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Seven Australian asset owners and investment managers have been named top performing responsible investors along with 36 other organisations from around the world. AMP Capital Investors, Australian Ethical Investment, Charter Hall, Dexus, CBUS Superannuation Fund, Lendlease, Aware Super and Manulife Investment Management have all earned a position on the 2020 UNPRI Leaders’ Group A spot on […]
Infrastructure emerged as a winner in the federal government’s big-spending 2020-21 budget and now the hard part: making sure these “nation-building” projects are sustainable. Money is flowing into the built environment, with the government’s “JobMaker Plan” including an increase to the government’s infrastructure investment pipeline by $10 billion to $110 billion over 10 years. The […]
More than $5 billion was poured into social housing after the GFC and most economists supported the tactic for its propensity to boost jobs and stimulate the economy. This time round funding for social housing was a glaring omission from the federal government’s Covid-recovery 2020 budget. The sector wasn’t ignored completely: an extra $1 billion […]
The Nightingale model for sustainable housing that started in Melbourne has spread its wings to Adelaide. While details are still scant, the announcement from Nightingale Housing identified Adelaide as a “place in which it is easy to imagine a Nightingale community flourishing.” “Adelaide’s commitments to renewable power and carbon neutrality, its diverse affordable housing initiatives […]
Energy efficiency and diversification are two major opportunities for health and research facilities looking to save money and attract investment. Air quality is of utmost importance for health and research facilities to protect people from bacteria, viruses, chemicals and other nasty contaminants. But keeping all that fresh air pumping through the HVAC system comes at […]
Interest in the great outdoors has spiked dramatically in Australia’s capital cities due to Covid restrictions. Recently released data from urban planning data analytics company Neighbourlytics shows that while online engagement – measured “digital chatter” across various different online platforms – with parks and other natural spaces increased across the CBDs in Brisbane, Melbourne and […]
Many a beautiful old building has been lost to money-grabbing developers but what happens when heritage stands in the way of sustainable, community-oriented needs-based housing in the inner city? That’s where things get complicated.
Until a few years ago, two industrial heritage buildings in the middle of Sydney’s CBD sat unused for 20 years because no developer was brave enough to touch the tricky infill site. Building and construction company Built has risen to the challenge, on Wednesday topping out an eye-catching glass “bubble” atop the two existing buildings, […]
On Tuesday, KPMG Australia’s head of oil & gas Jonathon Peacock sent out strong note of support for the government’s gas plans announced that day, despite widespread criticism on environmental and economic grounds. So how is the rest of the company thinking on climate change? And what about the other giants of consulting that make […]
EXCLUSIVE: Net zero precincts have lots of barriers: complex governance challenges and disincentives among them, a soon-to-be-released federal government report says.
Clare Parry moves to HIP V. HYPE with eyes on growth. Passive House super star Clare Parry has joined HIP V. HYPE to bolster the integrated sustainability company’s technical capability. The job, as better buildings lead, is an opportunity to “dial up the pressure on sustainable buildings”, Ms Parry told The Fifth Estate on Tuesday. […]
In an impressive engineering exercise, two office buildings in Brisbane were recently stitched together, maintaining much of the existing fabric while creating expansive floor plates for prospective tenants. It was challenging for the architects, Fender Katsalidis, and for the engineers Inertia Engineering. But the results will be a more sustainable product.
Storage remains the pain point in the renewables transition so it’s no surprise a cheap, clean and scalable energy storage technology invented by Australian scientists is attracting attention. Researchers from the University of Newcastle have been developing the energy storage technology called “miscibility gap alloy” for nine years and are now scaling it up for […]
Community solar group Pingala has teamed up with the Community Power Agency and Komo Energy on Australia’s first major offsite solar garden project. And there could be more if we can overcome the financial hurdles such as lumping solar co-operatives in with corporate investment schemes. Common in the US and parts of Europe, solar gardens […]
There’s still a sense of wait-and-see hanging over the built environment industry due to Covid but that hasn’t stopped two major architecture firms going ahead with a merger. After a M&A discussions that started well over a year ago, Conrad Gargett and McConnel Smith & Johnson have decided to join forces. The merger will bring […]
Darren Godwell is changing the game for Indigenous businesses with the new Indigenous Network for Investment, Trade and Export (IgNITE).
Covid has already accelerated the electric bike boom in Australia and now the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is backing the micromobility option to decarbonise last mile delivery.
Flow Systems has recruited around 10 people in the last six months and has plans to hire around another 10 in the coming months to join the team of 80 to 90 people. The recruitment drive is to help the company cope with an influx of work providing embedded energy systems, mainly in Queensland but […]
FEATURE: NSW has historically trod its own path to regulate the sustainability standards of its homes
Australia’s emerging build-to-rent sector is starting to look like an attractive asset class and stimulus option, especially now. With Covid the sector benefits by being closer to “shovel ready” than traditional build to sell models. And there’s no need to wait around for pre-sales to kick start a project.
During Covid lockdowns, office workers split into two camps: those who prefer wearing pyjama bottoms all day and those desperate to see their work pals.
Engineers are devilishly good problem-solvers, according to Engineers Australia’s first chief engineer, Jane MacMaster. They are traditionally directed at technical problems, but Macmaster says an engineer’s knack for “asking the right questions” can help navigate Australia’s complex “wicked problems”, such as the Covid recovery and climate change. MacMaster is passionate about elevating the profile and […]
One of the key speakers at Flick the Switch next Wednesday, Stiebel Eltron’s Glenn Day, will tackle the potential of heat pumps to pave the way to net zero. But it’s not easy: the hurdles are tough, especially for existing buildings.
The truth is, governments have the power to solve social housing shortages and homelessness. But once social housing becomes a bloody-minded numbers game of delays, deficits, and denials, it invariably degenerates into the dark art of political obfuscation.
Recycling solar panels is expected to become cheaper and more accessible with Australia’s leading recycler expanding its model to include drop-off points in all states.
According to Professor Janis Birkeland, green building rating tools are improving but they are only improving upon a flawed conceptual model.
On the podcast this week, Tina Perinotto, our managing editor, was joined by Tim Hollo, the executive director of the Green Institute.
What Covid’s doing to our working habits is not all bad.
The Morrison government on Monday released a long-awaited interim review into Australia’s federal environment law. The ten-year review found Australia’s natural environment is declining and under increasing threat. The current environmental trajectory is “unsustainable” and the law “ineffective”.
A round up of business opportunities in sustainability, including government tenders, grants and accelerator programs.
