Brief – 22 September – The Victorian Government has committed $100 million to a proposed 180 megawatt solar power station that is expected to deliver enough power each year to run 60,000 homes. The plant is part of a project pitched by energy company TRUenergy and if approved will be built south of Mildura by 2015, the second large scale solar plant built outside the city within five years, according to a report in The Age. TRUenergy chief executive Richard McIndoe estimated the plant would avoid 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over its 20 year lifespan. Meanwhile, the West Australian government has committed $58 million for a grid-connected solar power plant to be built in Geraldton in the state’s mid-west. Managed by Verve Energy, the solar photovoltaic energy project will begin construction in early 2011. WA Energy Minister Peter Collier said at the Energy in WA Conference that the project will become the biggest solar photovoltaic plant in Australia, generating... 
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22 September – From the Sydney Morning Herald – Many people don’t believe in global warming because everyday life may have trained them to doubt it, according to a new University of NSW study that brings together climate science and cognitive psychology. As the physical science underpinning human-induced climate change has grown more and more solid, more people have been growing sceptical of it, according to the paper The Psychology of Global Warming, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. ”Simply presenting the facts and figures about global warming has failed to convince large portions of the general public, journalists and policy makers about the scale of the problem and the urgency of required action,” the paper says. Click here to read the full article.  
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Brief – 21 September - The inaugural international Skyrise Greenery Conference will be held in Singapore 1-3 November, with speakers to include award-winning greening experts Emilio Ambasz from the US, inventor of the vertical garden concept Patrick Blanc from France and leading authority on ecologically-responsive architecture and planning. Ken Yeang. The first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, the conference will not only cover rooftop gardens and green roofs, but also vertical green walls – a growing trend around the globe. The conference will also feature a trade exhibition showcasing related products and services from around the world and on the last day delegates will be treated to technical tours of six skyrise greenery sites in Singapore. Click here for more details  
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Brief – 21 September – The ANZ Centre in Melbourne’s Docklands has been awarded the Emirates Glass LEAF Award for Commercial Building of the Year at the ninth annual Leading European Architects Forum Awards in London. Designed by HASSELL and Lend Lease, the building was also one of four shortlisted projects in the LEAF International Interior Design category. LEAF Awards judges praised the ANZ Centre as a benchmark for sustainable buildings. “The dramatic and playful interiors combined with a strong approach to sustainability placed this as a clear category winner,” they said. The judges believe this is a building that will set a global environmental and social sustainability benchmark for others to follow,” the judging panel said. “Make no mistake – this is a truly commercial building but it also incorporates a raft of first-time green initiatives. For example, there is recycled timber cladding and a green wall linking the building to a nearby park. The building... 
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Brief:  16 September 2010 - An Auspoll survey has shown that country people are more eager for large-scale development of clean energy than city people. According to the poll of 1500 people, 85 per cent of rural respondents and 82 per cent of urban respondents want the government to “make clean energy cheaper quicker, through large scale development of solar, geothermal and wind power in urban and regional Australia”. The survey was conducted for the Australian Conservation Foundation on the same day regional independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott announced they would support the formation of a Labor minority government.  
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15 September 2010 – The finalists for three categories of the 2010 Banksia Awards recognising commitment to sustainability have been announced, with winners to be presented at the Banksia Awards Presentation on 15 October in Sydney. The Banksia People’s Choice Award category has nominated nine contenders, with the winner to be determined by voting open to the Australian public until 13 October 2010. Click here to view the contenders and place your vote. The finalists for the Banksia Environmental Award category have also been announced, with nominees vying for recognition of their commitment to sustainability in the respective categories of education, the indigenous community, land and biodiversity, water, agriculture and food, the built environment, clean technology, transportation, warehousing and logistics and leadership in sustainability. Click here to view the finalists for each category. Also released are the finalists for the Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research... 
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Brief – 14 September 2010 – The Institute for Sensible Transport is hosting “The High Cost of Free Parking”, a seminar dedicated to developing parking strategies for sustainable land use and transport outcomes. Taking place at the Melbourne Town Hall on 4 November, registration for the event will remain open until 30 September. The seminar is designed to assist in strategically managing car parking issues that result in a sustainable outcomes for traders, residents and visitors. Topics to be discussed include car parking policy and sustainable development, evaluating the cost of current parking policing, parking in residential and commercial development, Melbourne CBD parking levy and its impacts on travel to the CBD, parking, shopping strips and local government parking policy at train stations. Presenters at the seminar include: Professor Graham Currie, chair of public transport, Monash University Professor Donald Shoup, professor of urban planning at UCLA and author... 
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Brief – 14 September - The Total Environment Centre and Green Capital will host “Hung with Independents & Greens”, a forum to probe the prospects for climate action, sustainable business and the emerging green economy under a minority national government. Taking place at the Wesley Conference Centre in Sydney on 29 September, the forum will host veterans and experts in sustainability and minority government politics, including speakers: Cheryl Kernot, director of social business the Centre for Social Impact and former Democrat senator John Connor, CEO, Climate Institute and former researcher for Dr Peter Macdonald Independent member for Manly during NSW’s minority coalition government Jeff Angel, executive director, Total Environment Centre Speakers will be followed by a questions and answer session followed by networking time. Click here for more details.  
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Brief – 14 September - The Green Building Council of Australia has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff director of sustainability Darren Bilsborough to its board of directors. GBCA chief executive Romilly Madew praised the addition of Mr Bilsborough, who is also adjunct professor of sustainability at Curtin University and is part of the National Council of Directors of Environment Business Australia. “Darren Bilsborough has had a long association with the GBCA, and is a qualified Green Star Accredited Professional,” said Ms Madew. “He is a valuable addition to the GBCA’s board of directors, and we look forward to benefiting from his experience and dedication to sustainable development.” Mr Bilsborough said he looked forward to contributing to the GBCA leadership team. “The green building movement has achieved some worthy milestones – there is potential for this momentum to extend from buildings to broader green urban environments – including communities,” said Mr Bilsborough. “To... 
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Brief – 10 September, 2010 - Japan’s leading property developer and largest home builder, Sekisui House, and the Lend Lease Group have signed an agreement that will see the two companies working closely together on some significant housing projects in three states. The agreement between the two companies includes the following: Sekisui House will acquire a 50 per cent interest in Lend Lease’s 144 apartment development, Serrata at Victoria Harbour in Melbourne. This agreement is subject to satisfying a number of conditions. Lend Lease will retain the remaining 50 per cent interest and provide development, project management and construction services to the joint venture Sekisui House will purchase a land interest from Lend Lease at Hyatt Coolum on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland on which Sekisui House intends to construct up to 450 new homes. Lend Lease will provide development management services to the project. Sekisui House will also acquire a 50% interest from... 
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Brief – 8 September 2010 - 2,500 leading water experts are convening in Stockholm for the 20th annual World Water Week,  discussing issues of water quality, access, urbanisation and climate change adaptation. Held under the theme “Responding to Global Changes: The Water Quality Challenge” the meeting’s first day was headlined by 2010 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, Dr. Rita Colwell, who warned that shortcomings in addressing the water quality issue, coupled with climate changes, could lead to disastrous outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera, which would in turn affect economic and national security. Executive director of Stockholm International Water Institute Anders Bertnell said in his welcoming address that water pollution poses as one of the major threats to humanity. “Bad water kills more people than HIV, malaria and wars together, affecting the lives of families and the economic development of many countries around the world. We are also increasingly... 
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Brief – 7 September 2010 - The Property Council of Australia and the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency will host a series of nationwide seminars in preparation of Mandatory Disclosure on 1 November. Lead by industry experts, the seminars will outline: Your legal obligations and how to avoid a $110, 000 fine; How to prepare yourself for the transitional period (twelve months) and beyond; How to manage NABERS and the subsequent BECC requirements; and Hear case studies regarding different building grades. The Property Council will host the Mandatory Disclosure Roadshow in Melbourne this Thursday, 9 September, Sydney CBD this Friday 10 September, Brisbane on 16 September, Gold Coast on 17 September, Adelaide on 24 September, Geelong on 28 September, Newcastle and Perth on 29 September and Hobart on 5 October. See our What’s On page for further details.  
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Brief – 7 September - Leader of the renewable-energy hydrogen research group at RMIT University associate professor John Andrews will outline a vision for a sustainable hydrogen economy in a presentation at the EcoGen 2010 Conference in Sydney tomorrow. Associate professor Andrews says that the original concept of a “hydrogen economy” was conceived in the early 1970s when concerns were first being raised about shrinking oil, gas and coal supplies. “Now that we confront the threat of irreversible climate change, as well as a looming deficit between oil demand and supply, this concept needs radical re-envisioning as a truly ‘sustainable hydrogen economy’,” said associate professor Andrews. “Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources has a critical role to play globally and in Australia as a replacement transport fuel to petroleum, and as a long-term energy storage on our main electricity grids to allow continuous supply from intermittent renewables such as solar and... 
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Brief – 7 September 2010 - Parsons Brinckerhoff has released it’s Complete Streets guide, demonstrating sustainable solutions for designers, developers and local governments to be innovative in the creation of street designs. PB placemaking principle Steven Burgess says that Complete Streets, which was developed on behalf of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia Queensland, provides principles and solutions hat allow the design of quality people-oriented spaces. “We included a number of different initiatives in these guidelines. Among them is the idea of car-free streets, for both retail designed streets and living areas. This allows a highly pedestrian friendly environment,” said Mr Burgess. “For example, Complete Streets discourages left turn slip lanes in streets to enable more pedestrian and cyclist friendly areas. This is one way to make the ‘street’ not simply a conduit for cars. This reinforces that streets are community areas with social and recreational... 
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Brief – 1 September 2010 - The Australian Local Government Association has welcomed an agreement between Labor and the Greens to hold a referendum in this parliamentary term to include local government in the Australian constitution. ALGA president Geoff Lake said that such a change to the constitution would help protect funding for local councils. “This is absolutely fantastic news for councils, local communities and for improved cooperation between the three levels of government,” Mr Lake said. “The inclusion of local government in the constitution is all about stable government. It is about removing the current uncertainty stemming from last year’s high court decision in Pape which has cast serious doubt on the power of the commonwealth to continue to provide funds directly to local government. “Ratepayers should be protected from the threat of having to bail out their local council should a constitutional challenge of local funding prove successful... 
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31 August 2010 - The National Association of Women in Construction last week awarded its prestigious Rider Levett Bucknall Crystal Vision Award to CEO of Lend Lease Tony Costantino and principal of Arup Marianne Foley. NAWIC’s NSW Chapter President Bridgeen Rocks praised both winners for their contributions towards promoting women working in the construction industry. “Both Tony Costantino and Marianne Foley are worthy winners of the Crystal Vision Award,” Ms Rocks said. “Tony is committed to being a role model and mentor for advancing and furthering the interests of women, which is evident through his active participation in initiatives such as the Diversity Council, ensuring a strong level of female representation in his senior management team and the time and dedication he has displayed in the career development of a number of women. “Marianne is passionate about actively promoting gender diversity within Arup and the industry. Marianne is influential through the use... 
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Brief – 25 August 2010 – The City of Sydney today said that businesses in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria have been misused in a “deceitful campaign to attack the City of Sydney cycleway program.” Chief executive officer for the council Monica Barone said a legal letter from Mahoney Dominic lawyers to the City had falsely claimed 102 companies and businesses located on Bourke Road were joined in a class action against the Council’s cycleway. “The alarm bells began ringing when the lawyer’s letter arrived with a list of the companies supposedly against the cycleways. “I was surprised to see the names of companies the City had worked closely with and who had long been supportive of cycleways and cycling. “I responded by contacting representatives of four organisations on the list. They included Fairfax, Westpac and the Australian Museum. They were completely unaware that they had been included on a list of alleged claimants. “I have... 
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BRIEF – 18 August 2010 – “Quality urban design does pay,” was the message of outgoing president of Living Streets Aotearoa Peter Kortegast at the recent this year’s Dollars and Sense of Walking conference held in Wellington, New Zealand. Creating walkable towns and cities through urban design – liveable communities that utilise walking as an optimal mode of transport – was the central theme of a recent conference  in Wellington New Zealand. Key speakers included walking consultant Martin Wedderburn, a member of the research team assembled by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment to make a case for investment in quality street design in the UK. Mr Wedderburn outlined new research into a development of a toolkit for measuring the economic value of improvements to urban public spaces,  and he introduced to the conference a new walking and cycling benchmarking tool for New Zealand. For more see www.livingstreets.org.nz  
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Brief – 17 August 2010 – The Australian Conservation Foundation has welcomed Labor’s $10 million commitment to create large green corridors connecting national parks and reserves but says more could be spent to support Australia’s natural life support systems. According to a recent Auspoll survey commissioned by the ACF and WWF, 72 per cent of voters would support a political party that set up a $1 billion a year national plan to protect rivers, forests, wildlife, oceans and beaches. ACF’s executive director Don Henry said in a media release that the recent increase in funding was not enough to build resilience to climate change. “ACF welcomes the commitment to provide strong national leadership and work with regional groups to remake broken connections in the landscape,” said Mr Henry. “However Labor’s commitment of $10 million is not enough to implement programs that will build resilience to climate change in our natural life support systems. The ACF also cites... 
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BRIEF – 16 August 2010 - Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited has won a legal action in the Federal Court over poor investment advice in an action prosecuted by IMF Australia Ltd, which funded the case. Ceramic Fuel Cells, which has developed high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units for domestic and commercial use will  receive about $3.9 million from the case against Oakvale Capital Limited. In a prepared statement, Ceramic Fuel Cells said: “Ceramic Fuel Cells and IMF have agreed to settle the case against Oakvale Capital Limited, with Oakvale’s insurer to pay the agreed settlement sum by 27 August 2010. “After legal costs and IMF’s agreed share of the settlement sum, Ceramic Fuel Cells will receive approximately $3.9 million including GST.”  
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Brief – 11 August 2010 – A twin tower development in Singapore designed by designed by Denton Corker Marshall and Architects 61 has been awarded the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Core & Shell Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council (click here to view the case study). Developed by MPGA and, the “Asia Square” development, of about 185,800 square metres of office space, is expected to consume about 33 per cent less energy than most standard commercial buildings, saving close to 10 million kilowatts per year. It is also expected to save approximately 40 per cent or 65 million litres of water per year as compared to most standard commercial buildings. Asia Square’s project director Jeremy Choy says that the development’s sustainable features will provide a healthier working environment that will add value to business. “Asia Square has been designed for long-term sustainability and to create a healthier working environment for tenants... 
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Brief – 11 August 2010 - The federal government will provide financial incentives for households and businesses to invest in off-grid systems as part of changes to the Renewable Energy Target legislation. The new system relies on the “Solar Credits” scheme multiplier to provide the financial incentive for people in remote areas to invest in off-grid systems. For grid-connected systems, the Solar Credits scheme allows households and businesses to create and sell five times the amount of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) for systems up to 1.5 kilowatts in capacity. For proponents of off-grid systems, the Solar Credits REC multiplier will now be eligible if you are installing an off-grid system up to 20kW in capacity. The multiplier itself reduces over time (by a factor of one) between mid 2012 and mid 2015. Click here for more detail on the eligibility requirements of off-grid systems under the Solar Credits scheme.  
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Brief – 10 August 2010 - Thermal imaging company Digital Mapping Australia, who specialise in thermal orthophoto technology (see our story here), will be hosting a presentation on the multi sensor approach to digital imagery in Sydney on 14 September. The presentation will give details on the use of LIDAR, thermal and Hyspex sensors in thermal orthophotos as well as introduce climate change applications used in thermal imagery. Analysis on light pollution, solar rooves, surface hydrology and building footprints caputred by thermal imagery will also be discussed in detail. Event details: Where: The Grace Hotel, Pinnaroo Room 5, 77 York Street, Sydney, NSW When: 14th September 2010 Time: 9.00am 12.00noon (morning tea provided) RSVP: By 1st September 2010 – bruce.mason@dimap.com.au  
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Events – 9 July 2010 – Malcolm Turnbull, Bob Carr, Allan Jones (City of Sydney) and Quentin Dempster are just a few of the all-star, all-expert line up turning up on Thursday night at Sydney Town Hall for a 6 pm (sharp) launch of the Beyond Zero Emissions Stationary Energy Plan, which “aims to demonstrate that there there are no technical barriers to a 10-year 100 per cent renewable energy transition in Australia.” For a 16 page synopsis of the report go to: http://media.beyondzeroemissions.org/ZCA2020_Stationary_Energy_Synopsis_v1.pdf  
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Brief – 4 August – The Productivity Commission is calling for individuals and organisations to take part in a public inquiry into the case for microeconomic reform in Australia’s urban water sector. The 12 month inquiry will look to identify opportunities for efficiency gains in the Australian urban water and wastewater sectors, setting forth a plan to achieve such gains. Interested parties are encouraged to lodge written submissions and appear at public hearings and forums, with an “Issues Paper” to be published in September outlining matters on which the Commission will be seeking input. The Commission will release a draft report setting out its preliminary findings and recommendations. Following that release, interested parties will have an opportunity to respond to the draft report through further submissions and hearings. Click here for more details  
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Brief – 3 August 2010 - The Australian Conservation Foundation has welcomed policy commitments from the Australian Greens to cut energy consumption by 20 per cent over the next decade. ACF executive director Don Henry said that the Greens energy targets would help reduce power bills for businesses and households. “The Greens policy of cutting energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2020 would reduce power bills for households and businesses and is very welcome,” said Mr Henry. Mr Henry also lent his support for Greens policy encouraging investment in urban light rail systems. “ACF welcomes the commitments by the Greens for increased investment in urban light rail systems and to investigate the feasibility of high speed rail to connect our largest cities. We urge the major parties to follow this lead by committing to re-balance the national transport budget – with two thirds being invested in cleaner, faster and affordable public transport systems – by the end of the... 
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Brief – 3 August 2010 - The KNOWCHANGE the grassroots sustainability group will hold a fringe event on 10 August at the Shelbourne Hotel in Sydney during the Australia-New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference. Key question for the forum will be: “How would you describe Australia in 2020 if by then, we have achieved the 25 per cent GHG reduction target?” Attendees have been invited to present their own views to the forum with a presentation no longer than four minutes, to focus on specific key issues around the subject major question. For details contact Jonathan.Jutsen@energetics.com.au) or ebondareva@thincprojects.com). Click here for the conference details.  
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28 July 2010 – The Victorian government is among 14 customers across six countries to order gas-to-electricity BlueGen fuel cells from Ceramic Fuel Cells, according to a company report released today. The demand for the cells comes after a CSIRO report confirmed that significant carbon savings can be made through BlueGen, which so far has had 12 integrated units installed and operating in five countries, the company said in a media statement. Orders for 49 BlueGen units have been placed worldwide, with the Victorian government’s Office of Housing having ordered 30 units due to be installed in public housing properties in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria from late 2010 to early 2011 for an initial two year project period. BlueGen also secured its first order in the Australian Capital Territory, with the single unit to be installed in the Canberra Institute of Technology’s Sustainable Skills Training Hub. The BlueGen unit is expected to be installed shortly before the... 
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Brief 28 July 2010 - Ndever has claimed the Best E-Business Product honour at the 2010 Australian Business Awards for their GHG Accounting Software. CEO of Ndevr Maureen Clifford said that the win for the product, which allows companies such as Oracle, Abigroup, Thiess, BGC, CSBP and Stockland manage their environmental data, demonstrates Ndever’s commitment to supplying accurate environmental data to Australian businesses. “This award reinforces our commitment to enabling Australian business’s to effectively and efficiently manage all their environmental data so they can not only report back to government agencies, but can also gain an accurate view of their footprint and work towards emissions reduction targets”. GHG Accounting Software is the first sustainability module to be developed specifically for use within an existing enterprise resource planning framework, the compoany said. The full list of winners can be viewed here  
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Brief: 23 – July 2010 – Good Environmental Choice Australia has been recognised under the Green Building Council of Australia’s new more competitive assessment framework for Product Certification Schemes, after being sole assessor for several years. GECA is now one of four certification schemes to be recognised under the Framework. Other schemes that recently made the grade are: the Carpet Institute of Australia’s Environmental Certification Scheme, Ecospecifier’s GreenTag GreenRate and the Australasian Furnishing Research and Development Institute Limited’s Sustainability Standard. GBCA’s chief executive, Romilly Madew said the GBCA had now opened the market through its new assessment framework. “This new certification reinforces the fact that all schemes can be recognised equally, provided they meet the Framework’s stringent criteria,” Ms Madew said. GECA chairman Jack Josephson said his organisation was “very pleased to again achieve recognition... 
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