The cost of building materials is steadily rising as Covid continues to impact supply chains, with some key materials expected to increase by 40 per cent in some areas. According to Matt Billingham, Australian real estate lead at global consultancy Turner & Townsend, between 2020-21, the price of steel in Sydney has already risen 10 […]
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Posted inhospitals, health, aged care
The health sector can help get us to net zero with a “win win” pathway
The Australian health sector is embarking on a period of rapid innovation and reform, driven by the disruptive innovation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. This reform should include keeping pace with the transition to environmental social governance-driven strategies and operating models we see globally. The health impacts of climate change are increasingly evident and immediate. They have […]
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
Victoria – the sun also shines
Victoria is on a big rebuild and reboot of its economy kick and solar is a big focus for the year. According to Stan Krpan, chief executive of Solar Victoria, it’s all systems go.
Posted inJobs News
Ed Cotter takes reins at Better Building Finance, job losses + our pick of the jobs
What’s happening in job news this week.
Posted inSponsored
Sustainable Australia Fund launches next generation environmental upgrade loans
Loans for environmental upgrades have come a long way in the past 10 years. Owners can now enjoy one of three tailored products, including the Capital Fund, which becomes part of a developer’s capital stack, reduces cost and provides a greater return on equity.
Posted inInvestment/deals/companies
Five ways to finance energy efficiency building upgrades
EUROPE: Financing building upgrades to make them more energy efficient is the subject of much research. It’s estimated it would need around EUR 100 billion (AU$163 billion) a year to meet the European target to tackle climate change.
Posted inJobs News
Jobs news: Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Mott MacDonald, Standards Australia
Senior Victorian bureaucrat, Nick Foa, has been appointed to run the new authority responsible for the state’s biggest transport project, Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
North Sydney Council flags EUAs for sustainable apartment program
Environmental upgrade agreements are on the cards as part of the North Sydney Council’s program for reducing greenhouse gas pollution and the cost of living in apartments.
Posted inFunding & grants
EUAs get a new name and go national – at last
Bank Australia has partnered with Sustainable Melbourne Fund to take the original environmental upgrade agreement (EUAs) program for buildings national.
Posted inMaterials
Victoria turns to EUA model to rectify flammable cladding crisis
Victoria will introduce a “world-first” financial mechanism to help residential building owners pay for urgent rectification works caused by the installation of non-conforming and non-compliant flammable cladding on high-rise apartment buildings in the state.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations, Responsible Tourism
Sydney creates a Better Buildings Partnership for the tourism industry
A new partnership – based on the successful Better Buildings Partnership model – hopes to get hotels, museums and other venues serious about sustainability and make Sydney a destination for sustainable tourism.
Posted inBusiness
Bill shock powers a renewables rush
Almost half of Australian businesses are investing in renewable energy to beat rising power costs and reduce their carbon emissions, according to a new report from the Climate Council.
Posted inCommercial
Top retailers demand zero carbon building standard
A group of retailers – whose members include Aviva, BT, Cemex, Ikea, Kingfisher, M&S, Nestle, Sky and Tesco – have criticised the UK government for not doing enough to improve energy efficiency in non-domestic buildings.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
City of Sydney pushes for a net zero office sector
Exclusive: Increased building standards, mandatory disclosure of NABERS tenancy ratings and increased amounts of renewables are being pushed by the City of Sydney in a bid to get office buildings to net zero by 2050.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
Martin Haese: a mayor with a mission for Adelaide to lead, nationally
Trust a small city with a legacy reputation as a rust belt capital to stir up enough competitive juices to take on the rest of country, and outperform.
Posted inConferences, Energy
All-Energy video: The amazing things they’re doing at Moreland Energy
Video: In interview with The Fifth Estate, Moreland Energy Foundation chief executive Alison Rowe said MEFL was getting into Environmental Upgrade Agreements, with the first recently signed for local business Otto and Spike.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
Noise pollution a growing concern for strata developments
Whether it’s the sound of partying neighbours, constant banging of footfalls overhead or the roaring of traffic heard whenever balcony doors are opened, noise is compromising health and quality of life for many apartment dwellers.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
Sustainability struggles for its place in the Queensland sun
Google “Queensland’s future” and you’ll be inundated by government and soft media sites promising a sleek, modern Sunshine State.
Posted inFinance
Brisbane’s CitySmart and Incorp make EUAs look easy
Analysis: Environmental Upgrade Agreements were always a brilliant idea. A way to fund sustainability upgrades with the cost paid back as part of council rates. The tenant saves money on the energy bills that come from the upgrade; the owner gets better infrastructure. Everyone wins.
Posted inCommercial, Finance
Melbourne’s major EUA deal is great news ahead of building sale
In great news for Environmental Upgrade Agreements, wholesale fund manager Trust Capital Advisers and its advisers have negotiated a $1.8 million energy upgrade of an office building in Bourke Street.
Posted inGovernment/Regulations
Queensland budget spends big on infrastructure
Infrastructure projects are the big focus of Queensland’s budget, with $42.75 billion committed to transport, roads, education and health facilities, and the energy and water sectors, with $10 billion committed in 2017-18.
Posted inGovernment
Victorian government gives EUAs a boost
Victoria’s commercial buildings will get a boost to their sustainability potential following the announcement of a new collaboration between the state government and the Sustainable Melbourne Fund. The program involves help to take up Environmental Upgrade Agreements, the benefits of which include reduced energy costs and emissions. Energy, environment and climate change minister Lily D’Ambrosio […]
Posted inEnergy, Finance, Jobs News
A financial solution to power energy efficiency
Ecosave has doubled in size since November last year, growing staff from 11 to 23. Here founder Marcelo Rouso explains why. Marcelo Rouco reckons he’s been ahead of time for way too long but now it looks like Australia has finally caught up with an idea he had to take to the US to prove. […]
Posted inBusiness
How to make resilience attractive to investors
About US$140-300 billion a year will need to be invested globally to adapt to the effects of climate change, but where will the money come from and is the government doing anything to create the incentives that will motivate private investment in the area? These are the issues raised by the Investor Group on Climate […]
Posted inClimate Change
How states and territories compare on climate action
With a near vacuum on climate change action at the federal level, and federal ministers even agitating to further reduce already paltry efforts, attention is increasingly being placed on the states to pick up the baton. And for the most part, they’re not disappointing. NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT have all set net […]
Posted inCommercial
WA Property Council in push for EUAs as vacancies soar
Notice the rising tide of thinking that new buildings are … maybe necessary at times, but that it’s the upgrade of our existing structures that will be increasingly valued?
Posted inEnergy
How energy retrofits are getting easier
The retrofitting game is getting easier. The price of technology and energy-efficient plant trending down in response to growing demand, finance models such as Environmental Upgrade Agreements are resolving the split incentive barrier and state and territory governments are inspiring action and competition with each other. It’s just as well, according to Matthew Lee, regional […]
Posted inInvestment/deals/companies
IIG targets property again, this time with “disruptive” energy services outfit nu-tility
Impact Investment Group, which targets investments with positive social and environmental outcomes, has taken a stake in start-up energy services provider nu-tility for its potential to disrupt the local real estate energy efficiency market.
Posted inEducation & Training
How universities are stepping up to the climate challenge
SPECIAL REPORTS: Universities are being pushed to take a greater lead on clean energy investment to help offset their rising energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. However, with emissions reduction becoming an increasing focus of universities’ sustainability strategies, innovative approaches are already creating a buzz across our campuses.
Posted inArticles, Business & Politics
How Alison Rowe is bringing business discipline to Moreland Energy Foundation
Until early this year Alison Rowe was global executive director of sustainability for the giant Japanese global tech company Fujitsu. During her nine years with the company, Rowe developed a new way of building the value case for sustainability, integrating it into the business and making it a profit centre. It was a “revenue and […]