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5 February 2014 –Activist group GetUP has launched an urgent campaign to fund a legal challenge to stop the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef after the Marine Park Authority paved the way for mining related dredging operations. The authority had approved five million tonnes of dredge spoil to be dumped in the Great Barrier […]
6 February 2014 — Blacktown City Council is looking for an environmental sustainability systems operator for a contract for up to 12 months.
6 February 2014 — Grocon’s Daniel Grocon has announced that deputy chief executive Carolyn Viney will replace him as chief executive. The move comes just two years after Mr Grollo took sole control of the company, however a Grocon statement said Mr Grollo will become executive chairman and retain oversight and full ownership of the […]
By Willow Aliento
5 February 2014 — Research published by CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and Accenture shows that globally many companies are recognising the benefits from investing in sustainability measures and engaging with their supply chain, however, uncertainty around the regulatory framework is slowing down the rate of investment in emissions reduction.
30 January 2014 – The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board in the US came out of Harvard and the Kennedy School of Government and is backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has published a guide on environmental accounting.
30 January 2014 – South Australia has announced the release of its draft Building Upgrade Finance scheme for energy, water and environmental efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings.
30 January 2014 — Following the success of solar energy installations on its United States stores, furnishings retailer IKEA will soon announce a solar energy program for Australia, according to a company spokesperson.
By Cameron Jewell
28 January 2014 — A report out of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found white roofs to be the most cost-effective option over a 50-year time span – ahead of green and black roofs – lending support to the notion that black roofs should be phased out.
23 January 2014 – Adelaide based Paul Davy and Deborah Davidson, who launched dsquared in September 2012, are on the search for their second full-time staffer to work in building simulation to assist on major projects. Davy, speaking to The Fifth Estate on Thursday, said the new position would be to create modelling input into […]
23 January 2014 – Cairns Regional Council is on the hunt for a sustainability coordinator to manage its three person team. The job comes with full-time benefits, which include five weeks annual leave and a nine-day fortnight. The council has an active program to educate and encourage more sustainable housing, commercial buildings and practices. Contact […]
By Cameron Jewell
23 January 2014 — Westpac has been named the most sustainable company in the world in the 2014 Global 100 Index, a ranking of the top sustainable companies announced today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Concerns have been raised, however, that the organisation continues to lend to coal and gas projects.
22 January 2014 – Energy and carbon management consultancy Pangolin Associates will make a pitch for airport carbon accreditation services in the Asia Pacific region with the appointment of Sam Phua who has joined the team in the Brisbane office. Dr Phua is a registered greenhouse and energy auditor who is one of only a […]
By Willow Aliento 21 January 2014 – Comment: Federal government statements about “slashing green tape” appear increasingly maverick in the light of the World Economic Forum stating clearly that failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, water crises, and greater incidence of extreme weather events are among the top 10 risks faced by global economies.
By Leon Gettler
20 January 2014 — Green MashUP: The next big trend in property is the net zero energy building. These are structures with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually.
By Willow Aliento
18 December 2013 – NSW’s Building and Sustainability Index for new residential building is currently being reviewed, with a view to increasing targets for energy and water efficiency and thermal comfort.
The proposed targets, , expected to yield significant economic benefits, and supporting documents are now out for public comment until 31 January 2014.
20 January 2014 — The full potential for Australia’s land sector to contribute towards abating carbon is not being realised, according to carbon advisory firm RepuTex.
By Willow Aliento
15 January 2014 – They must have hit a nerve with the BASIX (Building Sustainability Index) Target Review with the New South Wales Government announcing an extension until February 14 for submissions on the proposed changes, due to the high level of interest from stakeholders.
By Tina Perinotto
15 January 2014 – What’s the mood for 2014?
Very good indeed if you ask the property industry. The Property Council/ANZ Property Industry Confidence Index to March 2014 says the love affair with the resources sector is all but over and for the Australian economy it’s back on with its one true favourite, property.
15 January 2014 – The newly-incorporated Centre for Organic Research and Education has appointed Eric Love as chair. Mr Love is also the chair of STAR Water Solutions, co-chair and founder of EC Sustainable, Secretary of the Stormwater Industry Association NSW, Director of the Organic Federation of Australia and a member of the NSW Organic […]
15 January 2014 – The University of New England has appointed Enis Ruzdic as environmental sustainability manager. A former program coordinator for the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors, and most recently environmental coordinator for Hayman Island, his new role with UNE’s facilities management department will include initiating and steering a range of sustainability initiatives on […]
15 January 2014: The National Association of Women in Construction has launched a new Australia-wide NAWIC International Women’s Day Scholarship. The scholarship, valued at $14,000, provides funding for a research paper that challenges existing industry thinking and outlines practical recommendations to enhance the Australian property and construction industry.
15 January 2014 – Fergus Green, former Melbourne lawyer, Lowy Institute climate change commentator and former chair of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, has joined the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment as a policy analyst and research advisor to Professor Nicholas Stern. The institute, based at the London School of Economics, […]
7 January 2014 — There will be no legal limit for pollution under the Emissions Reduction Fund, and also no punitive measures enforced for exceeding pollution targets, according to the Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
By Sarah-Jane Sherwood, Communicate Blue
“The financial crisis has lifted the veil on capitalism, exposing its inherent frailties, but there is cause for hope,” says Mike Townsend of Earthshine, UK and Brad Zarnett of Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series, Canada.
The Fifth Estate political “salon” dinner, on how to re-ignite the political agenda for sustainable property. It’s not often you get to have dinner with the political and business leaders who are most influential in the green property agenda.
A Fifth Estate Special Report 25 January 2012 – In November last year Green Capital pulled out all stops to find out why the green and climate change agenda has failed to deliver the media and marketing wins that are now critically urgent. In a forum held in Sydney and Melbourne some of the best […]
