The opening of South Australia’s reservoir reserves for recreational access is celebrating success after receiving the Organisational Excellence Award at the Australian Water Association’s 2023 National Water Awards.

The award recognises the transformation of these spaces into community assets enjoyed by more than 1,000,000 visitors to date.

Since the first site’s opening in April 2019, the community has access to 2100 ha of land, 900 ha of open water and 95 km of trail network to explore across 10 reservoir reserves.

“This award is further credit to our dedicated team whose work underpinned opening up reservoir reserves for our communities to enjoy, and continues to protect drinking water quality,” said SA Water’s Senior Manager of Environment and Energy, James Crocker.

With growing desire for green open spaces, water utilities have an opportunity to enable access to such sites. Some of the SA reserves were closed to the public for more than 100 years, according to Crocker.

“Our methodical approach was supported by an innovative water quality risk management framework which integrated hydrodynamic monitoring, quantitative microbial risk assessment and computer vision technology. This program has proven recreational access can safely complement the primary role of working reservoirs, when carefully planned and supported by the best available science,” he said.

Crocker labelled this a “blueprint” for the water industry to protect drinking water while delivering health and social outcomes for the community.

“There’s no greater praise for our initiative than the vast number of visitors embracing the new opportunities to connect with nature and enjoy a range of activities, like bike riding and kayaking, at these special places.”

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/news/sa-water-awarded-for-reservoir-reserves-669285435

Schneider Electric’s Trade-UPS program has been revamped for the Australian market, allowing selected partners to trade in and recycle old APC or competitor-branded UPS units free of charge.

The program was initially launched five years ago and has been reimagined to make the recycling process more time- and cost-effective for UPS vendors. It is available to APC by Schneider Electric Select, Premier and Elite partners.

“As one of the world’s most sustainable companies, we want to encourage our partners to not only modernise their IT infrastructure but reduce their e-waste,” said Joe Craparotta, Vice President of IT Business at Schneider Electric.

“The updated Trade-UPS program exemplifies Schneider Electric’s ongoing commitment to innovation and sustainability.”

Schneider Electric will collect all old APC UPS or competitor branded units, validate them and recycle them efficiently upon purchasing a new APC UPS unit from a preferred distributor, along with a service warranty. Once this process is complete, partners claim their rebate based on the UPS unit brand and a certificate of recycling based on the purchase of their new APC unit.

As an added feature, Trade-UPS now allows customers to promote their own green credentials by having the option to track the e-waste and display how much has successfully been diverted from landfill.

“Australia’s IT infrastructure needs are evolving rapidly, so it’s vital for businesses to scale and modernise their technology to be fit for purpose. By providing partners with a way to dispose of redundant technology safely, we hope to reduce IT waste across the industry,” Craparotta said.

Image credit: iStock.com/SlayStorm

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/news/revamped-trade-ups-program-diverting-e-waste-from-landfill-132995519

Honeywell has announced its contributions to help the Sydney Opera House, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed building, achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). Since 2021, Honeywell has been a Sydney Opera House Global Goals partner and has installed its technology to help support more sustainable operations and reduce the building’s environmental impact.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the first UNESCO World Heritage-listed buildings to receive a 6 Star Green Star rating, representing ‘World Leadership’ in environmental and social sustainability operations. This achievement is the result of continuous improvements to the building’s performance, reducing its carbon emissions and maintaining its carbon neutral certification.

Honeywell and the Sydney Opera House work 24/7 in close collaboration to identify and implement solutions tailored to the unique needs of the building, including:

• Creating a technology system that monitors indoor air quality (IAQ) and relative humidity (rH).
• Integrating more than 20 disparate subsystems in the building to help improve safety, energy and water usage.
• Implementing several innovations including electricity spot-price monitoring, extraction fan control in non-air-conditioned (AC) areas and monitoring of coldroom doors that remain open for too long.
• Automating outside air control through real-time air quality data from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
• Identifying potential energy saving opportunities in the building, including the installation of more than 60 water meters and more than 800 electrical meters.
   

These strategies help enable automated responses and alerts to changing conditions, supporting operational efficiency and providing a safer and more comfortable environment for staff, audiences and visitors.

Louise Herron AM, Sydney Opera House CEO, said sustainability is in the DNA of the building, which is now working smarter and harder than before to embed sustainability into its operations.

According to Billal Hammoud, President and CEO of Honeywell Building Technologies, the Sydney Opera House requires a “careful balance” as it takes a thoughtful and deliberate approach to minimise its impact on the environment.

The Sydney Opera House leverages new technology to further its sustainability initiatives, including piloting solutions like the Honeywell Buildings Sustainability Manger, a software platform that provides better visibility of energy use and Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

The 6 Star Green Star rating centres on innovation and a long-lasting commitment to sustainability. Honeywell, in collaboration with the Sydney Opera House’s engineering team, has tailored the system to the requirements of a performing arts building while leveraging existing systems such as the building’s seawater cooling system. Building operations at the Sydney Opera House are anchored by the Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI), a comprehensive solution that monitors and controls the building management system (BMS), as well as hardware and equipment throughout the building’s ecosystem.

Using the system as a point of data analysis, the teams can effectively monitor and control systems to support peak performance. For example, information on ticket sales to enable efficient temperature scheduling in performance venues; switching heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment on and off; and calculating baseline energy consumption. When there is high demand, the BMS alerts the building to respond by selectively shedding electricity loads. The air circulation system also automatically shuts down outside air intakes during bushfire smoke events.

The GBCA Green Star Building rating tool is similar to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system from the U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC).

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/news/sydney-opera-house-receives-6-star-sustainability-rating-252665184

With $4 billion in funding commitments from the federal Budget, Australia’s clean energy sector is celebrating this “step in the right direction”. Following the launch of the Energy Next agenda, the speakers have given their opinions on the Budget.

Kate Thornton, Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, said the Budget “recognises the crucial role of clean energy in Australia’s economic future”.

Mark Croudace, Deputy CEO & Chief Commercial Officer at MGA Thermal, labelled the Budget an “enabler” for decarbonisation, building Australia’s capacity to export solutions and generate significant manufacturing jobs.

A goal of the Budget is for Australia to become a clean energy ‘superpower’, which Gavin Dietz, CEO of Wattwatchers Digital Energy, labelled a “great ambition”, saying that Australia will win globally by first focusing clean energy on households, businesses and communities.

Many of the initiatives will help answer some of the major challenges that Australia has as it transitions to net zero, such as the skills shortages, but some of the speakers thought that what has been proposed is not a total solution.

SMA Australia Business Development Manager Andros Cadavid said funding will not address the skills shortage and a big educational initiative will be needed for that.

The experts were asked whether they thought the proposed initiatives around electrification and energy performance upgrades went far enough, to which Jay Shivakumar, Principal, Energy Transformation Services from Cossill & Webley, said, “Electrification is a real positive step and the support for that is great. What is required is an incentive similar to what was provided for solar PV, to subsidise the installation of residential battery systems, which also requires that systems incorporate smart controls to connect to the state utilities systems to allow for control of the distributed energy resources. To orchestrate the systems to create a virtual power plant, create load or generation to support the network.”

The topic of electric vehicles (EV) and EV infrastructure was one the speakers also discussed.

Rosemary Tan, i-Charge Solutions Managing Director, said in addition to a fuel-efficiency standard, the government should adopt international EV charging standards such as OCPP and OCPI. People will adopt EVs with financial incentive, good functionality and good management from a loading perspective.

The speakers agreed that these initiatives were a step in the right direction and that is an exciting time for clean energy.

Image credit: iStock.com/bombermoon

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/energy/news/clean-energy-budget-a-step-in-the-right-direction–117923931

The Albanese government is investing $14 million into a home for emerging solutions for energy and emissions challenges. Locally developed and manufactured technologies will play an important role in Australia’s transformation into a renewable energy superpower.

Establishing the Powering Australia Industry Growth Centre will allow for an industry-led approach to enhancing renewable energy.

“Industry growth centres are a proven way of delivering the sort of timely and targeted support to our renewable business leaders are calling for,” said Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science.

The centre aligns with one of the National Reconstruction Fund’s priority investment areas, investing $3 billion in renewable and low-emissions technologies. This builds on the government’s suite of support for these industries, including the Australia Made Battery Plan, Powering Australia, Rewiring the Nation and a Future Made in Australia.

The centre will provide advanced technology and skills to businesses looking to locally manufacture renewable energy technologies. It will offer help with commercialising locally manufactured renewable energy technologies and ideas, encourage connections between producers and manufacturers and boost First Nations business management capabilities with the help of a First Nations Advisor.

Image credit: iStock.com/AnnaSqBerg

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/energy/news/government-invests-in-industry-growth-centre-756528381

Sydney Water has commenced work on a major $80 million upgrade to its Nepean Water Filtration Plant (WFP) south of Sydney. The upgrades will meet future growth demands and continue to deliver drinking water in line with Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

Over three years, the initiative will increase water production capacity at the plant to 33 ML a day, the equivalent of 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools catering for over 50,000 people.

The Nepean Water Filtration plant is situated south of Sydney and draws from the Nepean dam. Treated water is supplied to the townships in the Wollondilly Local Government Area.

More upgrades will include a new water filtration and treatment system, including a new clarifier and dual media filters. Both process technologies will maintain the water quality.

Darren Jackson, Sydney Water Area Delivery Manager, said the upgrades will help futureproof the growth area in Sydney’s south for the next 30–40 years.

“These upgrades are part of Sydney Water’s commitment and vision to meet the needs of a growing population and continue to provide world-class water services to southern Sydney,” Jackson said.

Upgrades to the Nepean Water Filtration Plant are set to be completed by mid-2025.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/water/news/greater-southern-sydney-to-receive-major-water-upgrade-1682215397

Yarra Valley Water has a signed a partnership with Jaydo, Aqua Metro and MFJ Constructions to deliver its Pipes and Facilities Program. Approximately $60 million worth of assets are managed by the program per year, which aims to improve the water, sewer and recycled water infrastructure across the region.

Jaydo, Aqua Metro and MFJ will support Yarra Valley Water’s construction projects across its water, non-drinking water and sewer pipes and facilities capital program. The initial term of the partnership is five years with the option of extension for up to 10 years.

Phong Nguyen, Growth Futures Acting General Manager, said the partnerships will allow safe, clean water and essential water services to continue being delivered across Melbourne. The impact of the partnerships will also be maximised as they are brought into the early design stages of projects.

“These partnerships will be focused on building strong relationships, openness and continual learning, leading to more delivery certainty and better outcomes for our customers, community and the environment,” Nguyen said.

The agreement aligns with Yarra Valley Water’s 2030 Strategy, which focuses on operational efficiency.

Manish Pancholi, CEO of Aqua Metro, said the company is committed to building strong relationships with Yarra Valley Water and other partners and stakeholders.

Joe Mustica, MFJ Constructions General Manager, also welcomed the partnership.

Jaydo Program Manager Keith McGovern said the company is excited to continue its partnership with Yarra Valley Water.

“We’re fully committed to helping Yarra Valley Water achieve its goal to provide exemplary water and sanitation services that contribute to the health and wellbeing of current and future generations,” McGovern said.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/water/news/yarra-valley-water-announces-five-year-partnerships-1353448058

Brookfield Properties has been awarded a CitySwitch Award in recognition of its Breaking the Plastic Habit program in Australia. The business has eliminated more than 2.7 million single-use plastics from its national portfolio of managed office buildings and precincts.

According to Danny De Sousa, Vice President | Sustainability and Innovation, Australia consumes over a million tonnes of single-use plastics every year that degrade into harmful microplastics.

The Breaking the Plastic Habit program is designed to take affirmative action internally while creating an environment of awareness to assist people in reducing reliance on single-use plastics. It helps set a benchmark for commercial tenants, developers, retailers and consumers.

CitySwitch Award, presented by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, recognises outcomes from the partnership of tenants, building managers and owners, with collaboration key to driving net zero buildings.

To ensure the success of Breaking the Plastic Habit, Brookfield Properties first analysed single-use plastic sources within its own office supply chains to understand and minimise the problem. Before developing partnerships with Plastic Free July and Plastic Oceans Australasia to help build its awareness program, the company cut a swathe within its own office chain of commercial buildings and precincts.

Mathew Chandler, Senior Vice President | Marketing and Communications, Brookfield Properties, said starting small helped the company identify quick wins.

“We removed dozens of sources of single-use plastic products from our staff kitchens, such as condiments, food wraps and breakfast spreads, and replaced them with single-use, plastic-free alternatives. Our sustainability and operations teams took lessons learned from those first steps to then target the supply chains of our commercial property portfolios, replacing everything from bin liners, umbrella bags, plastic-coated stickers and posters, and bathroom amenities,” Chandler said.

Brookfield Properties teamed up with Plastic Oceans Australasia to pilot its EPIC waste solution program at Brookfield Place Sydney, encouraging the building’s tenants to understand, analyse and strategise against the sources of single-use plastics in their office waste.

Many nationwide initiatives have come from Breaking the Plastic Habit, including:

• partnering with Containers for Change to collect plastic bottles that couldn’t be avoided
• the installation of water refill stations to encourage the reuse of drink containers
• art collaborations and activations to shine a light on the harm caused by single-use plastics
• volunteering opportunities to assist in beach clean-ups
• ongoing awareness programs being deployed across digital and physical channels to Brookfield Properties’ tenant customers.
   

Breaking the Plastic Habit was also highly commended in WA’s WasteSorted 2022 awards.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/waste/news/breaking-the-plastic-habit-program-awarded-1496957455

South East Water’s continuous flow leak detection initiative has won the Customer Experience Award at the Australian Water Awards, announced at the Australian Water Association’s OzWater’23 conference.

The leak detection program uses digital meter data and can detect leaks in real time by measuring continuous flow (defined as 120 L per day over a 24-hour period). This allows the first indications of a leak to be communicated clearly and promptly rather than through an unexpectedly large water bill.

Andrew Forster-Knight, General Manager Digital Utility, said the program is a crucial component of the organisation’s goals to deliver clean water sustainably, by conserving the resource and helping to ensure water security.

Since the program was introduced in 2018, South East Water customers have saved 720 million litres of drinking water and $3 million.

OzWater’23 has been a significant time for South East Water, with the organisation’s commitment to improving customer experience and delivering sustainably a key theme in presentations and panel discussions.

Members of South East Water’s team have presented on topics such as water recycling, microplastics in water and the use of stormwater as a water resource. Alana Jones, Customer R&D Project Manager, has been nominated as a finalist for the Best Paper and Presentation Award for ‘Customer water usage: Attitudes and behaviour change at South East Water’.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/water/news/south-east-water-wins-award-for-leak-detection-program-1387403040

Australian company directors should be on high alert as the competition watchdog cracks down on misleading environmental claims.

Nicole Mohan, National Sustainability Lead and Principal, Risk Advisory and ESG Services in RSM Australia’s Brisbane practice, said the absence of a mandatory global sustainability reporting framework may result in environmental and sustainability reporting practices lacking transparency and reliability.

Out of Australia’s top 250 public companies, 96% report on sustainability performance, but a recent ACCC internet sweep has raised high-level greenwashing concerns with 57% of the 247 businesses reviewed reporting concerning claims regarding environmental credentials.

According to Mohan, greenwashing impacts more than organisational reputation, and may have legal, financial and regulatory pressures and penalties.

“Most of the concerning environmental claims came from the cosmetic and personal care, textiles, garments and shoes, and food and beverage sector. However, the ACCC sweep also identified concerning claims across the energy, motor vehicle, electronics and home appliances, and household and cleaning product sectors,” Mohan said.

Misrepresentations of environmental performance include the use of vague or unclear terms, not providing sufficient evidence to back claims, setting sustainability goals without clear strategies for how the goals will be achieved and using third-party certifications and symbols in a confusing way.

Mohan recommends that businesses practise truth in promotion and clarity in communication to ensure no one is misled by environmental claims.

“It’s paramount for organisations to avoid using terms that are misleading or confusing, such as ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ when they may not accurately reflect the product, service or its production process, and practise transparency around any limitations or qualifications to the claim, such as environmental impact in certain conditions or in different scenarios,” Mohan said.

According to Mohan, it is a misconception that greenwashing is a marketing-led initiative because environmental claims can stretch beyond marketing to the omission, misrepresentation or manipulation of sustainability information in all phases of product development.

The ACCC is expected to undertake enforcement, compliance and education activities to crack down on greenwashing.

Mohan encourages businesses to act and improve the integrity of sustainability reporting and consult a professional if they become aware they have made false or misleading claims.

The International Sustainability Standards Board published two Draft Exposure IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in March 2022, which can form a global baseline of sustainability disclosures. The aim is for these standards to be finalised in June 2023.

Mohan said reporting in accordance with IFRS is not yet mandatory in Australia, but is endorsed by several Australian regulators and agencies.

“The ACCC have openly said those who are able to identify and advise of any issues with their operations will be considered more favourably, so I encourage businesses to act now to improve their sustainability reporting,” Mohan said.

Image credit: iStock.com/JM_Image_Factory

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/news/greenwashing-alert-issued-to-company-directors-248580512