Green Cities is Australia’s largest green building conference.

There will be a number of keynote speakers over the course of the event.

Mary Ann Lazarus, architect and biomimicry expert, will speak on how taking cues from nature will transform the future of our built environment.

Rachel Botsman, social innovator, will show how collaborative consumption will reprogram how we create, build and live.

Nils Kok, sustainable property academic and advisor, will show that building and investing in sustainable properties pays financial dividends.

EcoForum Conference & Exhibition is an annual conference and trade exhibition on water, waste, climate change, remediation and communication. It is organised by EcoForum Limited, a not-for-profit company established in 2007 and devoted to investing any surpluses it makes into the Australian environment industry. The purpose of EcoForum is to encourage best practice environmental management in a range of sectors.

The EcoForum Conference & Exhibition is a multidisciplinary event that brings together environment industry professionals and their clients. The organisers are expecting 600 delegates, exhibitors and trade visitors to attend EcoForum in 2012. Topics include water, waste, climate change, remediation and communication.

An array of talent headlined by actress Sigourney Weaver, scientist David Suzuki and musician/humanitarian Bob Geldof will examine what it takes for businesses to be sustainable over the long term at this event.

Corporations, People & the Planet aims to bring together businesspeople, environmentalists, academics, young people and scientists for the common cause of ensuring the future of the planet.

Weaver, Geldof and Suzuki - along with sustainability advocate Professor L Hunter Lovins, founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions - will kick-start the three-day event with conference-style presentations for up to 5300 delegates.

On the two days following, 27 and 28 April, RMIT will host the United Nations Global Compact Cities Program - an initiative that brings together mayors from the world’s most innovative cities, leaders in the corporate and non-governmental organisation arenas as well as a number of international academics working on the ethics and practice of sustainability.
 

This year’s conference has the theme of ‘Taking Care Of Business: Sustainable Transformation’ and will have a program featuring over 40 presenters in keynote and concurrent sessions and workshops.

There will be two networking functions to maximise business opportunities along with free wireless internet for all delegates and exhibitors.

We will be conducting an online business-to-business forum, which enables registered delegates, presenters and exhibitors to network before, during and after the conference.

Nominations are now open for the 2012 Premier’s ClimateSmart Sustainability Awards. The awards showcase the work of Queenslanders achieving excellence in sustainable practices.

Award nominations are open to Queensland-based initiatives, businesses, communities, schools, individuals, not-for-profit organisations and local government areas that are implementing smart sustainable projects and helping to reduce the state’s carbon footprint.

There is also a new award category for the 2012 Awards - the ClimateSmart Waste Reduction and Resource Efficiency Award - to recognise outstanding achievement in waste management.

Winners will be officially announced on Friday 8 June 2012 during Queensland Week celebrations at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Cash prizes are on offer for category winners.

Applications for the 2012 Premier’s ClimateSmart Sustainability Awards can be completed online at www.derm.qld.gov.au/premiersawards. Entries close 16 March 2012.