The 2016 edition of the annual Australian Smart Lighting Summit convenes in Melbourne next week from 6–7 September. This year's event will discuss smart lighting, smart cities and the Internet of Things. [ + ]

The Energy Networks Association has released a report analysing alternative carbon policy options. The analysis confirms that if governments focus on outcomes, rather than picking technology winners, Australia can meet its carbon target while saving customers $216 per year and achieving economic savings of $900 million. [ + ]

Around 3000 people from over 120 countries are meeting in Stockholm this week for the 26th annual World Water Week, organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute. [ + ]

The All-Energy Australia Exhibition and Conference will showcase the huge leaps in the renewable energy sector over the past year. [ + ]

Evergen has launched what is said to be Australia's first intelligent home energy management system, with the investment and technical backing of AMP Capital and CSIRO. [ + ]

JMW has received its third international AMCF Spotlight Award from the Association of Management Consulting Firms — and its second for supporting an Australian water utility. [ + ]

Liberal councillor Christine Forster, who is running against Clover Moore as mayor of the City of Sydney, has announced a suite of policies to help residents better contribute to a sustainable city. [ + ]

The City of Sydney is inviting 20 high-rise apartment buildings to join Smart Green Apartments — a free program that is intended to reduce emissions and slash utility bills. [ + ]

Conergy will soon begin construction of an Australian solar and storage project, designed to consistently feed renewable energy into the grid and demonstrate the capability for large-scale solar and storage to provide reliable future power quality and supply at a fringe-of-grid location. [ + ]

The Victorian Government will reboot the Greener Government Buildings Program, which was removed in 2013, with a $33 million investment over the next two years. [ + ]

Conversio has become the first Australian company to sign the pledge to join the Climate Neutral Now initiative, led by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat. [ + ]

The City of Melbourne has installed eight more BigBelly bins with smart sensor technology, following a successful trial of six bins in busy CBD locations. [ + ]

The Western Australian Government has announced its intention to introduce a container deposit scheme (CDS) for drink bottles and cans, expected to commence mid-2018. [ + ]

As pressure mounts for a global ban on microbeads, researchers from RMIT University and Hainan University have for the first time shown that these tiny polyethylene particles directly contaminate fish with toxic chemical pollutants. [ + ]

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will hold the fourth Emissions Reduction Fund auction from 16–17 November. The auction format will remain largely unchanged from previous auctions, though the auction guidelines give the CER some additional flexibility to choose the volume of offered abatement it will accept. [ + ]