The low hanging fruit: money from saving energy
A new report from The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2016 global electricity generation from wind, solar, hydro and other forms of renewable energy will grow by 40% and will exceed electricity generated from gas. (“Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report”) In 2008 McKinsey, in their report “An Australian Cost Curve for Greenhouse Gas Reduction” […]
Read MoreANZ Bank and GPT Group are world sustainability leaders
The results of the annual Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Review were announced yesterday and it is great to see 2 Australian companies amongst the top 19. The ANZ banking group ranked as the leader for the Banking supersector. And General Property Trust Ltd (GPT Group) was the leader of the Real Estate supersector. Both companies […]
Read MoreEnergy price savings and free range ducks
Misleading consumers about the nature of the energy comparison services offered by Energy Watch and the savings that their customers could make when switching retailers, has resulted in the company ( which has gone into liquidation) and its former CEO being ordered by the Federal Court to pay fines of $1.95 million and $65,000 respectively. This comes as […]
Read MoreThe ACCC acts quickly against misleading carbon price claims; do you know what you can say?
The price on carbon has only been with us 5 days and already the ACCC is investigating, or has taken action against, 3 companies for misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to claims, or threatened claims, about the cost to consumers of the carbon price. The ACCC warned businesses that they would take action and have published a guide […]
Read MoreThe cost of non-compliance is expensive-just ask Apple.
Businesses need to be proactive about ensuring that they know their legal obligations and have processes in place to ensure that they comply with the law. Since the Australian Consumer Law was introduced in in January 2011, the Federal Court has imposed penalties of over $1 million dollars on a number of companies for misleading […]
Read MoreEnergy Efficiency Information Grants open on 13 February for Industry Organisations to help their members save money, energy and carbon emissions
What benefits can successful organisations give their members? Successful applicants will be assisted by the grant to provide valuable information and advice to support their members move to the low carbon economy which is becoming increasingly important as energy and carbon emissions become a more significant part of a business’s bottom line and sustainably produced goods and […]
Read MoreInnovation and Sustainability: giving your company a competetive advantage.
The importance of innovation in business has been highlighted to me twice in as many days. The first occasion was in a presentation that I was fortunate to attend by the futurist and innovation expert, Craig Rispin. Craig talked about the importance of foresight and innovation in setting a company apart from its competitors. Craig’s […]
Read MoreMaking the most of the extra time for Australian Packaging Covenant Reports.
Signatories to the Australian Packaging Covenant now have until 31 March 2012 to report against their first APC Action Plan. If this year is anything to go by, the next 5 months will fly and it’ll be time to review your company’s Plan, sort through the records for the evidence to support compliance with the […]
Read MoreDoes the ACCC have you and your company in their sights?
The ACCC and State regulators of the Australian Consumer Law (“ACL”) will select particular issues and traders to target in line with what they perceive to be the risks and new and emerging issues and enforcement priorities that need addressing. The national projects that the regulators have identified to target for 2011/2012 includes environmental claims, […]
Read MoreAldi takes action in managing its supply chain for the environment
According to The Sun Herald on 3 April all laundry detergent sold in Aldi’s Australian stores will be free of phosphates by 2013. Phosphates in the water supply can cause algal blooms that remove oxygen from the water and result in the death of aquatic life. The Sun Herald article can be read in full: […]
Read MoreDoes your company need to comply with the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act this year?
The NGER Act is now in its third reporting year and the threshold levels triggering the obligation on companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption or energy production levels have dropped again. The threshold levels that trigger the reporting requirement this year are emissions by a facility of 25kt CO2 equivalence (CO2-e) of […]
Read MoreStudy suggests efficient use of energy could reduce demand by over 70%
A recent study ( Environmental Science and Technology, DOI:10.1021/es102641n) by Julian Allwood et. al. of the University of Cambridge calculated that over 70% of the world’s energy use could be cut by improving energy efficiency. They suggest that reductions in energy use could be made from better home and building insulation, covering saucepans when cooking, […]
Read MoreWHY BOTHER GOING GREEN?
Companies want to reduce their environmental impact for a number of reasons including: It’s what their customers want; It’s what their staff or management want; It forms part of their Corporate Social Responsibility Policy; They want to save money from the improved efficiency of their business or manufacturing processes; They want to increase productivity; They […]
Read MoreGREEN WASHING
The value to companies of differentiating their goods and services on environmental terms has led to unscrupulous companies engaging in “Greenwashing”. “Greenwashing” is the term that has come to describe the practice of making unsubstantiated, misleading or irrelevant environmental claims overstating the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology or company practice. Making misleading or […]
Read MoreGREEN CLAIMS
What are green claims? Green claims are claims that a product, service, technology or something else is good for the environment or won’t harm the environment or a part of the environment, when compared to current accepted practices. They can appear on labels, packaging, advertisements, promotional material, websites and anywhere in association with the goods, […]
Read More