Articles
Sustainable water supply for mid-coast NSW
The $82 million Bootawa Water Treatment Plant in New South Wales treats all water distributed in the mainly residential region from Coopernook in the north to Tarbuck Bay (south of Forster). MidCoast Water built and opened the plant in 2010 to provide for the future sustainable water supply of the area.
[ + ]6 stars for office complex
Macquarie Group’s iconic headquarters in Sydney’s Darling Harbour has set high standards in environmental sustainability and workplace functionality, achieving a coveted 6 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. Owned and managed by Brookfield Multiplex, the $316 million complex incorporates a range of technologies such as harbour water cooling, passive chilled beam air conditioning and an innovative lighting control system.
[ + ]Rural waste-disposal solution
Fiber Fresh Feeds has taken a further step towards becoming 100% clean and green by becoming the first stock feed company able to recycle its bags using the Agrecovery Wrap recycling program.
[ + ]Peristaltic pump technology for wastewater treatment
Two Watson-Marlow SPX50 hose pumps have been installed at Dwr Cymru - Welsh Water’s Lavister Waste Water Treatment Works in North Wales in the UK, significantly improving system performance at the site. The pumps were installed during October 2006 and have delivered trouble-free operation since installation.
[ + ]Be rewarded for saving energy
Ilum-a-Lite has announced that a number of its energy-saving products have been approved by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) for inclusion in the state government’s Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) - meaning projects undertaken by Ilum-a-Lite can deliver substantial cash rebates.
[ + ]Lighting generates revenue
IPART recently endorsed energy-efficient lighting upgrades carried out by EELCO - The Energy Efficient Lighting Company, by deeming many of its projects as able to generate revenue under the NSW Government’s Energy Savings Scheme (ESS).
[ + ]Is gas cleaner than coal?
Extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in the US could do more to aggravate global warming than mining coal, according to a Cornell study published in the May issue of the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change Letters.
[ + ]Are Australian businesses ready for a low-carbon future?
Australian business readiness to move to a low-carbon economy is higher than expected but an unclear regulatory environment is hampering progress. That’s the finding of a new Economist Intelligence Unit report, commissioned by GE, released on 16 May 2011.
[ + ]Sustainability - a global opportunity
According to Consult Australia CEO Megan Motto, a new report highlights the international opportunities available for Australia to lead the way when it comes to sustainability. The right policy framework could give Australia a distinct competitive advantage and enable us to bring best practice to the global arena.
[ + ]Safeguarding Wellington’s water supplies
The reliable provision of clean water is essential for any large population. It is now commonplace for water treatment plants to run autonomously and, for this to be effective, a reliable process control system is needed to supervise plant activities. Through the 1980s, distributed control system (DCS) architectures were widely used to manage these processes. However, many of these systems are now reaching the end of their design lives. Consequently they suffer from declining availability of spares and waning access to technical assistance.
[ + ]Supplying Sydney’s water
Sustainability is ‘business as usual’ for the largest water utility in Australia, Sydney Water. The utility’s annual report defines sustainability according to seven corporate goals based on social, economic and environmental aspects and it’s now being mapped to the UN Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting framework. Nefley Hetherington*, Strategic Directions Manager, Sustainability Division at Sydney Water, talks about the utility’s achievements and visions for the future.
[ + ]Water efficiency in Australia at the crossroads
Widespread flooding across Australia has the potential to push back hard fought water-efficiency gains made over the past decade. It’s concerning to think that the devastating floods may have shifted the water management mindset in Australia and effectively masked what still is a critical water challenge for communities across the entire nation.
[ + ]Taking control of e-waste
Electronic waste or ‘e-waste’ is one of the fastest growing waste streams in Australia. It has been reported to be growing at three times the rate of municipal waste, mainly a result of technological change, shorter life spans of equipment and increased consumption.
[ + ]Sydney printing company achieves sustainability gold
Sydney printing company Focus Press started out in 1994 with only four people, but has since grown to 100 people at two locations. Now it has another achievement to be proud of - becoming one of the few printing companies that can claim to be truly environmentally sustainable. This achievement in sustainability leadership has been recognised by the NSW Government, with Focus Press being awarded with Gold Partner status in the Sustainability Advantage program of the Department of Environment, Climate Change & Water (DECCW), in January 2011.
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