Australian scientists are achieving the world's best production rates of oil from algae grown in open saline ponds, taking them a step closer to creating commercial quantities of clean biofuel for the future. Construction of a multimillion-dollar pilot plant in WA’s north-west will start in January.

Energex partnered with Fuji Xerox Global Services (FXGS) in 2003 to streamline the company’s document management infrastructure. It has since achieved a 23% cost reduction by consolidating its existing printer fleet and introducing more efficient multifunction devices. It has also reduced the number of devices it relies on by almost 30%, despite the company’s strong growth.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have released a new study on the installed costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the US, showing that the average cost of these systems declined by more than 30% from 1998 to 2008. Within the last year of this period, costs fell by more than 4%.

Australia’s water is still in trouble according to a new report by the National Water Commission. 'Australian water reform 2009' is the Commission’s two-yearly assessment of progress in implementing the National Water Initiative - the blueprint for water reform that was agreed to by the Australian government and state and territory governments in 2004.

The mining industry is developing a new system to measure and account for water use across the sector to ensure the scarce resource is used sustainably and efficiently.

McCain Foods will boost its conversion of food waste to biogas, saving on energy use and reducing landfill over the next year, says Graham Harvey, the Australia/New Zealand Operations Director,.

The Royal Society of London has released a major report on geoengineering - "the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system, in order to moderate global warming". In this article, The Royal Society of New Zealand provides commentary on the UK report, highlighting issues of particular relevance to New Zealand.

Wherever there is no main sewer, generally in rural or remote areas, there is a need for an alternative system to deal with residential human waste. There are many companies offering an individual residential wastewater treatment system, with dozens of systems appearing on the state-approved lists (including septic tanks, aerated wastewater treatment systems and sand filters). The new kid on the block is Orenco Systems Incorporated’s AdvanTex which, whilst new to Australia is well tested with over 20,000 systems installed across North America, New Zealand and parts of Europe since its launch in 2000.

After achieving a 5-star rating in the Every Drop Counts Business Program, Coca-Cola Amatil has remained environmentally focused while building its High Bay Warehouse at Northmead, Sydney.

Camden Soil Mix (CSM) has joined with Liverpool City Council to help close the loop on recycling using an organic enriched top-dressing mix to repair sporting fields suffering wear and tear from the winter football codes.

The Volvo FE waste truck is powered by a new Euro 5-compliant, 7-litre, 6-cylinder diesel engine, which generates 300 hp. The engine is turbocharged and the wide torque range and quick response to accelerator ensures good driveability.

Origin Insulation has chosen AXO Shredders to pre-shred waste paper and card at its cellulose insulation manufacturing facility in Melbourne.

State Transit - Sydney Buses recently installed an EELC lighting system to replace the standard ‘power-hungry’ high-bay lights used at its bus maintenance facility in Burwood. Replacing 75 standard 400 W high-bay lights with the EELC 1248A_3LT8 light fittings, the new system has reduced power consumption by approximately 100,000 kWh pa and provided significant maintenance-cost savings.

Environmental technologies available in Australia have been used by one of the UK’s major independent beef and lamb producers to achieve net savings of 60% on wastewater disposal.

A South Australian company has become the first waste-to-energy company in Australia to be certified Greenhouse Friendly by the Department of Climate Change. SITA ResourceCo Alternative Fuels underwent rigorous independent verification to achieve its new status.