By Greg Paine PROBLEM “Time”, as a pressure or constraint on how we live our daily lives, has become a fetish, a reason for not creating sufficient (temporal) space to think more deeply, be mindful, and become aware. “Running out of time, so needing to buy disposables or takeaway food.” In a society ...Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell After weeks of controversy over its green schemes, The Federal Government recently announced changes to the Renewable Energy Target, the most positive sign yet that it might be serious about promoting investment in the renewable energy sector. But then last week the NSW government announced expansion of two coal-fired ...Read More > >

by Lynne Blundell 25 February 2010 - Christoph Ingenhoven, principal of German architectural firm Ingenhoven Architects, had the audience at Green Cities 2010 spellbound during an impressive presentation of his firm’s cutting edge sustainable architecture. He and his team have designed buildings for cities around the world, collectively winning 30 first ...Read More > >

4 March 2010 - There has been hysteria around the federal government’s determination to insulate Australian homes almost free of charge but in the anxiety that accompanied the revelation of poor and dangerous practices, the facts were overlooked according to a  recent media report. According to Geoff Winestock writing in The ...Read More > >

From The Guardian - 4 March 2010 - an article written by columnist George Monbiot published on 4 March 2010,  says that the feed-in tariffs about to be introduced in the UK are extortionate, useless and deeply regressive. He outlines why it will be a tranfer of wealth from the ...Read More > >

REPORT- 3 March 2010 - The Global Financial Crisis has sharpened the appetite of investors for sustainable property and driven a new interest in slashing outgoings, according to a new survey from Jones Lang LaSalle. Even more impressive was that 100 per cent of all investors surveyed recognised that sustainability issues ...Read More > >

By Lynne Blundell FAVOURITES - 2 OCTOBER 2001 - A new life cycle assessment tool being developed by a consortium of industry and government bodies is set to raise the sustainability bar for building materials and to push manufacturers to be more competitive and innovative. It should also help cut through ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto Five years after Cbus Property signed up Insurance Australian Group and other tenants to pay about $10 million in extra costs so their new premises at 181 William Street in Melbourne’s CBD would be a 5 Star Green Star building the property industry is still asking does “green” ...Read More > >

Property’s big-picture agenda ignores the minor irritationsBy Tina PerinottoWatch for fireworks this year as the pressure starts to mount on exactly how the green property industry should become more energy efficient.At the Green Cities 2010 conference in Melbourne this week the tension started to manifest in small rents that ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto REPORT - 2 March 2010 - Less than 200 corporation operating in Australia account for a whopping 30 per cent of total greenhouse emissions and 44 per cent of all energy related emissions. And of those, only 20 companies are responsible for half all emissions measured through the ...Read More > >

By Greg Paine Problem The environmental crisis is already happening in many places, for many communities. Poverty is often a hindrance to sustainable living but all too often, this intra-generational issue of the present is hidden behind inter-generational concerns for the future. It needs to be made more explicit. This ...Read More > >

A cartoon illustrating the "blue water" and "green water" methodologies of categorising water resources. Water resource management needs to consider a holistic approach to manage the different types of flows that exist in the environment. Stuart McMillen works in behaviour change and is the Brisbane event organiser of the international Green ...Read More > >

by Lynne Blundell The push for urgent action was palpable at Green Cities 2010. It was there in the conference sessions, in calls to remove regulatory barriers preventing the uptake of renewable energy and in the drive to get hard data on green building performance. And it was definitely there in conversations ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 25 February 2010 - Mandatory Disclosure, expected to take effect later this year was likely to be delayed, delegates at Green Cities 2010 conference heard this week, as a  string of accusations of bad management and program cancellations continue to beset the Federal Government agenda to green the ...Read More > >

25 February 2010: If you are confused about the difference between a Green Star rating for buildings and a NABERS rating, you are not alone. One rates the design of a building - the Green Star - and other rates the performance - NABERS - so the numbers of stars ...Read More > >

“Green” Ratings Systems Two rating systems are primarily used in the Australian office market: Green Star and NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System). Green Star is primarily for new buildings, while NABERS applies to both new and existing buildings. Green Star scores buildings on a ...Read More > >

- 23 February 2010: Australia’s cities face a bleak future of more traffic congestion and doubling of greenhouse gas emissions unless transport problems are tackled at every level of government, according to a study released today at the Green Cities 2010 conference in Melbourne. But tackling the problems was likely ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 21 February 2010 - The Green Building Council of Australia today launched a  new national framework for sustainable communities at the opening of the Green Cities 2010 conference. The framework is part of development work for a new Green Star-Communities tool, which is to commence development ...Read More > >

21 February 2010 - While architects, engineers and developers are learning the “green” game, so too are Australia’s blue collar construction workers. And at the forefront of change will be plumbers who deliver the majority of energy consumed in buildings. According to the Green Building Council of Australia major re-training is ...Read More > >

By Maria Taylor "Scientists have warned about the 'greenhouse effect' for years. Now it is no longer a scientific nightmare; it has arrived." FAVOURITES - 27 January 2010 - Are these lines, you might ask, from Al Gore's famous movie or maybe from Tim Flannery's influential 2005 book The Weather Makers, or ...Read More > >

From the ABC - 19 February 2010- Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is scrapping the Government's troubled $2.5 billion home insulation program and the solar hot water program. Mr Garrett says the initiatives will be shut down at close of business today and will be replaced by a renewable energy bonus ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto 17 February 2010 - According to a recent report in the UK based Edie website there is strong public support for precincts or community based green initiatives, contrary to mainstream perceptions. The findings support  moves by several of Australia’s leading sustainable property companies to focus this year more on ...Read More > >

This resumes our Walk with the Elephant Series - on the lessons, or patterns, on how to remain mindful to the task of sustainable development through personal action and change. By Greg Paine PROBLEM: People have many interests, do other things, have numerous commitments, move on.  Not everyone can attend all the time. ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto The Federal Government may reverse its ban on foil insulation - imposed after the deaths of three young installers  - because the problems may have been connected to installation practices rather than the material. But even if foil is not at fault, it is not easy to discover what ...Read More > >

This market is moving. By Tina Perinotto Don’t pay any heed to the latest sorry commercial vacancy figures; on-the-ground specialist property recruiters have never been so busy, right from the first week of January (unheard of), and they are even thinking of putting on staff to handle the deluge of commissions for ...Read More > >

By Tina Perinotto CASE STUDY - 11 February 2010 - CFS Retail Property Trust and the Gandel Group has swept aside the challenges of going green for retail property, winning the first 5 Star Green Star for retail centres in Australia for the massive Chadstone Shopping Centre. The top green rating ...Read More > >

BREF - 9 February 2010 - The NSW Government is searching for a family of the future - and if yours is selected you will live rent free in a house that uses the latest energy efficient appliances, generates and stores its own electricity on site and where the family ...Read More > >

by Lynne Blundell Four consortia put in some high quality bids for the Smart Grid, Smart City pilot project last week. The Federal Government will announce the winning bid in April, with funds to be released in July 2010. The pilot, announced in the May 2009 Federal Budget as part of the ...Read More > >

SCHOLARSHIP - 9 February 2010 - How passionate are you about community housing? What about sustainability? If you work for a community housing organisation and can outline a strategy for these two major issues of our day in a convincing 1500 words essay you could be on your way to  Berlin ...Read More > >

BRIEF - Sydney, 8 February 2010 - Frasers Property Australia today announced it had received approval for a public park at its $2 billion six star development project at Sydney’s Broadway. The 6500 square metre  Central Park, as it is to be known,  is intended as a key component in the ...Read More > >