Press release by www.Sustained.com.au

Corporate attitudes are changing as seen in new book and website on sustainability and innovation in Australia. Australian organisations are making significant inroads in the arena of sustainability, many of these initiatives being introduced in a new book, Australian Innovation: Towards a Sustainable Future. Through well written case-studies, this publication showcases the organisations, industry leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs who are making bold strides in new sustainable initiatives and technologies resulting in long-term environmental, economic and social benefits.

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Melbourne 2030 is the vision for the future Melbourne as a city that is liveable, attractive and prosperous while adapting to a population growth of close to one million people. The Victorian Government’s key aspects for achieving this vision include incorporating sustainability, innovation, adaptability, inclusiveness, equity, leadership and partnership within the city’s design. Strategic directions for Melbourne 2030 include developing a more compact city which encourages the concentration of new development at activity centres near current infrastructure. Other planning aspects as discussed on the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s website include the development of transit cities, green wedges and sustainable neighbourhoods. You can sign up to receive monthly email updates of Melbourne 2030 here. Alternatively, simply visit the Victorian Government’s website for more information.

The Sustainable Cities Awards will be held in Victoria on Friday 25 May 2007. These Awards are part of an annual, national award program run by the Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) Network. Other Awards that are part of this program, include the well-known Tidy Towns Award (for regional communities), Clean Beach Challenge, National Litter Index and the Keep Australia Beautiful Week. KAB also supports NEAT (the Neighbourhood Environment Action Team) program, encouraging corporate employees to become involved in local sustainability projects.

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Sustainability is more than a catchphrase – it’s a passion. Come and hear the professionals share their thoughts on the future of architecture in a sustainable world..

Speakers include:
Cr Fraser Brindley, City of Melbourne
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Green Capital, a corporate sustainability program started by the Total Environment Centre, will be in Melbourne on Thursday 31st May to hold the discussion; ‘Going Carbon Neutral: reality or hot air?‘, from 7-10am, at the ANZ Pavillion, The Arts Centre.

As climate change becomes a big issue for business and government - and the general public - it can be very difficult to know the facts from the fiction. This forum will present case studies from leading organisations who have achieved carbon neutrality. Green Capital and business experts will explore what this really means, if it’s realistic or is it just the latest version of Greenwash. They will also look at the ethics behind carbon offsets. What is a good offset? What questions should one ask about an offset? What is the real cost of carbon for your organisation?

For a booking form and more information go to www.tec.org.au

By guest author, Stephen Ingrouille, Principal, Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au. Reproduced with permission from Transport Newsletter #19, 2 May 2007. Please note: Sustainable Melbourne is a project of VEIL,  which is referred to in this article.

Regular readers will be aware that I have been advocating the establishment of a Sustainable Cities Authority (SCA) as a vehicle for knowledge transfer and encouragement of Federal funding for sustainable projects – and in particular Lighthouse Projects that are outside the scope of the State Governments.

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Last year, the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne presented a series of ‘Future Melbourne‘ public forums. These forums invited local and international experts to discuss pertinent local issues such as urbanism, security, obesity and transport. The topics included:

The Suburbs - Are the ‘burbs’ the cradle of Australian democracy and the haven of the Australian family or is the suburban sprawl full of stressed-out commuters breathing toxic sludge? And why do so many inner-city people lampoon the suburbs?

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The following document is written by Chris Ryan and is an outcome of VEIL, the Victorian Eco Innovation Lab, ACSIS, University of Melbourne 2006.

[Edited extract from an internal report of the Victorian Department of Eco-Innovation and Sustainable Living (DEISL) Jan 2032: “Melbourne: the dynamics of change and the impacts of various policy approaches; learning from the revolution of the last 25 years?” by C. Ryan, Senior Policy Analyst, January 2032.]

Sometimes we need to be reminded just how profoundly different Melbourne is in 2032, in its structure, in its economic base and in the nature of daily life, from the City it was at the turn of the century. In retrospect many of the changes to Melbourne can be understood when we consider the impacts of various critical events and the changing nature of community concerns which shaped the way that social, political and technological developments unfolded during and after the decade 2000 - 2010. The period of intense ‘innovation for sustainability’, that came to identify the years 2007-2015, seems to have been an inevitable outcome of those events and concerns. Five years after the turn of the century, the scale of the change in patterns of resource use that was necessary for a sustainable existence was finally starting to catch public attention. Government priorities and policy were framed against some significant long term commitments for reductions in per-capita consumption (particularly for water and carbon-based energy).

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Contribution by guest author, Miranda Sharp, Melbourne Community Farmers’ Markets, Veg Out Farmer’s Markets Newsletter, May www.mfm.com.au

In her letter published in The Age last week, “ex-vegetable grower” and reluctant farmers’ market retiree Leonie Bessant from Murchison suggests that the evidence of conditions for agriculture in eastern Australia was forecast decades ago but ignored. We’re now told to expect greater food costs, more imported foods and less local produce, such is the result of the catastrophic impact on many producers.

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A recording of an interview (Global warming, local solutions, 6 May 2007) by ABC National presenter, Peter Mares, with Wayne Westcott, CEO of ICLEI and Nick Burman, Mayor of Hornsby Shire, can be found here on the ABC National website discussing the recent ICLEI Conference. This is an international conference with leaders in local government, ICLEI and sustainable development attending from Australia and New Zealand. The interview mentions many local success stories as well as the relevance of decentralised energy and water systems. Note: the interview is the last of the segment, found just over halfway in the recording.