Focus on Singapore as Global Green Building Hub

For the first time, the World Green Building Council International Congress will take place in Asia in the lead up to World Green Building Day on 23 September. It is one of a trio of eco-events in Singapore next month to create Southeast Asia’s biggest and most important gathering of ‘green’ builders and property developers ever organised. Meanwhile, Australia is putting renewed focus on greening existing building stock.

WorldGBC International Congress: 13-15 September, Singapore

Southeast Asia’s premier Build Eco Xpo, BEX Asia is back from 13-15 September at the new Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Focused on green building architecture, design, products, practices and technologies for environmental sustainability, BEX Asia 2010 provides a platform for industry practitioners, professionals and key buyers across the region to network and do business with Southeast Asia’s developing economies.

The four-day event is being staged alongside the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) International Congress 2010 and the inaugural Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) ‘Green Building Conference’.

It will be the first time the WorldGBC International Congress has taken place in Asia and is part of the lead up to World Green Building Day on 23 September.

In partnership with the SGBC and Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), the trio of eco-events combine to create Southeast Asia’s biggest and most important gathering of ‘green’ builders and property developers ever organised. Participants will have the opportunity to meet and engage with invited experts at workshops, tours and talks scheduled throughout the four days.

Over 200 exhibiting companies from more than 20 countries internationally will showcase their latest environmentally-friendly building technologies, products, concepts and solutions at BEX Asia 2010. Major players to showcase include BASF, Carrier, EnGro Corporation Limited, Johnson Controls and Trane.

“BEX Asia is quickly establishing itself as a must-attend event in the industry by offering a platform for exhibitors to present their products and to educate potential customers on the benefits of their solutions,” said Michelle Lim, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions

In tandem with growing global concern and commitment to environmental sustainability, BEX Asia has gone from strength-to-strength since its inception in 2008. It has grown from 100 exhibiting companies in the first year to more than 200 in its third year, and from 4000 visitors in its first year to an expected 7,000 this year.

“We expect the momentum to continue this year with possibly another record-breaking turnout,” added Ms Lim.

About WorldGBC International Congress

The WorldGBC International Congress forum, a series of sessions from senior government officials, industry experts and a minister from China, India, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia will also play a poignant role during the event. Discussion topics will include: A World Green Building Campaign, Tackling Global Climate Change, Meeting Local Priorities; Rating Tools and Common Carbon Metric; Policies Paradise (with UNEP); Innovations in Financing Green Solutions.

One of the highlights of the show will be “Leadership in Green Building Lecture Series 6″ led by green building experts from around the world including David Johnson, Westcoast Director, San Francisco of William McDonough + Partners, and Bill Odell, Director, Science and Technology Group The HOK Group.

SGBC’s inaugural “Green Building Conference” on Day Three will tackle various debates pertaining Zero Energy Buildings and Cutting Edge Green Building Technologies and Designs, with practical application through case study analysis.

Source: www.sgbc.sg

Report from RMIT (25 August 2010):

Greening the existing building stock

What does it take to make old buildings green? How can we encourage innovative renovations and retrofits to improve the nation’s environmental footprint?

The challenge of transforming existing buildings for a sustainable Australia will be explored next week at the 8th annual Green Building and Design Conference (Friday, 3 September – Saturday, 4 September).

RMIT University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, will introduce the Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Change and Minister for Innovation, Gavin Jennings MLC, to give a welcoming address.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle will welcome delegates and speak about the City of Melbourne’s 1200 Buildings initiative – a program that places the city at the cutting edge of the global green building movement.

Keynote speaker, RMIT Adjunct Professor Alan Pears AM, will examine ways for renovators and project teams to ensure that renovated buildings become assets for the future, rather than liabilities.

The conference aims to bring together architects and designers, policy makers, energy consultants, building owners and the building industry to explore innovative trends and practices in building retrofits.

An outstanding line-up of speakers from the residential and commercial sectors, as well as private and public institutions, will detail case studies of building adaptation and elaborate on closing the gap in energy and water efficiencies between old and new buildings. Site visits on Saturday, 4 September will complement the program.

The Green Building and Design Conference is presented by RMIT’s Centre for Design and School of Property Construction and Project Management, and is sponsored by Sustainability Victoria.

What: Green Building and Design Conference 2010
When: Friday, 3 September, 8.30am (Keynote Speech: 9.20am)
Where: Village Roadshow Theatrette, State Library of Victoria Access through Entry 3, La Trobe Street, Melbourne 

Source: www.rmit.edu.au

GBCA media release (26 August 2010):

The GBCA is exploring a new approach in addressing existing buildings within its Green Star suite of rating tools. This approach would allow a Green Star tool for existing buildings to:

- address building operations and maintenance, including performance benchmarking;
o incorporating NABERS metrics where available
o incorporating other reporting standards where appropriate
- address many different building types – not just office buildings;
- be comparable to Green Star Design and As Built ratings;
- assess individual buildings and entire portfolios;
- be cost-efficient and user friendly in its delivery;
- reward environmental performance that exceed standard practice;
- recognise market leadership in holistic building operations and management.

The scope of the tool is to be developed based on the guiding principles above and in consultation with a Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG). The SRG is made up of organisations that would potentially use a Green Star tool for building operations – portfolio managers, facilities managers, maintenance organisations and building owners.

It is expected that the scoping phase of the Green Star ‘existing buildings’ project and the SRG involvement will last 3 to 6 months. Following the scoping phase, and approval by the GBCA Technical Steering Committee and Board, a Technical Working Group (TWG) will be assembled to allow wider industry consultation and to address specific technical issues relating to existing buildings.

Source: www.gbca.org.au

Putting Green in the Spotlight for Viewers, Tourists & Drivers

In an exciting new development for the sustainable tourism industry, EarthCheck has partnered with Travel Wild to launch a series of television shows that will air on the Discovery Travel Channel, highlighting tourist destinations that have taken sustainability to heart. And the Holden Service Centre Environment Award, sponsored by Double-E EnviClean, is the first environment award to recognise the achievements of car service centres in Victoria, providing leadership to achieve positive outcomes for the environment, waste reduction and improved safety.

Earthcheck reports:

In an exciting new development for the sustainable tourism industry, EarthCheck has partnered with Travel Wild to launch a series of television shows that will air on the Discovery Travel Channel, highlighting tourist destinations that have taken sustainability to heart.

EarthCheck is widely acknowledged as the global leader in sustainable travel and tourism environmental management systems, with more than 1000 organisations in over 70 countries using their science and technology. Among these are market leaders such as ACCOR, InterContinental Hotels Group, Sandals Resorts International, Banyan Tree and Club Med.

In a world increasingly confused by varying shades of green, the EarthCheck brand offers consumers a simple way to quickly recognise those companies that are operating to international best practice standards and have had their eco credentials independently verified.

Fronted by effervescent presenter Lin Sutherland, Travel Wild currently airs on the Discovery Travel Network and has a potential footprint of 100 million viewers worldwide. The show has traditionally shone the spotlight on Australian destinations, but series two will broaden its content focus to include exotic destinations from Mexico to the Maldives and beyond.

Coupled with the show, the Travel Wild website () will allow viewers to find out more about the properties and tours profiled, as well as access special EarthCheck deals.      

Travel Wild is currently on air and Series Two is in production.

Source: www.earthcheck.org and  www.travelwild.tv

A report from Melbourne:

Double-E EnviClean, the supplier of EE-EnvicLean® Super Dry Encapsulant for Liquid Spills, in partnership with the Holden Dealers Service Managers Association and the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) has announced a call for entries from Holden Service Centres in Victoria and Tasmania to enter the Holden Service Centre Environment Award.

The Holden Service Centre Environment Award is the first environment award for Holden service centres to recognise the achievements of Service Centres in changing their practices and providing leadership to achieve positive outcomes for the environment and Service Centre operations in areas such as waste reduction and improved safety.

The award will be conducted under the auspices of the Holden Dealers Service Managers Association and will initially be open to all Holden Service Centre teams in Victoria and Tasmania.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with an innovative company like Double-E EnviClean for an award that recognises the great work Holden Service Centres are doing in achieving positive outcomes for the environment and their service centres,” said Richard Rayner, President of the Victorian Holden Dealers Service Managers Association.

The Environment Award will recognise service centre initiatives in waste water reduction and the reduction of waste. Assessment and judging of entries will be conducted by a panel including members from the Holden Dealers Service Managers Association, a representative from EE-EnvicLean and VACC’s Environmental Advisor.

“Training and innovative awards programs such as this assist businesses in the automotive trades to incorporate processes and practices that avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle and dispose of their wastes in an environmentally sensitive manner, said Sarah Thomas, VACC’s Environmental Advisor who is soon to launch the Green Stamp Plus environmental accreditation program at VACC.

Entries open on August 1 with the leading three service centres to be announced at the Holden Dealers Service Managers Association annual dinner on 3 December, 2010. A special judges discretionary award category has also been created in recognition of an idea or initiative that breaks the mould.

About Double-E EnviClean – Double-E EnvicLean Pty Ltd is the manufacturer and worldwide distributor of the revolutionary EE-EnvicLean® Super Dry Encapsulant for Liquid Spills and innovative liquid waste management products and services that meet the highest environmental standards.

About Green Stamp Plus – Green Stamp Plus accreditation is encouraging automotive businesses to comply with environmental laws and more importantly, rewarding the many that have gone beyond their legislative requirements. The accreditation for automotive trades has been developed with state and territory Motor Trade Associations, and the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

Source: www.enviclean.com.au and www.greenstampplus.com.au

Lucky Last Word on The Greenest Way to Go

The world’s first water cremation centre on the Gold Coast is offering a liquid alternative to cremation and burial, using a process it hopes will revolutionise the funeral industry.

Aquamation Industries chief executive John Humphries says the service, at the Eco Memorial Park at Stapylton, appropriately near Dreamworld, is the first of its kind in the world.

“Aquamation is a more natural, ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to cremations and uses water instead of fire to return a body to nature, Mr Humphries said.

This has been reported  in New Scientist and around the world, even in Queensland by Courier Mail.

In his book “The ABC of Carbon”, Ken Hickson drew attention to various ways to green up the end of life as we know it, from eco friendly coffins to eternal reefs. There’s even advice on how to turn ash  into diamonds. Have a look at Funeral Rights and Funerals Recycled.  Read More

Wendy Zukerman in New Scientist (19 August 2010):

Want to leave a light footprint on this Earth when you die? Perhaps you should consider “aquamation”, a new eco-alternative to burial and cremation.

With land for burials in short supply and cremation producing around 150 kilograms of carbon dioxide per body – and as much as 200 micrograms of toxic mercury – aquamation is being touted as the greenest method for disposing of your mortal remains.

The corpse is placed into a steel container and potassium is added, followed by water heated to 93 °C. The flesh and organs are completely decomposed in 4 hours, leaving bones as the only solid remains.

This is similar to what’s left after cremation, where the “ashes” are in fact bones hardened in the furnace and then crushed.

Low-energy funeral

Aquamation uses only 10 per cent of the energy of a conventional cremation and releases no toxic emissions, says John Humphries, chief executive of Aquamation Industries in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, who developed the technology. The decomposition process, called alkaline hydrolysis, “simply speeds up the natural way that flesh decomposes in soil and water”, he says.

Similar methods for decomposing corpses have been developed elsewhere, but they decompose corpses at much higher temperatures. For example,Resomation, based in Glasgow, UK, dissolves bodies in sodium hydroxide at 180 °C.

By decomposing pig carcasses at different water temperatures, Humphries found that the higher heat was unnecessary and that 93 °C was the most efficient temperature for body decomposition.

Life from death

There are recycling possibilities too. Humphries says that aquamation, unlike cremation, will not destroy artificial implants such as hip replacements, allowing them to be reused. And after the body is decomposed, “the water is a fantastic fertiliser”, he says.

Since his company began offering the process last month, 60 people in Australia have nominated aquamation for the disposal of their own corpse.

“This is a great initiative,” says Barry Brook, a climate scientist at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. “It’s easy to dismiss these small-scale technologies as trivial, but if you add enough small-scale solutions together they can add up to something meaningful.”

Source: www.newscientist.com

AAP reports in Courier Mail (12 August 2010):

The world’s first water cremation centre on the Gold Coast is offering a liquid alternative to cremation and burial, using a process it hopes will revolutionise the funeral industry.

Aquamation Industries chief executive John Humphries says the service, at the Eco Memorial Park at Stapylton near Dreamworld, is the first of its kind in the world.

But he expects around 30 centres around Australia will offer the option within 12 months.

“Aquamation is a more natural, ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to cremations and uses water instead of fire to return a body to nature, Mr Humphries said.

“And within a year we would expect you would be able to have this done anywhere in Australia.”

The process, called alkaline hydrolysis, relies on the same natural forces by which which a dead animal is returned to nature in the bush, he said.

“So we’ve put this totally natural process into a stainless steel tube where the body is washed for about four hours; it’s the same natural breakdown of tissue, just at a faster rate, and even the Catholic church has now approved it,” he said.

Mr Humphries said the equipment he invented was based on an experimental unit in the US that uses extreme pressure and temperature to destroy the infectious remains of cattle with mad cow disease.

“We haven’t invented the process, nature discovered that,” he said.

“We’ve simply re-designed the equipment so the water breaks down the cells and brings the body back to the chemical component it’s made up of, leaving only white chalky bones which are returned to the family in an urn, like ashes.”

Aquamation costs about the same as cremation, but without the 200kg of greenhouse gas emissions produced in a cremation, he said.

“It’s expected that in America, within about 10 years, there won’t be cremations because the public reaction to this process is just overwhelming,” Mr Humphries said.

He said the technology was also an answer to new European regulations that state mercury pollution has to be reduced at crematoriums by 2012.
 

Source: www.couriermail.com.au