The most cost-effective abatement opportunity of all, according to ClimateWorks, is retrofitting to reduce energy waste in existing non-residential buildings – not just office blocks but shopping centres, warehouses, hotels, restaurants and public buildings like schools and hospitals. The Low Carbon Growth Plan concludes that emissions could be cut by 25% by 2020, from 2000 levels, at the relatively small cost of $185 per head a year.

Paddy Manning for Fairfax Media (27 March 2010):

Newsflash: bright idea fades in Canberra. Put differently, it seems likely that the best way to make the most cost-effective cuts to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions has absolutely no political support here … outside the Greens.

A maddening thought. The truth is probably a bit more complicated.

Improving energy efficiency in non-residential buildings consistently tops the famous McKinsey cost curve, which ranks carbon abatement opportunities from lowest to highest cost per tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent (CO2e) avoided, assuming use of commercially available technology.

Last week ClimateWorks, a think tank, published its Low Carbon Growth Plan, which concluded we could cut emissions by 25 per cent by 2020, from 2000 levels, at the relatively small cost of $185 per head a year.

The most cost-effective abatement opportunity of all, according to ClimateWorks, is retrofitting to reduce energy waste in existing non-residential buildings – not just office blocks but shopping centres, warehouses, hotels, restaurants and public buildings like schools and hospitals (manufacturing and industrial facilities are separate).

That means rationalising – downsizing, turning off, getting rid of – unnecessary equipment. For example, Anna Skarbek of ClimateWorks says shops often have too much lighting and energy audits show the same brightness could be achieved with fewer lights, oriented differently. The retail sector could save 10 per cent of its lighting costs, according to the study. Another example: small businesses often have bigger hot water heaters than they need.

”A lot of equipment is under-utilised in non-residential buildings,” says Skarbek.

”We simply need to adjust energy usage to match the energy need.”

Other strategies for non-residential buildings follow in the latest McKinsey rankings. In order, they are: retrofit the heating, ventilation and cooling system; lighting; elevators and appliances; insulation; and water heating. There are some doubters, but according to McKinsey all of these strategies have negative cost: whatever you spend, you get back and more – without any grant, subsidy or carbon price.

Skarbek says the study turned up some surprises. One, the so-called ”split incentive” problem – landlords have no reason to invest in energy efficiency because the savings usually go to the tenant – may not be as tough as we thought. Almost half the retrofitting opportunities relate to appliances usually paid for by the tenant such as computers or photocopiers. Instead of replacing like with like, tenants should pick the most efficient appliance on the market. Two, there is too much focus on office buildings. Four-fifths of the opportunities are in other non-residential sectors.

All together, ClimateWorks calculates strategies for retrofitting existing non-residential buildings would allow us to avoid 16 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2e each year by 2020. That is against the background of fast-rising emissions now: the sector accounted for about 60 Mt of CO2e of emissions in 2006, up from 32 Mt of CO2e in 1990. Saving 16 Mt of CO2e would cut Australia’s national emissions by 1-2 per cent, or get us a third of the way towards our (paltry) 5 per cent commitment under the Copenhagen Accord.

The cuts would come at an estimated saving to the economy of $99 a tonne or $1.6 billion a year. Deducting for the cost of capital and other real-world considerations, the potential profits for investors in these same strategies add up to $1.5 billion a year by 2020, says ClimateWorks .

Nothing to sneeze at, combined, but the opportunity is fragmented – a million tiny profits spread across the economy. Permanent gains are elusive. The efficiency dividend gets soaked up. Emissions often bounce back.

How to drive permanent change? ClimateWorks canvasses a few proposals but its study was not meant to pick policy winners.

The government is not doing nothing. The Prime Minister’s new taskforce on energy efficiency will report within weeks. Mandatory disclosure of energy-efficiency ratings for office buildings more than 2000 square metres, at time of sale or lease, starts from July. The Climate Change Action Fund and Australian Carbon Trust will both fund energy efficiency programs.

One idea is right off the agenda. For the past three years Australian green building pioneers Che Wall (from engineering firm WSP Lincolne Scott) and Maria Atkinson (from developer Lend Lease) have been working on an Efficient Building Scheme based broadly on the same ”cap and trade” principles as the government’s carbon pollution reduction scheme.

None in the sector have better credentials than Wall or Atkinson: they helped found the Green Building Council of Australia and its Green Star ratings system, which ranks the environmental performance of new or significantly refurbished buildings that are volunteered for an audit. They are now trying to apply the same philosophy – create a financial incentive, reward the early movers – to force non-residential landlords to upgrade existing buildings.

International experience, Wall argues, shows neither a carbon price imposed on major polluters, nor voluntary abatement schemes, will do the trick.

Wall and Atkinson proposed – and last year the Greens backed, through a private members bill – a scheme to issue greenhouse gas permits free to non-residential building owners, based on emissions intensity, then allow them to be traded.

”We build 2 per cent new stock, maximum, each year,” says Wall. ”Why impose all the carbon responsibility on new stock when you could provide some relief by bringing equity to the treatment of existing stock?”

The government, struggling to get its carbon pollution reduction scheme through Parliament (or past the electorate), is wary of piling one cap and trade scheme on top of another. ”Implementation load” and ”tough sell” are two phrases I heard. The Senate inquiry into the efficient building scheme bill was dismissive.

The peak industry body, the Property Council of Australia, is pushing a different idea – an accelerated green depreciation regime for investment in retrofitting existing buildings. As the sustainable development website the Fifth Estate reported this week, the council opposes a separate cap and trade scheme for commercial buildings and its chief, Peter Verwer, taking a leaf out of Tony Abbott’s book, has described the scheme as a ”huge churning tax and transfer system”.

Wall and Atkinson – and their many industry supporters, and the Greens – are almost certainly right. Some scheme will be needed to improve energy efficiency in non-residential buildings. But for now, they’re pushing it uphill … even though improving energy efficiency to tackle climate change is one thing almost everybody agrees on.

Source: www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Beyond Policy to Case Studies & Tool for Practical Action

The 2010 Carbon Reduction Conference taking place at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from 20 – 22 April, is aiming not be another talkfest full of policy statements, but providing a wealth of information on how to manage and grow a business in a future carbon constraint economy, with practical case studies and tools for immediate action.

The 2010 Carbon Reduction Conference will take place at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from 20 – 22 April.

The conference program has been developed, not be another talkfest full of policy statements, but rather to provide a wealth of information on how to manage and grow a business in a future carbon constraint economy.

Gain tangible, accessible solutions and hear practical case studies with tools for immediate action.

The first day, 20 April is a free workshop day in partnership with EPA Victoria’s Carbon Innovators Network, Sustainability Victoria and Melbourne’s CitySwitch.

CitySwitch is a national energy efficiency initiative that works with office tenants to assist them to improve their environmental performance and reduce operating costs.

Join Sustainability Victoria and Melbourne and Port Phillip City Councils to gain practical ideas on improving office energy performance and find out how you can benefit from CitySwitch. In Victoria, the CitySwitch program is open to office tenants based in the municipalities of Melbourne and Port Phillip.

Workshop: Let EPA Victoria’s Carbon Innovators Network help you

address your organisation’s carbon emissions, and in doing so, transform climate change from a business cost to a business opportunity.

Sustainability Victoria Workshop: Gain information on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water conservation and waste management to help you implement sustainable practices in your business.

This workshop day is followed by a two conference days with 18 exciting topics, ranging from the latest information out of Canberra to how to apply ‘Green Marketing’ in your business.

There will be an Update on the Proposed Carbon Reduction Scheme from Anthea Harris, Assistant Secretary, Carbon Market Linkages Branch, Emissions Trading Division, Department of Climate Change

The proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will be the primary mechanism to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Gain an understanding of the scheme and what it means for your business.

Australian Carbon Trust, Department of Climate Change

Gain insight into the Australian Carbon Trust which has been established to empower individuals and business to make a positive contribution to Australia’s climate change response.

Business will benefit from the provision of finance to help invest in cost saving energy efficiency measures in their daily operations.

On day three there will be the following sessions and speakers:

Planning and Designing for Low Carbon Commercial and Residential Spaces, How the Victorian Government Envisages Cities of the Future Justin Madden MLC, Minister for Planning

The Victorian Government is committed to planning for sustainable cities of the future. Working in partnership with the Federal Government and local councils, industry and the community, the Victorian Government has developed a number of initiatives aimed at improving the energy efficiency of our existing commercial and residential spaces, as well as providing guidance for how our cities will embrace the new carbon economy.

Energy Efficient Buildings, Sustainability Victoria

Almost every organisation or business will have one or more buildings in its asset portfolio. Reducing the energy consumption of these buildings can be a very profitable way of reducing the carbon footprint. Gain insight into the options for improvement and consider some of the cost and carbon savings that can be achieved by switching to Energy Efficient Buildings.

Energy Efficient Workforce Matthew Tukaki, Director of Sans Gov, UNGC Taskforce Member

Getting staff involved in energy efficiency can have multiple benefits for your business. Learn why it is good for the bottom line, good for the environment and good for staff morale. Hear case studies that will help you make the right decisions.

Investing in Carbon Reducing Technologies; A Venture Capital Perspective Julian Turacek, Investment Manager, Cleantech Ventures Pty Ltd

Gain insight into the promising new technologies attracting the interest of venture capitalists, how they get funded and the challenges faced along the way. Understand the role the new CPRS policy will have on business planning.

Integrating Sustainability and Carbon Strategy: Jennifer Lauber Patterson, Director, Innovative Carbon

Consider key factors in the sustainability strategy and why performance in sustainability is still important for corporates. Learn about sustainability reporting and other key factors to be considered to achieving leadership and how the CPRS will fit into the sustainability strategy of an organisation.

A Company Culture Through the Upside of the Downside: Geoff Lawyer, Director, Complete Colour Printing

Learn how a strategic environmental business decision eight years ago, propelled Complete Colour Printing to a leadership position within their highly competitive industry. Gain insight into the range of strategies and tools used including the VECCI “Grow me the Money” and Greening Australia programs.

Green Marketing and the Trade Practices Act: Peter Eynaud, Victorian Outreach Manager, Small Business and Outreach, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The ACCC is responsible for the enforcement of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the TPA). The TPA prohibits businesses from making false or misleading claims about their products and services. Learn how to apply the TPA to green marketing claims, the type of claims that are more likely to raise concerns, and ways you can lessen your risk of breaching the TPA when promoting your business.

Are Consumers Getting “Bored” with Green Messages? Nicholas Harford, Managing Director, Principal Corporate & Social Responsibility, OMG! Creative and David Gaff, Director, Brand and Strategic Planning, OMG! Creative

How many times can we tell consumers to become energy and water efficient? Repeating the green message can lead to consumers switching off. Understand what today’s consumers think of ‘doing the right thing’ and how to prevent your message from becoming ‘yesterday’s news’.

Carbon and the New Urban Opportunity Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle will provide an insight into the City of Melbourne’s eco-city vision and share information about initiatives such as Zero Net Emissions and 1200 buildings, presented in Copenhagen in December. Melbourne is a key member of the C40 Cities, Climate Leadership

Registration for this event can be done by contacting Australian Exhibitions and Conferences on 03 9654 7773 or by emailing acrtconference@aec.net.au

For the complete workshop and conference program please go to the website.

Source: www.carbonconference.com.au

How to Drive Sustainable Transport & a New Direction for Business

Greenfleet CEO, Sara Gipton says many business organisations want to implement sustainable transport methods as part of their overall sustainability strategy, they just don’t know where or how to start, so here is the first guide to provide practical strategies and examples for business across the broad spectrum of transport related issues. And there’s a new Melbourne organisation, Carbon Compass, to provide a sustainability hub for business.

Release from Greenfleet (22 March 2010):

Introducing: Your sustainable transport guide

Australia’s workplaces have a new set of tools to help them cut their contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

Greenfleet and the Net Balance Foundation today published a sustainable transport guide that provides employers and their employees with simple, achievable strategies to reduce emissions associated with commuting to and from work, business meetings and freight transport. Called “Your sustainable transport guide”, it is available at www.greenfleet.com.au or www.netbalance.com.

The guide has been developed with key industry players to encourage all businesses and organisations to take up sustainable transport options. It is a visible and often immediate way for businesses to show their commitment to sustainability and a great start for any sustainability journey.

Sustainable transport practices can also deliver significant cost savings, by reducing airfares, fleet costs, fuel costs, car parking and freight costs. Some less obvious benefits are improved employee health from walking, cycling and running to work, increased productivity and a reduction in employee absenteeism.

Transport is responsible for 14.6% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions, having grown by approximately 27% between 1990 and 2007. Emissions from the domestic aviation sector are projected to increase by 122% between 1990 and 2010.1

The Guide provides detailed strategies and examples covering a broad spectrum of transport related issues for organisations, regardless of size.

Sustainable transport strategies featured in the Guide include:

Avoid emissions by

 Videoconferencing and teleconferencing

 Web conferencing

 Working from home

Offset

 Offset emissions

Advocate

 Stakeholder engagement

 Government engagement

Reduce emissions by

 Business location

 Walking and cycling and public transport

 Supporting car pooling

 Flexible work hours

 Vehicle needs analysis

 „Green‟ the fleet

 Eco driving

 Vehicle maintenance

 Flexible remuneration packages

 Alter freight delivery times

 Adjusting freight loads

In commenting on the Guide, Greenfleet CEO, Sara Gipton said, “Many organisations want to implement sustainable transport methods as part of their overall sustainability strategy, they just don’t know where or how to start. This is the first guide, that we know of, that provides practical strategies and examples for business across the broad spectrum of transport related issues.”

Net Balance Director Terence Jeyaretnam said, “The Guide will promote sustainable transport outcomes in businesses right around Australia, helping us reduce our overall transport footprint, benefiting the bottom line for business and making the workforce healthier.”

About Greenfleet

Greenfleet is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to make a difference, not a profit. Greenfleet encourages organisations and individuals to reduce the greenhouse gases they produce and then offset their remaining emissions by planting native forests that won‟t be harvested. These forests do more than take carbon from the atmosphere. Greenfleet plants a wide variety of native tree species in forests that help reduce salinity and soil erosion, provide essential habitat for native wildlife, and help build climate change resilience across the Australian landscape.

About the Net Balance Foundation

The Net Balance Foundation is a not-for-profit entity, drawing resources (human capital, intellectual property, premises, networks, etc.) from the Net Balance Management Group. The Foundation conducts research and provides sustainability advisory services to small to medium enterprises (SMEs), not-for-profit organisations and industry associations on a not-for-profit basis, thereby giving these organisations access to sustainability research and advisory services which may otherwise be inaccessible to them.

Source: www.greenfleet.com.au

Carbon Compass… an exciting opportunity awaits Victorian businesses:

Want free access to proven carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions for your business?

Would you like to know what other businesses are doing to successfully adapt to the carbon constrained economy?

Do you have a carbon, climate change or sustainability solution you’d like to share with the business community?

Bringing together credible, business focussed carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions to one central place, Carbon Down’s Carbon Compass website provides all of this, free for small and medium sized businesses. Carbon Compass is a sustainability hub for business.

Join this exciting and growing business community by becoming a Carbon Compass member. Becoming a member of the Carbon Compass is easy, simply visit www.carboncompass.com.au to register your business and gain access to hundreds of valuable carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions.

It is a place where through the sharing of information, businesses can access valuable solutions to help them reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable.

All solutions on Carbon Compass have been posted by other businesses; they are solutions provided by businesses, for businesses.

As a Carbon Compass member business you will be able to:

• Gain free access to carbon, climate change and sustainability solutions that other businesses have provided, and implement these within your own business
• Rate and review solutions that other businesses have posted on Carbon Compass
• Provide your own solutions that other businesses can implement
• Receive feedback from other businesses on the solutions you provide
• Gain One stop access to information and resources relating to carbon, climate change and sustainability
• Expand your network, raise the profile of your brand and gain access to a growing community of like minded businesses

Source: www.carboncompass.com.au

What a Waste!  What to do with E-Waste. Send it Abroad?

A proposal under debate in the US Congress to ban the export of electronics waste would likely make a growing global environmental problem even worse, say authors of an article from the journal Environmental Science and Technology appearing online earlier this month. For an Australian viewpoint, we asked Brett Hyde of Buyequip, organiser of the Business eWaste Recyclathon in Brisbane 29 April.

Comments from Brett Hyde, Buyequip:

Buyequip do not support crude recycling methods nor condone the export eWaste to backyard recyclers. Our business only deals with accredited recyclers who can provide birth to grave tracking of the IT equipment in the recycling process.

Buyequip do, however, see the need for the export of some forms of eWaste. There are advanced recycling processing facilities throughout the world and are not yet available in Australia. Buyequip, for example, export motherboard and hard drives to a licensed global company that have a closed-loop processing plant in Singapore.

Despite the fact that there is much media attributed to the developing world being a dumping ground for the western world, it is important to highlight the social and environmental benefits of exporting working used IT equipment to these regions. Through remarketing IT equipment overseas, Buyequip provide access to technology in areas where new IT equipment is not affordable for a large percentage of the population.

Buyequip regularly export to clients in the Asia-Pacific region, India and Africa. In 2006/2007, Buyequip remarketed ex-corporate computers to the School of Saint Jude in Tanzania. Just recently, Buyequip remarketed computers for the sixth time to Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea.

There are great opportunities afforded to the people of the developing nations through access to technology, not to mention the benefits which result for the development of the nation as a whole.  

Moreover, there are environmental benefits of the reuse IT equipment. Extending the working life of IT equipment diverts the toxic contaminants from general waste streams. It also defers the production of new IT equipment which deplete our future resources of valuable raw materials.

Based on the above, along with the evidence to suggest that eWaste from the western world only forms a small percentage of the total eWaste generated in developing nations, I agree with authors of Environmental Science and Technology article who argue that a global ban on the trade of eWaste will not prevent primitive recycling processes.

Backyard recycling will continue whether eWaste originates within these regions or via export. The proposed alternative offered in this article, “paying backyard recyclers not to recycle”, would tackle the core of the problem as apposed to a bandaid fix by the global trade ban.

More stringent monitoring of import and export eWaste by governments is vital to lessening illegitimate recycling processes – especially given that eWaste is growing exponentially as market demand for new technology continues to increase.

Business eWaste Recyclathon:

It is estimated that more than 1.8million computers and computer products are stored away in an office back room. Does this sound familiar to your business?

 Buyequip is an IT services organisation that specialises in the environmental disposal of eWaste.

On April 29, 2010, we are giving businesses the opportunity to drop off your unwanted eWaste for FREE. Buyequip will collect and recycle the following items – computers, printers, laptops, CRT monitors, LCDs and all computer peripherals.

To participate email marketing@buyequip.com.au with “Business eWaste Recyclathon” in the subject line and provide company, company contact person, phone and email.

When: Thursday April 29, 2010 Time: 9am -3pm Where: Milton Park (Eagle Terrace entrance), Auchenflower, Brisbane

Sponsored by Quest, Brisbane City Council and Westpac Supported by The Printing Office, 1800 Got Junk and Brisbane Inner West Chamber of Commerce

Source: www.buyequip.com.au

TEMPE, Ariz. – A proposal under debate in the U.S. Congress to ban the export of electronics waste would likely make a growing global environmental problem even worse, say authors of an article from the journal Environmental Science and Technology appearing online earlier this month.

The authors call into question conventional thinking that trade bans can prevent “backyard recycling” of electronics waste – primarily old and obsolete computers – in developing countries.

Primitive recycling processes used in these countries are dispersing materials and pollutants that are contaminating air, water and soil.

“Trade bans will become increasingly irrelevant in solving the problem,” says Eric Williams, one of the authors of the article, which offers alternative ways to address the problem.

Williams is an assistant professor at Arizona State University with a joint appointment in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, a part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and the School of Sustainability.

Electronics waste – or e-waste – is often exported from the United States and other developed nations to regions in China, India, Thailand and less developed countries where recycling is done in a crude fashion.

To recover copper from e-waste, for instance, wires are pulled out, piled up and burned to remove insulation covering the copper. This emits dioxins and other pollutants.

Toxic cyanide and acids used to remove gold from circuit boards of junked computers also are released into the environment.

With the number of junked computers expected to triple in the next 15 years, the authors say, the problem will grow much worse if an effective remedy is not put in place in the near future.

The main approach to solving the backyard recycling problem has been to ban trade in e-waste. Some countries have officially banned e-waste imports, but in some cases, as in China, such legislation has pushed the trade to the black market.

Congress is debating House Resolution 2595, which would ban the export of e-waste from the United States.

“The underlying assumption of this bill and other trade bans is that most e-waste comes from outside developing nations, and that stopping trade with developed countries would cut off the supply of e-waste and stop backyard recycling,” Williams says.

But authors of the Environmental Science and Technology article forecast that the developing world will generate more waste computers than the developed countries as soon as 2017, and that by 2025 the developing world will generate twice the amount of waste computers as what will come from developed nations.

“Rapid economic and population growth in developing countries is driving an increase in computer use in these parts of the world that is outpacing the implementation of modern and environment-friendly recycling systems,” Williams says. ” So without action, backyard recycling is certain to increase.”

But he and his co-authors say even a complete global ban on trade in e-waste cannot solve the problem because it covers only a diminishing percentage of the overall supply of e-waste. They argue for direct action to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of backyard recycling.

One proposal is to pay backyard recyclers not to recycle.

“The idea is to let people first repair and reuse equipment, and only intervene to remove materials and components that would be environmentally hazardous when e-waste would be recycled using crude methods,” Williams says. “Such a system looks to be an inexpensive way to maintain jobs in recycling operations and maintain access to used computers while protecting the environment.”

Source: www.engineering.asu.edu

Lucky Last….Free Riders & Developers Blasted

In an unexpected tirade from Australia’s senior public servant, Treasury boss Ken Henry this week took aim at “free riders” who made it impossible to get agreement on global action to combat climate change. He also expressed alarm at the plundering of Australia’s natural resources, saying any development that did not respect conservation was not development at all because it denied freedoms to future generations. Nicola Berkovic had this report in The Australian.

Nicola Berkovic in The Australian (29 March 2010):

TREASURY boss Ken Henry has railed against the disgraceful management of the nation’s water resources.

He also yesterday took aim at “free riders” who made it impossible to get agreement on global action to combat climate change.

And he expressed alarm at the plundering of Australia’s natural resources, saying any development that did not respect conservation was not development at all because it denied freedoms to future generations.

In a speech on sustainable development, Dr Henry said water extraction from the Murray-Darling Basin had exceeded inflows in three of the past 10 years.

“Water management on this driest inhabited continent on Earth has been a disgrace,” he told the Winds of Change forum, near Bungendore in southern NSW.

His comments came as Water Minister Penny Wong sought to discredit the opposition’s new spokesman on water, Barnaby Joyce, saying he did not accept it was necessary to return the Murray-Darling Basin to health by buying back water entitlements.

Dr Henry also attacked world leaders who opposed measures to tackle climate change, comparing them to free riders — an economic term describing those who put their own needs above the community interest.

“It should be obvious the free-rider problem explains why it is virtually impossible to get governments to agree on global action to address climate change,” he said.

And he said those who considered conservation and development to be mutually exclusive had a poor understanding of both.

“Development which does not respect conservation is not development at all.

“Conservation safeguards a substantive freedom — a freedom to have and to preserve for future generations something that we value and to which we have reason to attach importance.”

Dr Henry said humans had made terrible mistakes in the past, plundering precious natural resources to the point of extinction.

He said society should not let species such as the spotted owl, yellow-footed wallaby or hairy-nosed wombat become extinct.

Speaking near the edge of Lake George, which just a few weeks ago had a “smudge of water”, Dr Henry said: “One picture in particular sticks in my mind . . . It is a photograph of . . . tyre tracks running out across Weereewa’s bed — a poignant reminder that there is nothing we humans do on this place that doesn’t leave an indelible mark. And we have done so much. Our tracks are deep.”

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au