Despite facing the ''toughest time of our life'' amid slumping exports and job cuts, Australia's car industry can survive by modernising and making greener, more high-tech cars with government help, unions say. The federal secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's vehicle division, Ian Jones, said "by way of example the government's previous Green Car Innovation Fund, had helped the industry transform itself with new models such as hybrid and fuel-efficient cars".
"In three years, we completely transformed automotive manufacturing in Australia. We were being crucified because we had large cars that were petrol-guzzling vehicles and were not good for the environment and people were shifting away from that product in droves,'' he said.
In their new book, Merchants of Doubt, historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway explain how a loose–knit group of high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades.
In seven compelling chapters addressing tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming, and DDT, Oreskes and Conway roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how the ideology of free market fundamentalism, aided by a too-compliant media, has skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.
The movie release of "The Iron Lady" starring Meryl Streep has sparked a renewed interest in the controversial political career of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. It is now apparent that she was a strong supporter of action against climate change and had a good understanding of the potential impacts of further global warming.
Margaret Thatcher's interest in global warming dates back to earlier in her prime ministership. Unlike most politicians, she had some professional acquaintance with the area, graduating in chemistry from Oxford University and working for a period as a research scientist.
The President of what could be the first country in the world lost to climate change has urged Australia to prepare for a mass wave of climate refugees seeking a new place to live. The Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, said his government was considering Australia as a possible new home if the tiny archipelago disappears beneath rising seas.
''It is increasingly becoming difficult to sustain the islands, in the natural manner that these islands have been,'' he told the Herald in an interview in Male, the Maldives capital. ''So ... if everyone else around Australia is so poor and unable to fend for themselves and have a decent life, would that necessarily make life in Australia any better? Would that be the castle that you can defend?''
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a sea-level rise of up to 59 centimetres over the next century, a level that would inundate most of the Maldives' inhabited atolls. Low-lying Pacific island nations, such as Kirabati and Tuvalu, would also face being flooded. ''If nations won't do good for themselves, they really must do good for everyone around, simply in your self-interest as well,'' Mr Nasheed said.
''But I think it's really quite necessary for Australians and for every rich country to understand that this is unlike any other thing that's happened before.'' The country has established a sovereign wealth fund, drawn from its tourist revenue, to be used to buy land overseas and finance the relocation of the country's population of 350,000.
A report released in November 2011 is warning that more Australians face dying in heatwaves and catching infectious diseases as a result of climate change.The Climate Commission report says climbing temperatures will lead to more natural disasters and changing rainfall patterns, which will have an impact on people's health as much as on the environment.Report co-author Professor Lesley Hughes said "Climate change will have both direct and indirect impacts on health and will potentially affect the distribution of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue fever.
A new report is warning more Australians face dying in heatwaves and catching infectious diseases as a result of climate change.
The Climate Commission report says climbing temperatures will lead to more natural disasters and changing rainfall patterns, which will have an impact on people's health as much as on the environment.
A report issued in November 2011 is warning that more Australians face dying in heatwaves and catching infectious diseases as a result of climate change.
The Climate Commission report says climbing temperatures will lead to more natural disasters and changing rainfall patterns, which will have an impact on people's health as much as on the environment.
Report co-author Professor Lesley Hughes said “Climate change will have both direct and indirect impacts on health and will potentially affect the distribution of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue fever.
In our experience many office based organisations are very willing to adopt sustainable practices but are often not sure where to start or where to purchase environmentally responsible products. We have recently come across an Adelaide based company who supply sustainable storage products. Albox Australia Pty Ltd in Kent Town offer a great range of folders, files and archive boxes that minimise the impact on the environment. The products are low cost, made from sustainable materials, metal free and recyclable. You can view their product blogs and order products on-line by visiting www.albox.com.au
A recovering economy, rising energy costs and increased energy consumption are driving the need for a more environmentally conscious organization. But who is the best qualified person to lead the charge for a greener, more sustainable business? While some of the world's largest companies have established the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), many companies have yet to identify a point person for their sustainability efforts. When these companies look to fill the CSO role, they might want to consider looking in an unlikely place: the office of the CIO.Across many industries, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) may be a natural choice to lead corporate-wide sustainability initiatives. And for those companies that already have CSOs, CIOs are well positioned to partner with CSOs to ensure their success. As green IT has expanded from buying more energy-efficient servers and data centers, to finding ways to optimize lighting, monitor green house emissions and even implement new technologies to improve business processes, the CIO's role has expanded to encompass innovative strategies that deliver cost savings and energy efficiencies across the company.
Courtesy of Mark Greenlaw - Published in Green Buzz August 03, 2011
A survey of Australians' attitudes to workplace sustainability has found that people want more sustainable workplaces – but they want their senior managers to drive the shift to sustainability. Sustainability in the Workplace is the result of a survey of 1,043 Australians in May 2011. The survey was commissioned to help organisations gain an understanding of workplace attitudes to sustainability and how to promote positive behavioural change. "The survey reveals that, overwhelmingly, Australian workers believe that change needs to come from the top," says Director of Sustainability at Work, Tania Crosbie. You can download the full survey by contacting Sustainability at Work here.
Nearly half of consumers in the UK would shun brands that aren't taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint, according to a new report by the UK Carbon Trust. The figure has doubled from last year when only 22% of shoppers said they would avoid brands that didn't measure or reduce their carbon footprint. More than a fifth (21%) of consumer would pay more for brands that label their products with the carbon impact and 47% are more likely to choose low carbon labelled goods over non-labelled. Read the full article from Marketing Week UK here.
Opponents of any action on climate change often point to the statistic that Australia represents less than 2% of the annual global carbon emission total. Their conclusion is that any action on reducing Australia's emissions will be ineffective in reducing the global total. Whilst the claim that Australia's share of global emissions is less than 2% is correct, a report prepared by the US Department of Energy shows that many other major countries are also accountable for less than 2% of the global total. The report highlighted that countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Italy are all responsible for emissions that are less than 2% of the global total. In fact Australia is recognised as the 15th highest total carbon emitter from 214 countries around the world and has an annual emission total larger than more populated countries such as France, Brazil, Spain and Ukraine.
Through a strategic alliance with a Registered Training Organisation, Sustainable Directions are able to offer a number of accredited "green" training courses. In most cases the cost of these courses will be 90% funded by the federal government as part of the Green Skills program. Three courses are available:
- Certificate III in Carbon Management - Certificate IV in Carbon Management - Certificate IV in Business Sustainability Assessments.
An article in Green Biz on 7 June 2011 by Paul Baier highlights that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) can play a major role in an organisations sustainability journey. CFOs are already involved in many aspects of sustainability. Numerous functional teams that work on parts of sustainability report to the CFO. These groups include investor relations, risk management, legal, procurement/supply chain, IT, facilities/real estate, and HR. Moreover, the corporate finance team often leads key business processes, such as budgeting, capital allocations, internal and external financial reporting, and energy management that directly affect the achievement of sustainability goals.
UK companies that measure their carbon emissions do not find the exercise arduous or expensive - and some say it brings benefits, a report concludes. The report was commissioned by the British government as it prepares to decide if emissions reporting will be mandatory.Just over half the firms surveyed said reporting emissions carried a net benefit for their business. The researchers - from consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit organisation helping companies to count carbon - used a range of methods, including a survey of 155 companies, focus groups, interviews and reviews of information already in the public domain. The full article can be found here.
Despite facing the ''toughest time of our life'' amid slumping exports and job cuts, Australia's car industry can survive by modernising and making greener, more high-tech cars with government help, unions say. The federal secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union's vehicle division, Ian Jones, said "by way of example the government's previous Green Car Innovation Fund, had helped the industry transform itself with new models such as hybrid and fuel-efficient cars".
In their new book, 
The President of what could be the first country in the world lost to climate change has urged Australia to prepare for a mass wave of climate refugees seeking a new place to live. The Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, said his government was considering Australia as a possible new home if the tiny archipelago disappears beneath rising seas.
A report released in November 2011 is warning that more Australians face dying in heatwaves and catching infectious diseases as a result of climate change.The Climate Commission report says climbing temperatures will lead to more natural disasters and changing rainfall patterns, which will have an impact on people's health as much as on the environment.Report co-author Professor Lesley Hughes said "Climate change will have both direct and indirect impacts on health and will potentially affect the distribution of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue fever.
A recovering economy, rising energy costs and increased energy consumption are driving the need for a more environmentally conscious organization. But who is the best qualified person to lead the charge for a greener, more sustainable business? While some of the world's largest companies have established the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), many companies have yet to identify a point person for their sustainability efforts. When these companies look to fill the CSO role, they might want to consider looking in an unlikely place: the office of the CIO.Across many industries, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) may be a natural choice to lead corporate-wide sustainability initiatives. And for those companies that already have CSOs, CIOs are well positioned to partner with CSOs to ensure their success. As green IT has expanded from buying more energy-efficient servers and data centers, to finding ways to optimize lighting, monitor green house emissions and even implement new technologies to improve business processes, the CIO's role has expanded to encompass innovative strategies that deliver cost savings and energy efficiencies across the company.
A survey of Australians' attitudes to workplace sustainability has found that people want more sustainable workplaces – but they want their senior managers to drive the shift to sustainability. Sustainability in the Workplace is the result of a survey of 1,043 Australians in May 2011. The survey was commissioned to help organisations gain an understanding of workplace attitudes to sustainability and how to promote positive behavioural change. "The survey reveals that, overwhelmingly, Australian workers believe that change needs to come from the top," says Director of Sustainability at Work, Tania Crosbie. You can download the full survey by contacting Sustainability at Work 
Nearly half of consumers in the UK would shun brands that aren't taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint, according to a new report by the UK Carbon Trust. The figure has doubled from last year when only 22% of shoppers said they would avoid brands that didn't measure or reduce their carbon footprint. More than a fifth (21%) of consumer would pay more for brands that label their products with the carbon impact and 47% are more likely to choose low carbon labelled goods over non-labelled. Read the full article from Marketing Week UK 
Opponents of any action on climate change often point to the statistic that Australia represents less than 2% of the annual global carbon emission total. Their conclusion is that any action on reducing Australia's emissions will be ineffective in reducing the global total. Whilst the claim that Australia's share of global emissions is less than 2% is correct, a report prepared by the US Department of Energy shows that many other major countries are also accountable for less than 2% of the global total. The report highlighted that countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Italy are all responsible for emissions that are less than 2% of the global total. In fact Australia is recognised as the 15th highest total carbon emitter from 214 countries around the world and has an annual emission total larger than more populated countries such as France, Brazil, Spain and Ukraine.
Through a strategic alliance with a Registered Training Organisation, Sustainable Directions are able to offer a number of accredited "green" training courses. In most cases the cost of these courses will be 90% funded by the federal government as part of the Green Skills program. Three courses are available:
An article in Green Biz on 7 June 2011 by Paul Baier highlights that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) can play a major role in an organisations sustainability journey. CFOs are already involved in many aspects of sustainability. Numerous functional teams that work on parts of sustainability report to the CFO. These groups include investor relations, risk management, legal, procurement/supply chain, IT, facilities/real estate, and HR. Moreover, the corporate finance team often leads key business processes, such as budgeting, capital allocations, internal and external financial reporting, and energy management that directly affect the achievement of sustainability goals.
UK companies that measure their carbon emissions do not find the exercise arduous or expensive - and some say it brings benefits, a report concludes. The report was commissioned by the British government as it prepares to decide if emissions reporting will be mandatory.Just over half the firms surveyed said reporting emissions carried a net benefit for their business. The researchers - from consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit organisation helping companies to count carbon - used a range of methods, including a survey of 155 companies, focus groups, interviews and reviews of information already in the public domain. The full article can be found