By Wendy Truong and Edie Mather 3 September 2010 - The success of the Federal Government's Solar Bonus Scheme has seen over 30,000 households generating their own solar energy. Following is an outline of scheme and how it can benefit individual homes. The Australian Government is finally back on the solar bandwagon ...Read More > >

    By Lynne Blundell The lowdown on lighting is far more complex than meets the eye. Greater efficiency might come with dangerous levels of mercury, or metals that need to be disposed of.Read our  TFE SPECIAL INVESTIGATION. 20 July 2010  - Lighting is hot right now. Every week, it seems, there is ...Read More > >

    By Lynne Blundell 20 July 2010 - A small Australian manufacturing team is bucking the trend with its linear fluorescent light fitting, using what many consider outdated technology to achieve what it says is a 70 per cent reduction in lighting energy use and more effective lighting. Some large property owners, ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 15 July 2010 - According to GPT sustainability manager Bruce Precious there are perhaps only six people in Australia he would trust with serious upgrades to his company’s prized assets. Steve Hennessy is one of them. As head of operations for Steensen Varming, Hennessy is an insider’s choice: an ...Read More > >

By Boris Kelly 13 August 2010 - With only days left in the federal election campaign and with both major parties poncing around the point on climate change, 2000 people packed the Sydney Town Hall for the launch of a plan to achieve zero emissions in Australia by 2020 by re-powering ...Read More > >

by Lynne Blundell FAVOURITES - 21 April 2010 - Carbon neutrality, the sustainable holy grail for buildings, is likely to remain just as elusive as that legendary object unless those who design and operate them up the ante. This was the message in a session on carbon emissions at the Australian ...Read More > >

By Andrew Starc 28 July 2010 - Design team Woods Bagot and Buro Happold have launched a zero energy, carbon neutral sustainable development project to be piloted on China’s Yangtze River. Zero Emissions Design (Zero-E) is designed as a new model for large-scale sustainable developments, aiming to advance the construction industry’s contribution ...Read More > >

by Tina Perinotto 22 July 2010 - For the owner of the building the Local Government Super it was the photo opp of a lifetime: Federal ministers Kim Carr and Maxine McKew, both corralled for the mid morning launch just days into a federal election. The venue: the chilly rain-swept roof at ...Read More > >

By Rebecca Pearce 22 July 2010 - Tackling the fundamental problem of carbon emissions from older style buildings is one of the key issues for the property industry. However, one Australian fund manager has proved that existing buildings can be upgraded to target a 5 star NABERS energy rating at a ...Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell FAVOURITES - 15 April 2010 -Susan Roaf doesn’t have much time for architects. She thinks that most are little more than “building hairdressers” and she accuses the profession of undermining the fight against climate change. Roaf, a well known architect, author on sustainable buildings, and a professor of architectural ...Read More > >

By Andrew Starc 18 June 2010 - Investa has released its latest sustainability report,  with findings from seven years of data revealing the energy and greenhouse emissions of the group’s tenants. The sustainability report, Investa’s eighth, is presented in a new online format with interactive graphs that allow the user to view ...Read More > >

Brief - 9 June, 2010 - The Queensland Government has appointed Umow Lai to master plan the new $1.97 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital. Umow Lai’s team will provide technical and documentation advice as well as a full range of engineering services, including mechanical, electrical, fire, communications, hydraulics, lifts, civil and ...Read More > >

CASE STUDY: 18 May 2010 – The Australian representation at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 has showcased its sustainability credentials by designing a pavilion boasting a number of sustainable features. Running under the theme “Better City, Better Life,” more than 70 million visitors are expected to visit this year’s expo from ...Read More > >

13 May 2010: Investa’s Ark building officially opened today, adding a landmark sustainable building to North Sydney’s skyline. North Sydney mayor, Genia McCaffery, unveiled two pieces of significant public art at the building’s official opening - a painting on the foyer ceiling by Aboriginal artist Freddie Timms and a sculpture sited ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 6  May 2010 - In the absence of an emissions trading scheme, the mandatory disclosure legislation due out in about October is expected to work magic to transform the office property sector to a more sustainable profile. But maybe not so much. Sure, property owners with a premium brand to ...Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell 6 May 2010- Let’s face it energy efficiency is not sexy. Like electricity it’s a bit hard to get a handle on and it’s a pretty dull conversation starter. It’s even worse for politicians facing the great moral challenge of our times. Wizz bang technology on the other ...Read More > >

by  Simon Wild, managing director Asia Pacific, Cundall - 6 May 2010 - Over the past six months our company has been running Cool Walls [interactive workshop] across Australia,  to help business owners, designers and developers think beyond the business as usual; to connect into and create an integration ...Read More > >

By Andrew Starc 15 April 2010 - One look of Sydney’s skyline lit up at night tells you everything about the simple things we can do to save energy. This “Low Hanging Fruit” was the topic of discussion at a seminar held at the ARBS [Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Services] Trade ...Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell 14 April 2010 - There could be light at the end of the tunnel for cogeneration projects seeking co-operation from energy agencies. In a victory for precinct-style power generation, a proposed shared cogeneration project between The University of Queensland and the Royal Brisbane Hospital has received support from ...Read More > >

FAVOURITES - 10 August 2009 - Winner of the Sustainable Architecture Award at the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Victorian Chapter Awards was Lend Lease building, The Gauge. Located in Victoria Harbour in the Docklands precinct, construction of the project commenced in 2005 and was completed in April 2008 and achieved ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto FAVOURITES - 15 January 2010 - The Green Building Council of Australia is seeking public comment on its revised PVC credit, which paves the way for some PVC products used in flooring, pipes and conduit to contribute to a green star rating. GBCA chief executive, Romilly Madew, said ...Read More > >

15 February 2010 - Tracy Wakefield, managing director of Appalachian Log Homes responded to our article on timber, Timber: complex, sustainable and good in bushfires in a recent letter published here. Timber is highly resilient to fire, Dr Wakefield says in this article, which develops the theme in greater depth. With ...Read More > >

by Damien Leclercq and Shannon Mason FAOURITES 2009 - Small scale wind energy has recently gained a lot of interest, particularly in the urban context, due to the general drive for sustainability and the appeal of the technology. But there are limits to what it can do. Wind energy is one way ...Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell There is a new mantra in sustainable engineering and design – “keep it simple and make sure it works in the real world”, says WSP Lincolne Scott and Advanced Environmental director, Matthew Jessup. It is a philosophy, he believes, that will help new developments meet the growing emphasis ...Read More > >

27 January 2010 - Vanuatu is one of many Pacific island-nations that are extremely vulnerable to predicted sea-level rises due to climate change. It is a very poor nation, by international standards, and one of its biggest challenges is to raise living standards through sustainable economic and social ...Read More > >

17th December 2009 - A new report by UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) was tabled at the same meeting. "Buildings and Climate Change: summary for Decision Makers" highlights opportunities for drastic emission reductions in the building sector and shows how these opportunities can be harnessed. "No government - ...Read More > >

By Andrew Pettifer FAVOURITES - 20 June 2009 - Fans of Dr Seuss who have looked past the Cat in the Hat may be familiar with the story of the inept Sneetches and the competitive instincts aroused between those with “stars upon thars”  and those whose bellies are not so endowed. I ...Read More > >

AWARDS: 2 December 2009 - Waterman AHW has won the Excellence in Sustainability Award from the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating for its work on Workplace6, the first 6 Star Green Star As Built Office Building in New South Wales. Among other AIRAH awards, announced at on 19 ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto If you put your prize building up for regular public monitoring, you have to be prepared for results to sometimes let you down. At first glance that seems to be the case, according to Peter Szental, owner and developer of one of Australia’s most closely monitored buildings, the Szencorp ...Read More > >

- Simon Wild - Cool Wall workshops foster knowledge sharing and a better green building industry By Tina Perinotto Residents near Glebe in Sydney’s inner west will be invited to be part of a "Cool Wall” workshop to flush out innovative sustainable ideas for a major urban redevelopment on ...Read More > >