15 May 2013 — BioRegional co-founder and creator of One Planet Living Pooran Desai returns to Australia later this month to promote One Planet Living through free public lectures, interactive workshops and professional training courses. One Planet Living is a framework and program that makes sustainability easy, affordable and attractive – specifically for communities, councils and companies. BioRegional, in partnership with the United Nation’s Environment Programme, has opened up the use... 
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15 May 2013 — Flying Start, a program developed by John Goddard & Co to help commercial property owners attract tenants to their rated buildings, has received the Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Oceania Commercial Property Awards. The judges said the program, developed with the Green Building Council of Australia, met the criteria of “innovation, professional and customer care, talent development and ethical standards” and was likely to... 
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15 May 2013 — An application to purify water through the rapid removal of oily pollutants, could have major environmental benefits in agriculture and manufacturing industries. Developed at the University of South Australia’s School of Engineering, in collaboration with the Mawson Institute, it involves the use of surface engineered silica particles, which act as oil magnets in water, adsorbing oil, yet repelling water. The technology can remove motor oil, crude oil, petrol or kerosene from water... 
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14 May 2013 — The Green Building Council of Australia will host Green Building Day 2013 to Melbourne on Friday, 7 June. Green Building Day 2013 will explore the future of the green building industry in Australia, the trends, the predictions and the latest market insights and industry opportunities. Some highlights of the program include: Findings from the GBCA’s first ever quantitative research into the impact of Green Star on the built environment over the past 10 years Bruce Precious of... 
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14 May 2013 — Twenty of Sydney’s leading green architects and building designers will provide free advice to the public at Speed Date a Sustainable Designer at the Paddington Town Hall on June 1. Speed Date a Sustainable Designer gives people who are renovating or building the opportunity to discuss their ideas and plans with the experts and explore the best environmental options for their home. There will be 13 minutes per date, with all questions asked and answered. Speed Date a Sustainable... 
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14 May 2013 — After a two-year pilot, the Green Building Council of Australia have today released the Green Star – Public Building v1 rating tool. “The Green Star – Public Building rating tool opens the door to Green Star certification for Australia’s public buildings,” said GBCA chief executive Romilly Madew. “A Green Star – Public Building rating provides independent verification that what is being designed and constructed is an efficient, sustainable and future-proofed asset.” “Public... 
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13 May 2013 — May 13 is the deadline for new political parties to get the 500 members they need to register for the federal election. GetUp has provided a resource of new parties people can join if they’re disillusioned with the current crop: Stop Coal Seam Gas: “The Stop CSG Party will work to protect communities and farmland from invasive coal seam gas mining by pressuring government to ban CSG.” Single Parents’ Party: “Parenting is hard. Especially for the 950,000 single... 
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8 May 2013 — Allied Timber Products, a Queensland sawmilling company, will use $202,275 of carbon price revenue to reduce energy consumption at Burpengary. The Federal Government’s Clean Technology Investment Program grant will be used for the installation of energy efficient motors and controllers at the sawmill. The equipment upgrade is expected to reduce the carbon emissions intensity of the site by about 16 per cent and savings of up to $39,000 in energy costs per year.  
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7 May 2013 — The national construction sector is at the lowest point in seven months as tough industry conditions continue. The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index for April saw a 3.8 point reduction to 35.2 (readings below 50 represent a contraction) – the 35th consecutive month of contraction. Construction activity was down to 34.7 while employment dropped 9.4 points to 29.8, the weakest employment reading since the index began... 
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7 May 2013 — The BIM-MEPAUS Construction Innovation 2013 Forum will be held 25-26 July. The BIM-MEPAUS is an industry initiative which seeks to effectively address the issues currently impeding the transition to building information modelling-based integrated project delivery. The forum includes case study presentations from head contractors, facilities managers, clients and property owners with contractors reporting on their experience with embracing the BIM-MEPAUS system. The second day will... 
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7 May 2013 — Environmental group Quit Coal has unveiled a giant banner from the top of Flinders Street Station calling on Premier Denis Napthine to “get off the coal train and get on track for renewables”. Quit Coal spokesperson Chloe Aldenhoven said Victorians in towns like Poowong and Bacchus Marsh were being forced to defend their farms, their communities and their water resources from these new and invasive mining projects.    
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7 May 2013 — LEED green building certification should be used for all US General Services Administration buildings, the Green Building Advisory Committee has recommended. The committee, which was established by GSA, also recommended that LEED should be the primary way to show how agency buildings use energy and water and that LEED standards were the most conducive to meet the Energy Independence and Security Act. The committee has evaluated more than 160 tools and systems since it began in 2011. US... 
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7 May 2013 — CB Richard Ellis global corporate services senior director Angus Harvey-Ross will swap his shoes for hiking boots when he climbs Mt Kilimanjaro to support his daughter’s fundraising efforts. Pip is raising money for an orphanage project in Arusha, Tanzania called “Many Shades” and needs sponsors for the seven-day trek. The vision is to open a number of homes for six to eight children under the age of seven. Each child will have a sponsor who provides funds for education,... 
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3 May 2013 — Lower than expected carbon prices will reduce the cost of Australia’s carbon pollution reduction efforts, says the Climate Institute. A recent Australian Financial Review piece indicated Treasury was set to revise the projected price of carbon in 2015-16 to $15, down from $29. The lower price reduces by about half the $6.7 billion of revenue previously forecasted. The Climate Institute has used the news to call for a strengthening of carbon reduction policies, claiming a reduction... 
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2 May 2013 — CBRE has been awarded Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors New Zealand Commercial Property Awards. The award recognised CBRE’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, as well as its staff green day, green building management practices and the Real Green Research Challenge – a CBRE-funded grant awarded to qualified applicants for addressing a recognised sustainability need in the built environment. The New Zealand asset services... 
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2 May 2013 — A Memorandum of Understanding between University of Technology, Sydney, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries will pave the way for scientists to use world-leading next-generation molecular technologies for the benefit of the agriculture, horticulture, livestock and equine industries. NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said the MOU allowed DPI and UTS to collaborate on diagnostic testing, vaccine development, disease detection and alternatives to antibiotics... 
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1 May 2013 — Australian energy management outfit BuildingIQ has snagged the 2013 Bloomberg New Energy Pioneers Award. BuildingIQ, whose software predicts and manages HVAC loads to reduce energy costs by up to 25 per cent, was chosen among a competitive field of energy entrepreneurs. “Tough times make for good entrepreneurs, and this is definitely what we are seeing in this year’s New Energy Pioneers,” said Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance Michael Liebreich. The award, which... 
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30 April 2013 — Nigeria needs its own green building rating system to mitigate global climate changes and extreme weather events, says Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute’s Maton Dafang John. Mr John gave the warning in a presentation, Green Building Rating System: A Nigeria Imperative, at the 2013 Architects Colloquium held in Abuja. “A global assessment of green building rating-system indicators, showcase parameters such as energy efficiency, water resources, building materials,... 
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30 April 2013 — Melbourne’s food and coffee consumers have come together to support the increasing resistance to coal and coal seam gas mining industries encroaching on Gippsland agricultural areas. Quit Coal activist Jessie Gartlan said the campaign, which includes the premiere of the documentary, Gippsland is Precious, had come about as people in Gippsland became more vocal and organised in their opposition to the expansion of coal and coal seam gas industries in Victoria. “Coal and invasive... 
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25 April 2013 — UK built environment research centre BRE and Shanghai International Shipping Services Centre, a Chinese state owned developer, have signed an agreement designed to promote and grow sustainable construction in China. The partners will collaborate on is the SISSC’s £4 billion (A$5.9 billion) flagship commercial marina development on the Huangpu River – to be designed to BREEAM, Europe’s leading environmental standard, alongside the Chinese Three Star Green Building Standard. Other... 
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25 April 2013 — Gulf Organisation for Research and Development will hold the Green Buildings Expo 2014 at Doha Exhibition Centre from 28-30 January. IFP Qatar will organise the event. Yousef al-Horr, founding chairman of GORD, said the expo was “yet another initiative in our pursuit to position Qatar as the capital of green”. “Opening an international dialogue on green building practices will influence business decisions pertaining to the planning, procurement and implementation phases of... 
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25 April 2013 — The Federal Government has released its 2012 December quarter official emission accounts showing up-to-date actual emissions over the 2011-12 period. And The Climate Spectator reports that rather than experiencing the second highest year of emissions growth since detailed records were collected, Australia had a decline in emissions of 4 million tonnes of CO2. And the economy still grew by 3.4 per cent at the same time. Emissions in 2011-12 were back at the same level they were in... 
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25 April 2013 — The major impact that international summits and treaties have had on China’s environmental governance is often overlooked, says writer Li Shuo in China Dialogue. In an article titled, Why it’s time to end China-bashing on the environment, Shuo says environmental protection first emerged as an issue in China in 1972, after the country dispatched a delegation to the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. “Participation in this event was an important step forward... 
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25 April 2013 — Australia’s largest solar power generators for winemakers will be built for De Bortoli Wines by The Solar Project, through projects partially funded by the Federal Government’s Clean Technology Investment Program. The projects, with one also to be built at Tanunda for Barossa Vintners, incorporate more than 1300 solar photovoltaic panels from solar panel manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS and will save tens of thousands of dollars per year for the two wineries. NHP Renewable Energy... 
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24 April 2013 —Australian researchers estimate that the global energy consumption by wireless networks will grow by 460 per cent – the equivalent of an extra 4.9 million cars on the road – over the next two years. On the ABC’s Today Show, Rod Tucker, the director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Energy Efficient Telecommunications, said that while data centres were a concern in terms of energy consumption, it was the wireless access network “which is even more of a... 
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23 April 2013 — The City of Joondalup will host 200 delegates from around the globe for the 2013 International BiodiverCities Conference in September. Joondalup Mayor Troy Pickard said the city was committed to addressing challenges to biodiversity conservation within the context of a changing climate by hosting the first international conference of its kind to be held in Western Australia. “The City is located within the Southwest Australia Biodiversity Hotspot. This region is one of 34 internationally... 
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23 April 2013 — One Planning Institute of Australia member will be offered the chance to help strengthen ties between planners in Latin America and Australia. Over the past 12 months the PIA has been involved in the Planning Connections program, which shares professional experiences and ideas of best practice between the two countries. It has developed a relationship with the Professional Board of Architecture and Urbanism in Argentina which will fund the two-week professional tour of Argentina... 
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23 April 2013 — Bentley Systems has given $100,000 to Water For People in support of the organisation’s work improving water systems in emerging economies around the world. Bentley, a software company, has also donated eight software products including MicroStation, WaterGEMS, SewerGEMS, FlowMaster and Bentley Map. The software will be used by Water For People team members to design, engineer, and construct water systems, as well as to map the functionality of water points in every district. Team... 
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18 April 2013 — Standards Australia has published a new Australian Standard for electricity network safety management systems. The standard – AS 5577—2013 Electricity network safety management systems – was developed by Technical Committee EN-004 comprising: Australian Pipeline Industry Association Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council ElectroComms and Energy Utilities Industry Skills Council Energy... 
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17 April 2013 — Nominations are open for the NSW Government’s 14th annual Green Globe Awards, celebrating environmental excellence and innovation in NSW. NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker said for the past 14 years, the awards had been an outstanding platform for organisations to showcase new technologies, build their corporate reputation and highlight their leadership in the field of sustainability. Categories include: Water, Waste and Energy Awards – Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency... 
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