Fossil fuels are turning to funding education to downplay climate change
Analysis by Comms Declare has found that children as young as 9 are being taught about climate change that is shaped by the fossil fuel industry. The advocacy group found that Shell’s Queensland Gas Company has provided more than $10 million to Queensland Museum since 2015 to fund science programs and school programs being taught to thousands of young people across the country.
While the museum insists its work remains independent, the report finds educational materials with Shell’s branding downplay or omit fossil fuels as the primary driver of climate change. Instead, the educational materials push for individual responsibility and “technological distractions” such as carbon capture while portraying Shell as a responsible actor.
Other fossil fuel players have also been involved in similar movements, including concerns about Woodside’s relationship with the Western Australia Museum and Monash University, which is now moving to end its partnership, and controversy over Santos’ involvement in a school science roadshow.
Matrak launches new AI powered platform
Australian construction tech company Matrak has launched a new AI automation tool, which could cut up to 40 per cent of administrative labour spent on estimating, procurement quality checks, scheduling and materials-tracking.
The new tool Matrak Connect is said to reduce project costs by 8 to 16 per cent. It has the potential to deliver more than $US4.26 billion ($A6.57) billion in savings from costs associated with labour, which typically accounts for 30 per cent of project costs.
Co-founder Shane Hodgkins said construction firms that embed AI-powered logistics and materials tracking will see shorter build times, lower rework rates and measurable financial return on investment.
The company is known for its connection to the China Building Material Federation, a Chinese counterpart of Australia’s MECLA, which helped with the development and supported the use of its app in China to help procurers in Australia and internationally track the carbon movement of their materials. Hodgkins recently spoke at The Fifth Estate’s Circular Disruption in November, where he presented on China’s six zero policy for sustainability and its opportunities for Australia.
Decarbonising wine
If you missed it, Winemakers Hill-Smith Family Estates has received gold member status from the International Wineries for Climate Action, an international group of wineries working to encourage the industry to reduce carbon emissions.
Some of its efforts include reforestation of 215,000 native trees and shrubs since 2007, and 30,000 square metres of native bushland through GreenFleet, 20 per cent of operations powered by renewables and 100 per cent of the winery’s wastewater recycled or reused for drought-tolerant vines.
The winemaker has also reduced its 750 ml wine bottle weight to 360 to 363 grams with bottles made from about 50 per cent recycled content, which reduces carbon emissions by approximately 254 tonnes every year.
In an interview with The Fifth Estate on World Sustainability Day, brand manager Adele Caon said the significance of reducing the weight of the wine bottle is that the glass, which is infinitely recycled, is incredibly carbon-intensive to manufacture and uses a lot of heat in the process of both making and “recycling” the bottle.
“Everyone uses a fresh bottle, we don’t just wash and reuse, [as] there’s hygiene issues around that.”
When the glass is lighter, the carbon footprint of the shipping and transportation of the product is also less, because you can physically fit more in a shipping container, Caon said.
While the pressure to be sustainable and decarbonise mostly comes from retailers, Caon said their motivation also came from hopes that they could pass the wineries down to the next generation.
Last month, the winemakers chose to move away from organic and biodynamic winemaking in favour of their own sustainability programme.