Renewable fuels company Muradel has opened Australia's first integrated demonstration plant to sustainably convert algae into green crude. The $10.7 million plant, based at Whyalla, South Australia, will produce 30,000 litres of green crude a year using Muradel's Green2Black technology. [ + ]

The legislative amendments to establish the Emissions Reduction Fund - the centrepiece of the Australian Government’s policy suite to reduce emissions - has been passed by the Senate. [ + ]

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, launched last week, seeks to increase yields of major crops such as wheat and rice by improving the way that plants capture the Sun's energy through photosynthesis. [ + ]

The Biofuels Association of Australia (BAA) is this week holding its annual conference 'A New Energy for Biofuels'. To be held on 31 October at Doltone House, Hyde Park, the conference aims to lift the focus for investment and growth in the biofuel and renewable sector. [ + ]

The City of Sydney has been recognised for its $7 million program to install new LED street and park lights across its entire city centre, becoming the first city in Australia to do so. The City was awarded for leadership and innovation at this year's Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (NSW) annual awards. [ + ]

Health and hygiene company RB has achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill in Europe and North America (ENA). The achievement has now being realised by 31 of the company's factories around the world - over 60%. [ + ]

ASTM International has proposed a standard to help manufacturers address waste classification issues, providing definitions and methods to eliminate the confusion that currently exists. [ + ]

Between 2013 and 2014, Sustainability Victoria commissioned a series of market analysis reports covering a variety of waste materials identified as priorities for market development. The authority has now released summaries of these reports on its website. [ + ]

Storage King, MobileMuster and ECOACTIV have developed the E-Waste Recycling Box - a service which allows households, businesses and schools to recycle old electronics easily and responsibly. [ + ]

Kimberly-Clark Australia held an event today at the company's manufacturing facility in Millicent, South Australia, to celebrate recent sustainability achievements and additional investment into South Australian manufacturing. [ + ]

The Australian Energy Storage Alliance (AES Alliance), launched last week, will connect industry experts, companies and government to collaborate in the expanding and important area of energy storage. [ + ]

The NSW Labor Party has announced its vision of the Hunter region as a national hub for solar and renewable energy. The commitment has been welcomed by the Australian Solar Council. [ + ]

Regional funding scheme The Philmac Project, established by fitting and valve manufacturer Philmac, has opened up a new round of cash grants for nationwide community groups with water on their minds. [ + ]

The Australian and NSW governments have announced a $350 million package of new irrigation efficiency projects across NSW. Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said the Australian Government is "contributing an extra $125 million of funding to the revised package, bringing total Australian Government funding for NSW to nearly $1.5 billion". [ + ]

US consultancy Dual Citizen has released The Global Green Economy Index (GGEI) - a measurement of the green economic performance of 60 countries. The report found that perceptions of Australia's green economic performance dramatically exceed its actual performance. [ + ]