned and engaged team, ensure business relevance to secure customers (now and in the future), build capacity to engage in any conversation …

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How the Search for Mythical Monsters Can Help Conservation in the Real World

After fears the Loch Ness Monster had “disappeared” last winter, a new sighting in May 2017 was celebrated by its enthusiasts. The search for monsters and mythical creatures (or “cryptids”) such as Nessie, the Yeti or Bigfoot is known as “cryptozoology”. On the face of it, cryptozoology has little in common with mainstream conservation. First, it is widely held to be a “pseudoscience”, because it does not follow the scientific methods so central to conservation biology. Many conservation scientists would find the idea of being identified with monsters and monster-hunters embarrassing. Moreover, in the context of the global collapse in biodiversity, conservationists focus their attentions …

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The SME’s Guide To Benefitting From Sustainability

Recognising that sustainability is a key business driver, a growing number of SMEs are keen to get certified sustainable, but are confronted with complex processes and high costs. Sustainability experts advise on what SMEs can do. As big corporations move forward with sustainability initiatives to save energy, improve efficiency and build sustainable supply chains, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are following suit. They no longer dismiss sustainability as merely good intentions, but as a key business driver and strategic differentiator for brands. Increasingly SMEs are trying to establish stronger standards surrounding their sustainability practices with many being keen to work with …

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Philanthropy’s Role in Creating Sustainable Cities

Philanthropy has an important role to play in creating “time and space” for cities to become sustainable, according to the program director for the sustainable development grantmaking program at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Michael Northrop is set to give the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation’s annual Inspiring Philanthropy oration discussing the role of philanthropy in creating sustainable cities. Northrop, who also serves on New York City’s Sustainability Advisory Board, told Pro Bono News philanthropy had created soft capital that allowed cities to innovate. “The most important actors in a city are going to be your mayors and your city councils and …

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