The idea of mimicking desert plants and animals from around the world and tapping into their secrets to develop a green economy was presented at the Desert Knowledge Symposium in Alice Springs this month.

The worldwide steel industry could see waste problems turned into profit using innovative eco-friendly technologies developed by engineers in Australia.
 

 Australia’s urban water industry is set to provide an infrastructure boom for the economy over the next decade as the industry completes its $30 billion investment program in new sources of water.

Bilexys is the winner of the UQ Business School’s $100,000 Enterprize business plan competition with its invention of a highly efficient wastewater treatment technology that uses bacteria as catalysts to remove dissolved organics from wastewater.

Grundfos pumps used to boost delivery of recycled water in South Australia.

A simple application technology is being used to treat lead-contaminated wastewater on a building maintenance site. The process is resulting in treated water that is free from lead and other contaminants that can be recycled for beneficial use.

Impulse Engine Technology, a small engineering firm located in Sydney, has recently developed two new technologies which are claimed to make all engines, old or new, more powerful, more fuel efficient and cleaner to run, whether the vehicle uses carburetion, gas, fuel injection or diesel.
In a recent interview with Sustainability Matters, managing director Alexander Chabry discusses the technology, how it works and how it could revolutionise the motor vehicle industry.

The Australian Water Association (AWA) has endorsed the general direction of the government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), urging the government to ensure that the integrity of the scheme is not compromised.

The Carbon Offset Watch program, which was launched in Sydney this week, is designed to provide consumers with an independent ranking of carbon offset providers. Kylie Wilson-Field was at the launch and reports on the details of this program.

As fuel prices spike across the globe, many large transport manufacturers are in the stages of developing alternative fuel sources. According to reports, hydrogen is at the forefront of this development as it is an environmentally cleaner source of energy to end users, particularly in transportation applications, as it does not release pollutants or greenhouse gases. Sustainability Matters talks to a global expert in liquid and compressed hydrogen fuelling systems about the latest developments in hydrogen fuel cells.

A study at Griffith University, Nathan Campus, is recruiting earthworms as the latest weapon to resolve waste problems, fight soil contamination and land degradation, and restore fertility without destructive agrochemicals.

Siemens membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, designed and manufactured at its global R&D and manufacturing facility in Windsor in Sydney’s west, is helping Beijing to meet its growing water demand.

The government delivers its green paper on climate change.

Nanotechnology researchers are working on a 'power shirt' which aims to replace batteries.

As little as 12 months ago, it was hard to imagine that businesses like pharmaceutical companies would begin to seriously address sustainability, but in a recent study, UK-based consultancy Envirowise, an independent advisory service that helps businesses reduce their environmental impact, found that financial and environmental benefits from resource efficiency could be achieved for pharmaceutical companies. Working closely with the sector, Envirowise says that it has become clear that growing legislation has had a fundamental impact on the drive to improve environmental management and resource efficiency in the industry.