Westpac: We’re back! …with an $8 billion commitment to sustainability

By Tina Perinotto 19 February 2013 – Westpac last night (Monday) launched a dramatic new sustainability strategy it says will be worth $8 billion over the next five years, doubling its investments in clean technology, environmental services and including $2 billion for social and affordable housing. The announcement signals that for corporate Australia, sustainability is now firmly back on the agenda, after slipping from the radar last year. The package will include lending and investment for renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, waste, water, carbon farming and sustainable forestry activities and land rehabilitation. “For an activity to be deemed ‘green’ …

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US legislature to introduce a market-based mechanism to place a price on carbon?

13 February 2013 — US President Barack Obama has called on the US legislature to introduce a market-based mechanism to place a price on carbon. President Obama was delivering his 2013 State of the Union address, delivered to Congress, 13 February, Australian time. The President called on Congress to pass a bill similar to that proposed by Senator John McCain and former Senator Joe Lieberman a few years ago, which would have introduced a US “cap and trade” emissions trading scheme. “I urge this Congress to get together to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one …

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Burn bush, reduce emissions: evaluating costs and benefits of prescribed burning

By Matthias Boer, University of Western Sydney and Ross Bradstock, University of Wollongong Bushfires are, together with cyclones and flooding, among the most important natural hazards affecting Australian communities. They also make a significant contribution to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Australia has bushfires because of our inherently flammable vegetation types, the recurrence of severe droughts, and a high incidence of hot, dry weather conditions. Management agencies cannot control climate and weather. Consequently, fire hazard reduction focuses primarily on reducing bushland fuel. Starting fires to stop fires In most of Australia’s fire-prone environments, “burning off” – more formally known as prescribed, …

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The Sustainability Conference – join us in Melbourne in 2013

The national Sustainability Conference “Sustainable Transformation 2 ” will be held in conjunction with the 6th Making Cities Liveable Conference, in a new era of collaboration, information sharing and professional networking. The conference is being held from the 17th – 19th June 2013 at Novotel Melbourne St Kilda. The joint meeting brings together National, State and Regional delegates to exchange ideas, discuss Business, Government  and Community initiatives and examine opportunities in the sector, we hope you will join us. Delegates will have access to an extensive range of topics with over 90 presentations across three days including Keynotes, Concurrent Sessions, Case …

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The Many Sides of Sustainability – revisted

In early 2011 Oracle released a white paper on the “The Many Sides of Sustainability” The following is quoted directly from the paper and refers to 2010 data… “Regardless of how large or how profitable they are, businesses today do not stand alone. They are inextricably linked with the societies in which they operate. Every decision they make—whether it‘s to close a plant, move opera tions to a different country or set a price for a new product—affects the surrounding community and the natural environment, for better or for worse. Regulations resulting from corporate scandals, the rising influence of non-governmental …

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A National Sustainability Council for Australia

Media Release Tony Burke, Minister for the Environment, today announced the establishment of a National Sustainability Council for Australia. Mr Burke said the council would provide independent advice to the government on sustainability issues and produce public reports against a set of sustainability indicators. “It was clear from the Sustainable Population Strategy that we need better information about how our economy, environment and society interact to inform better planning and decision making,” Mr Burke said. “That’s why the Government announced the Measuring Sustainability program in the 2011-12 Budget. “This program will allow for the collection of data guided by a …

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SME sustainability challenges 2012

In a report released by the Network for Business Sustainability (NBS), in Canada, 10 SME’s share the challenges they face in being environmentally and socially responsible. “Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) create more than 80 per cent of new jobs in Canada every year,” said Marie-France Turcotte, author of the report, management professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Director of NBS’s French office. “SMEs also create 80 per cent of industry’s negative environmental impacts and more than 60 per cent of commercial waste. Clearly, conversations about sustainable business must include SMEs.” Download a copy of the report …

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Ikea Targets Energy and Resource Independence by 2020

Source: Environmental Leader, Oct 23 2012 Ikea today announced a plan to become energy and resource independent by 2020, which includes constructing $2.4 billion of wind and solar projects. The retailer’s new sustainability strategy, dubbed People … continue reading on: Environmental Leader

Integrated reporting “the next step”

FSinsight editor Jeroen Derwall, Assistant Professor at the Tilburg Center for Sustainability and at Maastricht University, talks about the upward trend that more companies are reporting on their sustainability practices. However, the quality of the reporting differs. He calls integrated reporting “the next step.”

Positive Carbon Management: The Buck Starts with the Environmental Data

What separates leaders from followers in the area of energy and carbon management?  Bigger cost reductions and better operating performance.  How do they achieve these results? By outperforming followers with executive sponsored programs and investing in technology to manage and analyse data. That’s the message to take away from a recent energy and carbon management report by research firm Aberdeen Group. What can be inferred from this report is that delivering improved business performance will, in the long term, only be achieved by a systematic and consistent approach to energy and carbon, which will accommodate the increasing complexity and quantity …

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