Professor Michael Regan from Bond University’s Institute of Sustainable Development and Architecture has been appointed to the newly formed Infrastructure Queensland committee. [ + ]

Thiess Services has built a portfolio in fields such as contaminated site remediation, waste management, water management, energy distribution and facilities operations and maintenance. Now the company has been brought into alignment with the needs of the mining industry, so General Manager of Remediation and Infrastructure Doug Moss is looking to take advantage of this. [ + ]

A change in Victorian legislation will allow property trusts to gain access to finance for environmental upgrades, significantly increasing opportunities to retrofit buildings in Melbourne’s city centre. [ + ]

Research at The University of Western Australia into new farming practices that will reduce greenhouses gases, sequester carbon and enhance sustainability has attracted $5.7 million in funding from the federal government. [ + ]

MWH Global showcased a winning poster presentation during last week’s Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), which achieved record attendance of nearly 15,000 water professionals and elected officials from 99 countries. [ + ]

In 2011, NCSI conducted an online Corporate Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Governance Survey. The survey was aimed at Australian senior and executive corporate managers and looked at current Australian corporate practices and aspirations concerning environmental sustainability and climate change. [ + ]

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, is concerned that prices being circulated by wholesale refrigerant gas suppliers show significant price hikes unrelated to carbon pricing. In many cases, these price rises have been similar in quantum across different wholesalers. [ + ]

Kimberly-Clark is pleased to announce that all its Australian manufactured tissue and paper towel products (excluding Scott Facial Tissue) are now certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), considered the ‘gold standard’ in forestry certification by leading environmental organisations such as WWF and Greenpeace. [ + ]

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus have cautioned businesses not to mislead customers by claiming recent price hikes in state government waste levies are as a result of the carbon price coming into effect. [ + ]

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers suffer from the fear of being stranded, as charging facilities leave a lot to be desired, claims a report by power experts GlobalData. The report suggests that this fear could be mitigated by the further implementation of charging stations, which will hopefully encourage electric vehicle usage. [ + ]

Carbon sink operator CO2 Australia experienced a surge of interest in June from landholders wanting to find out more about the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). Now that the carbon tax and CFI are officially in operation, CO2 Australia predicts a further increase in enquiries from landholders wishing to participate in the scheme. [ + ]

waterAustralia, in partnership with the Industry Capability Network (ICN), has appointed Rubin Mallows Worldwide to represent the Australian water industry in the USA. The appointment is part of a strategy being funded under the Commonwealth Government’s Supplier Access to Major Projects program administered by the ICN. [ + ]

Only seven days remain for businesses, individuals and organisations to be nationally recognised for their water-efficient projects and efforts. Entries for the national 2012 savewater! awards close on Friday 20 July. [ + ]

Wave-energy technology company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and global security company Lockheed Martin have entered into a teaming agreement with the goal of developing a 19 MW wave-energy project in Portland, Victoria. It is said to be one of the largest wave-energy projects announced to date and could provide energy to approximately 10,000 homes. [ + ]

The ‘Australian Water Supplier Compact’ (the compact) was launched in April to bring together local suppliers and urban utilities to maximise benefits for the Australian water industry, the economy and for the environment.The compact records the expression of commitment by Australia’s urban water utilities, represented by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) and Australian companies that supply into the water sector, represented by waterAustralia and the Water Supplier Advocate. [ + ]