Reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and energy use, thanks to innovative technology, have secured Alcoa a win at the 2010 WA Engineering Excellence Awards.

Critical communications specialist Broadcast Australia has commissioned its first broadcast transmission site to be majority powered by renewable energy. The Mount Owen site near Queenstown in Tasmania has been recently upgraded to use site-generated wind and solar power, which are together expected to reliably meet the site’s 8 kW power needs for 80 to 90% of the time.

ABB flowmeters have enabled a US university to cut steam losses in its generation plant and recover more than $1.25 million a year in lost revenues. The solution has also created a campus-wide awareness of the need for energy efficiency.

Adelaide Resource Recovery (ARR) operates from Adelaide’s Wingfield Recycling Centre and is receiving regular enquiries from businesses in Hong Kong and China that are keen to buy SA’s waste plastic.

The latest addition to Melbourne’s thriving arts precinct in Southbank, Triptych, is setting a benchmark for apartment living by delivering innovation in green space and dedication to high-end environmentally sustainable design.

Commercial products and services can now gain Australia-wide recognition for their water saving attributes through Australia’s water saving scheme, Smart Approved WaterMark, which has broadened its parameters to assess commercially oriented claims.

Mars Petcare Australia has implemented a customised compressed-air system from Champion Compressors, optimising production, reliability and energy efficiency.

Ormiston Road Senior College in Auckland, due for completion in October 2010, was recently awarded a 5 Star Green Star rating by the independent Green Building Council of New Zealand. A total of 68 points were achieved overall, six points shy of a 6 Star rating. The use of Windcatchers allowed the college to secure one point for Green Star Innovation.

Plasback is a product stewardship program that is run by Tapex, a supplier of fodder conservation plastics. The program currently recycles waste silage wrap, pit covers, grain tubes and twine for farmers. It works with partner recyclers in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney that reprocess the plastic waste and give it a second use as plastic pellets which can be remoulded into plywood sheets called Tuffboard and Tuffdeck.

Adelaide-based GTL Energy (GTLE) has announced the completion of construction and commissioning of its coal upgrading plant module near South Heart, North Dakota in the US. The GTLE Dakota plant is a single-module, commercial-scale plant which has been designed to provide proof of the GTLE technology for coal consumers and producers. The company intends to increase both the length and volumes of production runs through the remainder of 2010.

RSL Care’s Sunset Ridge Retirement Community in Zilzie, near Rockhampton, is securing a sustainable environment for its residents by installing one of the first Aquacell greywater treatment plants in Queensland.

With south-east Queensland schools reeling from recent double-digit water price hikes, many school business managers are looking for a way to help ‘futureproof’ their facilities against similar water price rises in subsequent years.

If you own or lease office space, then you need to know about the new Commercial Building Disclosure scheme (CBD) beginning 1 November this year. CBD will require office buildings to disclose their NABERS Energy ratings when they are offered for sale or lease.

A leading Australian materials scientists who invented a zero waste technology for the plastics and car industry has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Victoria Prize. Associate Professor Wojciech Gutowski’s work addressed the waste problem faced by the car industry which uses 9.68 million litres of paints a year in car manufacturing - with all solvents used in the process becoming airborne and 2.5 million litres of solids going to landfill.

Since 2000, the National Packaging Covenant (Covenant) has been an innovative and unique national approach to dealing with packaging waste. It has engaged the packaging supply and recovery chains, governments and community groups. There was a specific target to divert high-embodied energy materials from landfill and through these activities contribute to a reduction in GHG emissions.