by Lynne Blundell
FAVOURITES: 22 November 2011 –At the Colonial First State Global Asset Management Responsible Investment Forum earlier this year chief executive officer Mark Lazberger expressed frustration over the investment industry’s short...
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By Jacqueline McArthur
7 December 2011 – Carrot or stick are the two options architects, body corporates and government policy makers have at their disposal when protecting their green credentials.
But in these straightened times it seems the stick...
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By Alan Pears
15 December 2011 – What is “conservative” when it comes to energy policy?
As energy expert Ian Dunlop pointed out at a recent Climate Alliance conference, humans are investing billions of dollars in exploration for more fossil fuels,...
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By Lyn Drummond
5 January 2012 – Plans are at last progressing to turn the rapidly developing residential and industrial heart of the Sydney suburbs of Macquarie Park and North Ryde into a more vibrant community centre – but it will still take time.
For...
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26 May 2011 – FAVOURITES: Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy of Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute in Perth, Western Australia, say a new phenomenon is under way – “peak car use”.*
Peak car use suggests that we are witnessing...
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By Scott Willey
13 December 2011 – The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Centre For Design is working with the UK entrepreneurial charity Bioregional to extend BioRegional’s portfolio of leading demonstration projects. Read More > >
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By Tina Perinotto
19 December 2011 – National Australia Bank and Low Carbon Australia on Monday announced they had signed the first privately funded environmental upgrade agreement through the Melbourne 1200 buildings program.
In a second announcement...
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19 December 2011 – Arup (Queensland) has won the CitySwitch national signatory of the year award for improving office energy efficiency and demonstrating environmental leadership.
Office televisions which show staff how much energy, water and paper...
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22 December 2011 – Melbourne property investor Will Deague says that when his family investment company Asia Pacific Property Group decided to embark on a major energy efficiency upgrade of a major asset in South Melbourne, it hadn’t heard about...
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14 December 2011 – Sydney based Getty Images photographer, Michael Hall is on a 10-year mission to raise global awareness of climate change after a near-fatal accident four years ago left him with a broken back. Read More > >
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By Tina Perinotto
15 December 2011 – Keith Gunaratne, chief executive and founder of energy efficiency company EP & T Global, has a way to gauge popular sentiment on climate change and carbon. You could call it the taxi index.
A few years ago...
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By Lyn Drummond
14 December 2011 – Jack Evans Boat Harbour, Tweed Heads, designed by ASPECT Studios in collaboration with Tweed Shire Council won the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects NSW medal as “an outstanding example of transformation...
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12 December 2011 –The Durban climate talks agreement leaves gaps in emissions, finance and legal issues warns the Australian Greens, and the Australian Conservation Foundation agrees countries need to be more ambitious in cutting emissions. Read...
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7 December 2011 – The response to the 2011 State of Australian Cities Report has been quite astonishing and led to the need for extra server capacity to handle demand for downloads, Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said at the recent State of...
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By Tina Perinotto
6 December 2011 – Cogent Energy has been confirmed to deliver the first of the City of Sydney’s ambitious low carbon energy systems. The news follows just weeks after the company said that at Dandenong in Melbourne’s...
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By Lynne Blundell
2 November 2011 – There are signs that some in the property sector may be outgrowing current sustainability ratings schemes, with several organisations signing up for certification programs that are pushing the sustainability boundaries...
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By Lyn Drummond
5 December 2011 – A unique scheme to revitalise the NSW city of Newcastle by turning buildings that are vacant, disused or pending development into creative showcases has prompted international interest and resulted in...
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6 December 2011 – The United States Obama administration has announced a US$4 billion energy upgrade finance commitment program, similar to Australia’s environmental upgrade agreements. Read More > >
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By Lyn Drummond
22 November 2011 – With three new projects now certified under the latest EnviroDevelopment standards, national manager Kirsty Chessher says she hopes more than 50 to have qualified within 12 months. Read More > >
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By Tina Perinotto
1 December 2011 – The NSW property industry yesterday (Wednesday) heard more detail about environmental upgrade agreements, the financing scheme to improve building efficiency that has the potential to revolutionise the refurbishment...
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By Scott Willey
30 November 2011 – Victoria’s Eco-Innovation Laboratory is pushing boundaries and taking a lead from the private sector.
Experimentation brings uncertainty, and uncertainty, risk. Read More > >
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By Tina Perinotto
30 November 2011 – The PCA/IPD Green Property Investment Index released today shows again that green buildings are better for the bottom line.
The latest figures focus on capital values. Read More > >
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By Lyn Drummond
30 November 2011 – The developers of a planned ecovillage at Cape Paterson, 150 kilometres south east of Melbourne, claim that financial modelling shows residents could save $300,000 and shave eight years off a typical mortgage through...
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By Lyn Drummond
28 November 2011 – Almost three years since being destroyed in the Victorian bush fires, the new timber Narbethong Community Hall was opened on Saturday, 26 November, by the Governor of Victoria, Alex Chernov. Read More >...
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By Lyn Drummond
28 November 2011 – Buying nutritious produce grown on your supermarket’s roof could be the order soon if Australia adopts similar concepts to New York based companies Bright Farms and Gotham Greens. Read More > >
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By Lyn Drummond
28 November 2011 – The wheel has turned more than 100 years to an electric car comeback in Sydney. Read More > >
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By Tina Perinotto
9 November 2011 – The upgrade of Local Government Super’s building at 76 Berry Street, North Sydney, will take a 25-year-old building off the grid, no tenants disrupted, and it will outperform the new six star NABERS Energy rating.
And...
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By Tina Perinotto
24 November 2011 – At last Monday’s conference in Sydney, organised jointly by the Australian Property Institute and the Property Funds Association, it was clear that the industry Read More > >
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By Jacqueline McArthur
23 November 2011 – When the news broke that the world’s highest profile multi-millionaire environmentalist was a US$30,000 annual utility bill shy of a carbon neutral lifestyle, even ardent fans of former US Vice-President...
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By Paul de Podolinsky
16 November 2011 – Architects need to search harder and wider for innovative solutions to get the best return on investment for their refurbishments and retrofits. Read More > >
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