A new strategy and toolkit is being developed to make good use of under-occupied buildings through low-level intervention. It is an alternative option to mothballing and demolition. Living and working with COVID Prior to COVID, office workers did the nine to five, bookended with a commute. Retail and health services, arts and cultural event were […]
Posted inPlanning & Design
Sinking island nations – and now sinking cities
Last week the Indonesian parliament approved President Widodo’s legislation to relocation of the sinking capital city in Borneo. But it’s not the only place threatened by rising sea levels…
Posted inPlanning
Hearts, cells and mud: how biology helps humans re-imagine our cities in vexed times
Biological metaphors for the city abound in daily use. You may live close to an “arterial” road or in the “heart” of a metropolis. You may work in one of the city’s “nerve centres” or exercise in a park described as the city’s “lungs”.
Posted inConsumers
Wheelie popular: E-bikes take charge of the roads
Thanks to improved tech, affordability, and growing concern for the environment, they are on the up-and-up worldwide, with Asia Pacific region one of the largest e-bike markets in the world.
Posted inBusiness & Politics
Australian business leaders are more concerned about climate change, but there is a gap between recognition and action
Australian business leaders are increasingly concerned about climate change and believe that the world has reached a tipping point, with a new report finding that Australian organisations are more concerned about climate change than the global average.
Posted inBriefs
Hello Tiger – this year we need your spirit, your teeth and your devastating snarl – Paris gets it!
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: It’s a new year, but the only year that matters now is 2030. We’ve got just seven years to go, to get things right on climate. Well, at least to minimise the damage. Already we’ve locked in major global warming as Simon Wild underscores in an interview this week as he […]
Posted inJobs News
Simon Wild on scenario planning and his next gig
Simon Wild has stepped out of Lendlease after more than seven years – along with a slew of other senior leaders – and kick started his new business which will focus on a consulting model for business and government around scenario planning for climate change and the role Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) […]
Posted inInfrastructure & transport
Driving is the new smoking: emissions warning labels for car ads in France
French consumers will soon be encouraged to act more environmentally with new regulations that require car advertisements to display warning labels, similar to health warnings on cigarette packaging.
Posted inWaste and recycling
Reverse Garbage moves to a new creative space warehouse as the love of old things keeps getting bigger
After 46 years in its historic Infantry Drill Hall warehouse at Addison Road in Sydney’s Inner West suburb of Dulwich Hill, much loved “treasure trove” Reverse Garbage has just opened its doors to a new warehouse at 30 Carrington Road in nearby Marrickville.
Advertisement
BIODIVERSITY: Exciting opportunity to secure rare biocredit allocations
Licensed fund manager Angas Securities is pleased to bring to market $12m in biocredits following the subdivision and sale of land at Fernhill Estate in Mulgoa, New South Wales.
Posted inRating tools
So much further to go with airtightness testing
For several years the Green Star rating tool has created demand for building airtightness testing services. In late 2021, the Air Tightness Testing & Measurement Association (ATTMA) surveyed its own Australia and New Zealand members about their experiences working on Green Star projects. All such testing so far has been under the original and Design […]
Posted inHousing
How to benefit from real estate investment and contribute to ethical outcomes at the same time
Around the country, the affordability of housing is a key and growing concern for many people. It’s a problem not only for first home buyers and key workers on minimum wages, who are often the “go to” for sensationalised media, but also a concern for a growing number of mum and dad and smaller portfolio […]
Posted inArticles
Out with the new: 7 in 10 Australian consumers want to extend the life of their possessions
New consumer research has revealed that Australian consumers are looking for creative ways to reduce waste by extending product life, and are asking brands to help them.
Posted inSpinifex
The psychopathy of our building code: it’s immediately cheaper for net zero homeowners NOW, so why delay?
I’ve been fortunate in my career to have benefited from good on-the-job training often in areas (as a scientist) that didn’t seem relevant to me, but it turns out as I’ve progressed from technical to managerial roles they became very relevant.
Posted inInvestment/deals/companies
Investors back electrification minerals over fossil fuels
New research released by The Australia Institute has found that investors are overwhelmingly investing in electrification minerals rather than fossil fuels.
Posted inFood
Australian medicinal honey start-up creates a buzz in the Middle East
Western Australian agriculture start-up Australian Honey Ventures (AHV) has secured two export deals to the Middle East market.
Posted inArticles
We’re off-grid! Back 17 January 2022. Happy new year to all!
Wishing all our readers a wonderful holiday break. Please enjoy a leisurely trawl through our many fantastic stories. If you need some prompts check out our top 50 for the year. See you back here in 2022 for another bout at loving this planet.
Posted inOpinion
On our highlights for the year and hello tiger
During this crazy year that most of us are (again) are happy to kiss to goodbye to, the industry has managed to rack up some amazing wins. Big steps forward in commitment and bold actions. Cop26 is probably our collective highlight, galvanizing as it has, a global momentum from governments and financiers, the most powerful and previously the slowest to move.
Posted inOpinion
Christmas wish
We wanted to remind our readers we have no subsidies from government coffers, nothing from the largesse of wealthy patrons, no claim to charity status; no secret support from any organisations in this patch. We exist solely from whatever income comes our way through normal advertising channels or sponsorship. So we wanted to make a call to you our readers in businesses and other organisations to place us high up in your advertising and sponsorship campaigns. Even inexpensive job ads add up. Remember, we are well read by the people who can change the world.
Posted inConsumers
Your choice of fashion brands may cause deforestation
Environmental research firm Stand.earth has compiled a list of exactly which major fashion industry brands are contributing to deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.
The report analysed nearly 500,000 rows of customs data to discover which brands are linked to deforestation through their supply chain.
Partnered Content
Levi’s – a new direction in fashion
Levi’s is making a concerted effort to lower its environmental footprint with a number of visionary initiatives.
Partnered Content
GWM Haval takes the road less travelled
GWM Haval is expected to take its mid-size and full-size SUVs in a different direction by embracing hybrid electric vehicle technology and hydrogen fuel cells.
Posted inEbooks
WELL and healthier buildings, the ebook: “The rise of buildings and places that help me thrive”
We’re excited to publish today our latest ebook, The rise of buildings and places that help me thrive – How the WELL Building Standard sparked a movement. It’s published in collaboration with the International WELL Building Institute. When we first wrote about WELL – and we claim we were the first in Australia to do […]
Posted inJob Advertisement
Senior writer/editor for The Fifth Estate
The Fifth Estate is now searching for an editor or senior writer, who will be keen to soon step into the editor’s role, to help lead this publication into the future.
Posted inNews from the Front Desk
On how to interpret the news and be on full alert
Those who speak truth to power or speak about any other meaningful thing are frozen out through a truly inventive range of techniques.
Posted inMaterials
Towards green steel
The iron and steel industry contributes between 7-9 per cent of global greenhouse emissions. The challenge for the sector is to reduce emissions. In a recent event Spotlight on Steel, the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA) examined the range of issues involved in decarbonising the steel industry. There are big issues to tackle. […]
Posted inBriefs
Covid changes here to stay, alongside some benefits
Many temporary initiatives introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic are now here to stay – bringing in an estimated additional $3.1 billion net economic benefit over the next 10 years, with some sustainability benefits as well, as far as we can gather.
Posted inBriefs
Greenpeace finds discrepancies in banks’ climate lending policies
A new report released by Greenpeace Australia has revealed discrepancies in the big four banks’ climate lending policies ahead of annual general meetings. The report aimed to uncover which bank will fund AGL’s A$800 million proposed demerger Accel Energy (ASX:AXL).
Posted inEnergy
Imagine if the solar storage battery in your house was made from household waste, instead of lithium
One of the downsides of the massive batteries we are using in our cars, appliances and household power storage is that they are made from Lithium, which has a problematic supply chain. Imagine if we could replace the lithium with a compound that has up to 10 times more power density, the potential to deliver energy almost instantly – useful in high-draw environments like electric vehicles – and can be manufactured from recycled plastics and bio waste.
Posted inPlanning & Design
A circular economy requires a new “agricultural revolution”
In a new study Circular Food Futures: What Will They Look Like? Steven Liaros argues that a transition to a circular economy will not only require new strategies and policies – but a paradigm shift akin to the agricultural revolution.